tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post4460165818790969751..comments2008-08-04T16:07:45.247+09:00Comments on My So-Called Japanese Life: What Does It TakeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-41004867672355199112007-06-19T10:56:00.000+09:002007-06-19T10:56:00.000+09:00Wow, in the case of your old company, I find that ...Wow, in the case of your old company, I find that just so...offensiveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-51577281302735940662007-06-18T23:16:00.000+09:002007-06-18T23:16:00.000+09:00This is actually a harder to answer question than ...This is actually a harder to answer question than one might imagine. It's one of those "yes" and "no" situations. <BR/><BR/>During the first 10 years of my employment, the company was ran by a mercurial president who had his wife as a "vice-president". During his tenure, several salesmen were "convinced" to quit. This was a form of firing because these salesmen could either quit and save face or they could linger on and receive a reduction in position and salary until they decided to quit. It's essentially a form of firing.<BR/><BR/>This same president also summarily fired three office ladies because they resisted his directives to be at the beck and call of the male sales staff. Actually, only two of them resisted but he decided a clean sweep was in order and canned the third one so he could hire three completely new women that would be uncontaminated by any other office ladies with experience. The irony is that the new girls didn't have to kiss the salesmen's asses or do any of the stuff their predecessor's objected to. The mere act of resisting got two of them fired and another by association. Women, apparently, could be fired outright.<BR/><BR/>And, as I mentioned in one of my older posts, "Near Termination", I nearly got canned for refusing to comply with a request.<BR/><BR/>http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/04/near-termination.html<BR/><BR/>When the company was taken over and the old president left (with a fat pocket after selling his pig-in-a-poke company to a sucker), we went through a series of different managers who couldn't make the company work. Two of them were women, one of whom I believe may have terminated at least one person. Also, the new president, who did not work in our office, tried to convince a salesman to become his on-going hatchet man because the president himself couldn't fire people and the salesman fired one person at his behest. Ironically, the new president later did the old trick where he makes someone miserable through salary reduction and title loss so he'll quit to the fellow who he wanted to have act as a hatchet man (the salesman refused the job but that wasn't what got him fired).<BR/><BR/>I think these incidents are the norm in Japan in some companies depending on the leadership. My husband told me that his students have reported similar situations with slack employees being kept on but one has also been encouraged to accept a reduction in salary and a loss of salaried status (which could lead her to quit).<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your question and comment!Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-62866006377738309462007-06-18T22:54:00.000+09:002007-06-18T22:54:00.000+09:00Shari: During your tenure at that company, did yo...Shari: During your tenure at that company, did you ever see anyone get fired from that job, or are these recent incidents just the "norm" for our current time. And if you did see people get fired, what did they get fired for?CMUwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07254107188568419537noreply@blogger.com