The Japan location still had people walking through the data center with a sheet of paper and a pen, going through and manually checking servers off a list in the data center. It blew everyone's mind
Military here. We still do that. Classified systems have to be mustered (counted) regularly. Electronic records can be hacked/altered/spoofed remotely. In many situations that clipboard on a hook remains a perfectly valid security device, especially for systems/weapons/things that are not powered up 24/7.
There's this perception that "digital = better", but that's not always how it works. Actually, in quite a few cases the analogue solution was quite a bit better (analogue buttons, for example, but also just having some things on paper was a lot easier IMHO, like bus tickets and whatnot).
I also should have specified this was in an e-commerce company, so no state secrets or anything like that.
Show me a machine that can go from room to room, from vehicle to vehicle, counting rifles without error. In the dark. In the mud. When all the vehicles are parked in different places every day. Or another regular task at my unit: itemizing first aid kits. Good luck telling a robot to count the number of tourniquets in a locker without making a mess of things.
>>and "good enough" technique.
These aren't good enough things. The human being counting things and signing a piece of paper is better than the automated/online system. A human's positive control cannot be hacked remotely. Go to a hospital and see if the surgeons are ok with their tools being cleaned and counted by machines, without human backup. Will never happen.
I reckon it's more that initiative is not expected, or even discouraged. You will work on what the direct superior tells you, end of story. And the more people the boss can lord on, the bigger his empire looks like; so there is little incentive for middle-managers to pursue efficiency.
Let alone the fact that in IT, you can rarely produce something worthwhile after 4-6 hours.
It would also be hard to respect arbitrarily chosen rules, that have no proven effect on productivity.
It's hard to see Japan being competitive with archaic rules like the above.
The rep from a textbook company would go to the teacher's lounge every semester, bow to each of the teacher's one at a time in front of their desks, and ask them what they wanted to order from the catalog. The teacher's could've easily put in an order online or over the phone and I imagine the salesman had to go to each school in person.
Of course, with statistics like these one has to consider the fact that second-income earners working part-time jobs make the statistic skew low, which means that in countries where wages are high enough to feed a family with only one parent working, the numbers will skew higher despite less actual hours worked. I am note sure to what degree the statistics address this issue.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_a...
Employee is now a loaded word. Does this statistic include contractors or just hired "employees"? A great many workers in the US, from delivery drivers to doctors, are no longer actual employees. Do their hours count?
Overtime, until very recently, went uncounted and was unpaid. So the statistics you quote are almost certainly very wrong.
Recently the government has been cracking down on overtime (and especially on unpaid overtime), and requires companies to track overtime. It's only considered excessive overtime if it's more than 45 hours extra hours a month, to give you an understanding of just how much people are working.
If you compared two families using this same system:
* Family A - 1 worker, 40 hours per week, 1 non-worker
* Family B - 2 workers, 20 hours per week each
You'd get an average of 40 vs 20, which makes it appear as though Family A works "more" than Family B.
As walking around with a clipboard looks a lot more busy than typing.
Japan is placed somewhere in the upper middle among OECD countries when it comes to average working hours per year and the percentage of workers working more than 60 hours per week.
I wonder if those statistics are wrong, or perhaps misleading.
By all means, the statistics could very well be wrong or misleading, but the number of stories you've heard isn't really evidence.
If we tried to extrapolate that hypothesis, shouldn't it imply that countries with considerably lower averages (e.g.: Germany, France, Sweden) ought to be considerably further ahead in automation than they currently are?
There was this one data center in Tokyo that we needed to put stuff into - and we needed a GPS antenna on the roof of the DC piped down to our cage...
The DC itself was the most aesthetically beautiful DC I have been to; Bamboo forest and waterfall in the lobby, black granite everywhere, the receptionists were two beautiful women... The place was pristine in look and super super clean.
We met with the execs that ran it and they agreed to all our requests - to pull lines from the roof to our cage, etc...
But in the end, they said yes to everything, but didnt actually do anything that was requested.
It was a waste of a trip (aside from the fun we had while not doing work), but it was stunning how much work was turned down based on them saying yes, but not actually doing any of the work requested...
Japanese use a lot of back-channel chatter when they talk to indicate that they are actively listening (Auzuchi). This includes saying "Yes" to indicate "Yes, I understand what you are saying" instead of "Yes, I agree that we should do as you are suggesting". They may not always indicate disagreement by saying "No" either, but simply by not committing to your suggestion when its their turn to talk (or some other, subtler expression than "No", such as a head tilt and an intake of breath)
This active listening behavior has apparently led to similar misunderstandings before.
Of course, if you made sure you actually came to a clear agreement with the execs, it's an entirely different story.
After the meeting the customer was very upbeat but in the end the supplier never did anything they had promised.
It was interesting to observe this as a somewhat independent outsider. I came away with the impression that the people at the supplier had some disdain for their customer.
Maybe a trite / cliche saying now, but the quote about Japan being the most futuristic society you could imagine in the 1990s just rung so true after visiting.
It's fascinating and also kind of sad to me how much less relevant Japan today seems to be as far as consumer tech goes.
Looking back, I also think a big part of it was Tokyo as a city just being on a totally different scale than anything else I had experienced. In the 90's I don't think there was anywhere in the US remotely similar to a place like Shinjuku. Now days I think parts of midtown Manhattan or perhaps in other ways the Vegas strip might have a little bit of a similar energy, but I had never been to either of those as a child, and back then they were much different than they are today anyway.
The ease of getting around by fast, reliable trains (and especially bullet trains) also seemed super futuristic to me back then. Of course that part is still pretty far ahead of the US to this day.
Then again, I don't know anyone that uses a debit card after high school. Not using a credit card kinda implies that they're financially irresponsible right now (leaving cash back/points on the table) or were in the past and ruined their credit.
It's a very bizarre system, and incredibly regressive, and would actually probably be pretty simple to get rid of with federal legislation. I actually can't believe none of our current wave of progressive politicians have thought to come after it yet.
I’m from Spain and I remember those transaction books from my childhood (I was born in 1991).
By the time I was old enough to get my first debit card they were long gone though.
You see it in the USA today too with their aging boomer ruling class, but since its not as bad as japan, they’re not staying as stuck in the past.
Their systems are often inferior on a pure ease-of-use aspect, but it's not "strictly worse". I found a lot of it to be just different compromises. It's still possible to live comfortably there without a smartphone. Not so much in other "smart cities" around the world.
I dont even think Apple Pay is common at all around here in Boston/Cambridge.
It was "around" for ten years previously, not making many inroads. Suddenly it's everywhere.
I was both amazed at the organization and horrified at the inefficiency.
I used to be impressed by the organization, but as I look at my shelves of Muji document filers, I realized the organization is necessary.
Some gems:
> There are plenty of photo booths, not unlike the popular purikura, that specialize in taking photos just the right size for resumes… The booths can be found on the streets of business districts or at most major train and subway stations. In fact, many machines let you pay with your train pass.
> Unlike most western resumes, you don’t need to elaborate on the duties and requirements of all your previous jobs or try to explain how it is useful for the job you are seeking.
> you should write any accomplishments that you have achieved over the years such as licenses or certificates. This even includes a driver’s license. In a city like Tokyo many people do not drive, however, some “paper drivers” get a license anyway just to appear more impressive on their resume.
> The final major section is for desires, hopes, and dreams which obviously will include for you to talk about the kind of salary that you want.
In Japan it’s common to require a “resume” (履歴書) and “C.V” (職務経歴書).
It’s on your CV that you detail your job history and highlights. A “resume” is more like a cover sheet and follows a very specific format.
If you’re changing jobs mid-career you’ll usually need both. If you’re applying as a new grad you’ll probably only need a resume.
When I was in Japan new grads were generally expected to hand write their resume. I think this was mostly a way of filtering applicants.
It’s hard to spam job applications when you have to attend a (group) explanation meeting (説明会) and send a hand written “resume” with a picture of yourself in a suit pasted on.
The expectations were much more flexible for mid-career job changes.
As an example, while my daughter's record of birth in Tokyo is a printout of a digital record, my son's record of birth in Kyoto is hand-written, and other than the handwriting, looks identical to my wife's from the 1970s.
For example, the Taiwanese use traditional Chinese whereas Mainland China use simplified Chinese. Or the orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn. The Vietnamese diaspora.
It may be political though. As in Taiwan keeping up with the "true" Chinese tradition -- as opposed to post-Cultural-Revolution China.
But then I learned that they passed the electronic signature act in 2010 and it only applies to some signatures - purchase orders, but not property leases, letters of intent but not company founding documents. Everything else needs to be on paper and often needs a company stamp.
The US, which I wouldn’t have considered that cutting edge, passed an electronic signature act 10 years earlier and it applies to pretty much everything.
It’s just one example, and yes, many Asian countries can’t let go of their paper copies and wet signatures, but still leave the US in the dust in other ways, but I thought it was fascinating where countries have challenges moving to more efficient processes.
Like goddamn, it was just a minor cold, nothing serious, I just needed to stay at home and rest, not trek out to a doctor and infect other people on public transit on my way to the doctor. There wasn't anything the doctor could do anyway other than just tell me to take some Panadol for the low grade fever, which I was doing anyway.
If it had happened again I would probably have just gone to work sick because of the silly system. I should decide if and when I need to see a doctor, not my employer. Considering how well-educated people were at the company I was at, there's no reason to not trust people when they say they need rest.
In Singapore we have the MC requirement but I’ve been with the company 9 years so I just tell my boss when I’m sick. Don’t bother seeing doctor. Unless I’m sick for a few days with no feeling of getting better than I go and take time off work at that point.
I generally didn't understand at all the bureaucratic trust issues in such a well-educated place where most people were trustworthy to start with.
Why not just give them enough PTO so they can get a few long weekends here and there, and they won't need to lie.
The problem is that people will have a huge party weekend then be hungover on Monday, or want to spend Friday getting the party started. And they decide this at the last minute, so they take a sickie instead of planning in advance. Often you cannot take AL ~1-2 weeks, you need to plan it out in advance.
Why? Do they at least allow unpaid negative sick leave? Some surgeries and heart operations and things need a month to recover.
Pooling it IMO isn't always the best result. The problem is that the people who get sick a lot are the ones who also get a lot of work stress, the work stress compounds into more sickness due to lost sleep / lost vitamin D / etc., and they are actually the ones who need the holiday time the most. People who have zero health issues probably have good work life balance already, at least enough to get exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well, and although they too deserve holiday, they need it less than the people who are already exhibiting the symptoms of overworking (lots of body issues).
Especially in the US where many only have 2 weeks of paid leave, or in many cases, 0 weeks.
Most jobs have at least: 4 weeks paid leave (annual) 2 weeks sick leave (which may require a note depending on company policy) 12 months parental leave for new/adoptive parents 6 weeks of Long service leave after 7 years, growing at the rate of roughly one week per year thereafter In addition to this we have 13 days of public holiday
Source: Australian employment lawyer
Lots of things that in London would be buy online, same/next day delivery were, in Singapore, have an in person, shake some hands, sign a bunch of contracts and then wait two months for delivery. On the other hand, they have things like Sim Lim Square, which initially seemed like an anachronism to me (like Tottenham Court Road in the 90s), but then when contrasted to ecommerce situation there, I kind of understood it.
Paying for things was confusing, most shops had 3 or so readers for different payment systems, and sometimes things that were supposed to work didn't (e.g. Google Pay or NFC). The details are long and confusing and involve lots of acronyms like NETS, ENETS, EFTPOS, etc. but overall I wasn't impressed.
In fintech specifically (my area), their regulators have a bunch of rules that basically force you to do things the old fashioned way.
That said banking may not be the best example about japan.. for a long time everything mobile was years ahead in japan.
Maybe all brains died at Sony Computer Entertainment :)
That's really not the case. It will of course vary by bank and by location. Counter Example showing 4-24 hours availablity 7 days a week in Japanese: http://map.bk.mufg.jp/b/bk_mufg/info/BA590467/
edit: Or use some gas/fuel station, which would be the equivalent to 7-11, I guess. Which doesn't work with every station, btw. (I mean, getting cash.)
But according to what you wrote, "foo2bar" would be OK? It seems to satisfy the 'no more than 3 consecutive numbers or letters' requirement.
Also, the obvious answer to this is RLE compressing your passwords. ;) foo2bar could be easily written as f1o221b1a1r1 to make it acceptable.
I meant exclusive of 3, not inclusive. So no more than 2.
Incredibly conservative culture (especially with regards to business hierarchy) + early social digitization = huge number of antiquated systems
The typical way things would finally get replaced in most companies ("If you're not migrated by X date, we're cutting it off, and your stuff will stop working") seems pretty anathema to Japanese corporate political expectations ("Don't make someone else look bad").
I like this one, a hand-written paper helps in judging someone, which I guess is the ultimate goal of a résumé.
Do they test you on your handwriting during the interview to make sure that you wrote your resume? If they do, then it implies that they truly think that they can see something in how someone writes. If they don't then why not let the machine do it?
yes. people need to realize if they want to work/live in japan stuff like this comes with the territory.
Then again, Americans seem to love personality tests like the Myers-Briggs in a similar way despite equally strong criticism of their utility.
I imagine it's a lot harder to avoid as a Japanese citizen.
My debit card got de-magnetized ( like a flaky hotel room key ) and stopped working at the official bank ATM. It doesn't work at most third party ATMs, but I've found the 7-11 ATMs are quite robust and is actually able to transact. Seems like a weird security mechanism if the official bank ATM can't authenticate the card, but somehow 7-11 ATMs can bypass this and allow me to withdraw money.
The bank's website also has a very strange username / password rules. They can only contain numbers and letters, case insensitively. Also, you can't have more than 2 consecutive numbers or letters. For example, 'foo2bar' would not be valid, nor would 'fo911baz'. 'fo23ba23' works.
One of my friends in Japan is a doctor from Belarus, one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. She came to Japan thinking it was technologically advanced, and was shocked to find that in some aspects Belarus is more technologically modern.
I have a very cynical theory about why technology is seemingly archaic here. I think the state of digital technology is due to structural / hierarchical social reasons that these initiatives don't really address. Not directly related to the hierarchical constructs, but examples of traditional practices include:
- resumes must be hand-written
- the stack of paperwork you need to sign for an apartment is about 1 inches thick. If you're purchasing a property, you'll probably need a couple binders.
- you need to create Hanko ( personal seal stamp ) as your official signature for some paperwork