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Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at
Rakuten (A)
Question-
Was “Englishnization” a good idea for Rakuten? What are the costs/benefits of such a policy?
In case of Rakuten Englishnization means using English as lingua franca, means using English as a common language of communication in organization.
As Defined,
“A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.”[ CITATION EnO17 \l 1033 ]
Rakuten’s idea of Englishnization was based on the trend that “English is the new global language of business”. Making such a change in a large global corporation is not an easy job at all, one of the main problems is that people usually do not like changes and oppose against them and that can lead to higher cost. The way that Mikitani introduced his idea, of talking on English in meetings from the next Monday, was not that good because his management team was not informed and his employees were not prepared and were under a lot of stress and pressure.
"I was simply astonished," said an engineer interviewed after the announcement. "Many Rakuten employees are allergic to English."[ CITATION Nee12 \l 1033 ]
On the other hand, the benefits from this action were a lot, it provides the employees with extra skills, global market and expansion, by linking the salary to the TEOIC results employees will be motivated, also as the British council reports that by 2020 over 2 billion people will be studying English which will lead to global synergy and mainly it will provide better communication between branches in different countries.
Although all the benefits there are not a few costs. By forcing employees to speak English they may start having negatives. The employees may be less innovative and creative since they are not
speaking in their native language. People do not share their opinions from fear from the language barrier. Senior employees may be demotivated and the cost for English classes.
On the questions that a lot of people ask “Why everyone? Why not only the frontline staff who must interact with global customers?” Hiroshi Mikitani answers like that:
“Imagine how much time would be saved if everyone in your company worldwide could communicate quickly, easily, without translation time. Imagine how much more innovative your company could be if language barriers ceased to exist. Imagine how you would be perceived if you were able to lead your company through a transformation as big and as bold as Englishnization.”[CITATION htt2 \t \l 1033 ]
In our opinion, even though with all the many costs the Englishnization was a good idea because we always have to find a way to upgrade ourselves and to improve our work.
As said by Jefferson,
“With Great Risk Comes Great Reward”[ CITATION Jef \l 1033 ]
Question-
What are Mikitani’s motivations for issuing the “Englishnization” policy?
According to Mr. Hiroshi Mikitani
"If they don't have a language strategy, they'll regret it.” (Neeley, 2012)
In nowadays multinational corporations need to operate in the “business language” which essentially is considered to be English. Since Mikitani is aiming to change Japan to better he has to make risky decisions like the Englishnization.
He wants for his company to be a role model for all of the Japanese companies and to change the thing that he dislikes, which is the mentality as an “island country”, the protected information and the attempts of the media to control everything.
The key objectives of Mikitani approach for globalization were
Globalization Change of Islands mentality
“Simply put, Japanese culture and etiquette doesn’t groom people to become confident communicators in English.”[ CITATION The11 \l 1033 ]
In comparison to other categories of employees’ we can also see that native Japanese were getting less support and encouragement from their immediate mangers varyingly around 20% and 6%. It can also be seen that the implementation of Englishnization have heavily affected on the performance of the employees, they were more concerned about their TOFIC scores demotivating them to work hard rather than performing their core roles. Englishnization can be referred as a poison pill for native Japanese employees, which they were forced to swallow by the fear of degradation from their positions.
Overall, we can conclude that despite the unpopularity of Englishnization, it was the need of hour for company if they are going global. It can be described as a one size fit policy. Though employees was struggling enough to improvise their ability to but at the same time they were Afraid, frustrated and nervous that they may not be able to steer the policy towards success.
Question- 4
What determines whether employees embrace or reject the language stipulation?
To evaluate whether Englishnization was accepted as a lingua franca by the employees of Rakuten, we have to consider various aspects that will help us to determine the results. Based on the case study following factors can be useful to understand their reaction.
1- Time Constraints
“Finding the time to study English was a common challenge for Rakuten employees.” (Neeley T., 2013)
2- The Rakuten Way: Do-It-Yourself
In our way it was a right approach by Mikitani to pay for their own education as it will make them more committed towards this organizational goal.
“It’s a demonstration of commitment.” (Neeley T., 2013)
3- Immediate Managers
The role of managers was of great importance in this sceniro per the survey Exhbit-3 it was seen that Japanese speakers was less motivated by their mangers as compared with foreigners and native English speakers.
4- Age factor
It was evident that younger members were seen more interested and encouraged as compared with senior members of company.
5- Rakuten’s Audit report on Englishnization
The Yee’s audit report on Englishnization was a handy tool for evaluation of performances on English proficiency.
We can conclude by saying that, employees who embrace Englishnization were young members as they see this as a potential opportunity to grow and also the native English speakers were quite excited because now they can fully communicate with their Japanese colleagues. On the other hand the rejection came mainly from senior members of the company as they found it difficult for them to adopt new language considering the age factor. Others were the employees who were working on local offices having no need of interaction in English.
Question-
What are the effects of “Englishnization” on Rakuten? Should Mikitani continue with “Englishnization”? If he does continue, what improvements should Mikitani make?
If we want evaluate the effects of Englishnization we can verify it through an independent perspective.
“After years of Rakuten building the English level of its employees, Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Mikitani noted recently that the effort has finally paid off...” (Times, 2017)
On the other hand, it is to be well noted that,
“A strategy such as Rakuten’s, however, perhaps misses a point that Twitter seems to realize. Speaking English alone is not enough...[ CITATION Ric15 \l 1033 ]
Perhaps that people must realise that English on its own is just a language and not knowledge. Perhaps the importance it is important as a global language of communication. So adopting English as a language of international communication is a good step. However it can never supplant knowledge on its own.
References
(2017). Retrieved from En: en.oxforddictionaries/definition/lingua_franca
Girard, K. (2012, March 19). HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’. Retrieved from Harward Business School Working Knowledge: hbswk.hbs/item/hbs-cases- overcoming-the-stress-of-englishnization
Japan Times. (2015, May 23). Rakuten forges ahead in English. Retrieved from Japan Times: japantimes.co/opinion/2015/05/23/editorials/rakuten-forges-ahead- english/#.WlUiIExFxPb
Jefferson, T. (n.). Retrieved from Establish Connections: establishconnections.wordpress/2013/09/23/with-great-risk-comes-great-reward-t- jefferson/
Mikitani, H. (2013, April 2). Englishnization: The Reasons Why. Retrieved from Linkedin: linkedin/pulse/20130402135759-52782505-englishnization-the-reasons-why
Mikitani, H. (2013, April 02). Englishnization: The Reasons Why. Retrieved from Linkedin: linkedin/pulse/20130402135759-52782505-englishnization-the-reasons-why
Neeley, T. (2012, March 19). HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’. Retrieved from Harvard Business School working knowledge: hbswk.hbs/item/hbs-cases- overcoming-the-stress-of-englishnization
NEELEY, T. (2012, March 19). HBS Cases: Overcoming the Stress of ‘Englishnization’. Retrieved from Harvard Business School working Knowldge: hbswk.hbs/item/hbs-cases-overcoming- the-stress-of-englishnization
Smart, R. (2015, September 08). Thinking differently: Japan works to escape the Galapagos effect. Retrieved from Japan Today: japantoday/category/business/thinking-differently- japan-works-to-escape-the-galapagos-effect
The Diplomat. (2011, May 13). A New Japan. Retrieved from The Diplomat: thediplomat/2011/05/why-english-is-tough-in-japan/
Rakuten Casestudy
Kurs: Business Administration
Universität: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen
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