Japan’s culture consists of a blend of island culture as well as culture from neighboring Asian countries. This ultimately helped them form their own unique culture. Along with cultural influences from other countries, their geographical location formed much of their way of life.

“Japanese culture developed with strong contributions from Chinese civilization, but did so under the conditions of self-sufficiency characteristic of an island state” ( Prasol, 2010). Living on an island measn that much of their resources must either come from the resources on land, the surrounding waters, or by means of importing and exporting. The second method can become quite costly. This can be seen on other islands such as Hawaii. The cost of living in Hawaii is higher due to its lack of natural resources needed for modern day development. At the same time, living on an island often gives a certain landscape that can be difficult to find in other parts of the world. An example could be the Japanese pear, which is large, round and crispy like that of an apple but has a taste closer to that of a pear. Here, you can find them at some grocery stores labeled as “Asian pears” and I highly recommend trying one if you haven’t before.

“While modern Japan no longer functions solely this way, the work ethic and creativity that arose from that type of economy persists today to solve other problems such as shrinking habitable land because of the dense population” (Pennsylvania State University, 2016)This type of mindset is persistent throughout the generations from their tough work ethic was essential to developing the island. This is something to keep in mind when working with not only Japan but cultures that come from an island life in general being that they likely had a similar experience. Being on an island means that the water is very crucial to their resources such as fish. Back in the day and fishing was more manual, this required much more physical labor and therefore was in more physical shape.

Prior to technological advancements, the work ethic that came with living on an island greatly influenced their survival. Now a days, their work ethic continues to influence their daily lives. The dense population and limited land available on an island is now becoming their key to survival.

 

References:

Pennsylvania State University (2016). Lesson 11: Asia: Focus on Japan from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179129

 

Aleksandr Fedorovich Prasol (2010). Modern Japan: Origins of the Mind : Japanese Traditions and Approaches to Contemporary Life. World Scientific.

South America is such a large region that there is much diversity. Particularly Brazil as it is largest country in South America. Whilst diversity can bring a multitude of advantages such as different points of views, it can also bring conflict amongst one another.
“That said, like much of South America, economic disparity between the rich and the poor persists, which prevents the crime rate from declining.”(Pennsylvania State University) With a large economic divide within the country, there is bound to be conflict. It is noticeable that a figure that comes from a wealthy background is perceived as an antagonist. Examples can be seen in many movies where there is a rich prince who thinks he is deserving of a princess but then the princess falls in love with the boy from the countryside.With this mindset, it can be difficult to break the barrier between the two therefore causing crime.
“Many of the economies in South America are growing at a tremendous rate. Much of the continent is tapping into its vast resources, which are leading to modernization and expansion of wealth.”(Pennsylvania State University) One in particular to Brazil is their aerospace economy. “Embraer S.A. (Portuguese pronunciation: [ẽbɾaˈɛɾ]) is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft and provides aeronautical services.” (Wikipedia) The aerospace market has been primarily two major companies known as The Boeing Company and Airbus. That has recently changed with emerging companies such as Bombardier from Canada and Embraer from Brazil. Brazil has tapping into their natural resources and with that are able to have a larger share of the aerospace market. These smaller companies are fighting for business so it becomes much more difficult for larger companies to compete when these other smaller companies are offering the same service for a cheaper price.
Brazil being the largest country in South America has been able to place a large footprint in the world’s economy. Although its economy is growing at an exponential rate, it can cause the a large economic divide within the country.

References:

Embraer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2016, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2016). Lesson 8: South America: Focus On Brazil
Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179106

People tend to fear what they do not understand. This can come with changes in a company as people can become accustomed to their daily routine. I see this quite often in my workplace where a new manager will present new ideas that will clash with the old way of doing things and both sides fight for their own reasoning. A common phrase we’re trying to steer away from “This is how we’ve always done it.”

“People are often resistant to change in general” (Pennsylvania State University). A company I worked for was moving from Microsoft’s Sharepoint to Epicor’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). ERP 10, the latest version, was just released so we were one of their guinea pigs. As with all latest and greatest advances, there are many bugs and issues yet to be resolved. Being so, there was much frustration going on throughout the entire company.

In the system, there is a program that sales would use called “configurators”. This would configure a product based on a menu-based selection therefore pulling all the materials needed helping keep track of inventor. I was put in charge of creating these “configurators” which involved C# coding, something of which I had no background in. I bravely took on the challenge and began figuring out the system. Working in the system, I had managers breathing down my neck to do what seemed like the impossible. So not only was it frustrating for the users but also for the people working on the system itself. There were several meetings with ERP support where we would have to fly them in and pay for their lodging just for them to be there to aid us.

After months of creating these configurators, it was time to present them to the sales team. This would be the unfreezing part of Schein’s planned theory, “Creating the motivation to change” (Pennsylvania State University). I was to show the team how useful it would be and how much easier it was to do their job with my configurators. To have everyone together and show them the new way of doing their job was quite daunting and of course had much confusion which leads to the second part of Schein’s theory which is changing. “The actual changes in behaviors and attitudes to the new desired behaviors and attitudes” (Pennsylvania State University). After giving them this new tool, I had to ensure they were not only using it but using it correctly. I would routinely check up on people and ask for their feedback if they’d like anything changed. This helped them adjust to the new system and furthermore feel that they had a support system if they needed help. This leads to Schein’s last step of refreezing, “stabilizing the changes by freezing the new behaviors into the standard behavior” (Pennsylvania State University). After making the changes they ask for, it started coming to a point where I just had to make minor tweaks. I made sure that they knew I was there to support them if they were confused how to use the system all the way to what would make their job easier.

When they’re satisfied, they’re more likely to see the benefits of the system. One of the newsletters of the company had a section where they asked some people what they liked about it. This helped boost morale as well as brought light to ideas others may not have seen. The change from one system to another was not a smooth one but I’m glad I was able to be a part of making the change.

 

References:

Penn State University World Campus. (2016a). Lesson 5: Learning and Changing in a Global Context

Retrieved From https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179081

 

Penn State University World Campus. (2016b). Lesson 5: Learning and Changing in a Global Context

Retrieved From https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179082

These first two weeks has opened my eyes to how culture surrounds me more than I realized. While it is clear that when we look around us, we are all different, it takes time and effort to understand how and why. As stated in lesson two, “people from a particular area often behave in similar fashion.”(PSU)

What came to mind when reading that statement is when I was on social media and there was a quiz that was named something along the lines of “What region are you from based on what words you use.” I went ahead and took the quiz and it was correct in saying I was from the west coast. An example of one of the questions was “What do you call a fizzy drink?” And the choices were “Pop, Soda, Coke, Other”. So even though everyone in the US may be talking about the same thing, we all have our own way of speaking and when we hear it a different way, we might assume they’re from a different region.
On a larger scale, when we encounter people of different cultures we may be unaware of their way of living and may possibly offend them. In the video “Cultural gaffes beyond your borders” one example they gave that I was unaware of was that “in Mexico, it is typical for two people to talk close together. It is unfriendly to back away” (Peace corps n.d.) This is something I probably would have done because I grew up where having a “personal bubble” is normal and for someone to “invade my space” could offend me.
Knowing more cultural differences allows me to know how I can try not to offend others unintentionally. Another thought that comes to mind is a photo I saw where a elementary school teacher wrote on the board the times table and wrote one wrong. All the kids laughed and pointed it out to them. Their response was that even though they did everything else correct, it is easy to point out the odd ball of group.
Although it has only been two weeks into the course, I find myself more aware of different cultures around me. Not only am I more aware but I feel a greater respect for other cultures because that is their normal way of living. I look forward to more concepts I will learn to apply to my every day life.

References:

Penn State University World Campus. (2016). Lesson 2: Introduction to Culture. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179054

Peace Corps. (n.d.) Cultural gaffes beyond your borders [Video file]. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/videos/beyond-borders/.

 

Hello everyone,

My name is Joey and I am in Seattle, WA. I am currently a machinist apprentice at a local aerospace company that just turned 100 this year .

I am currently in the mid 20’s of my career and hope to continue growing with the knowledge from this program. My long term goals are to hopefully go into a career that will allow me to work with people and motivate them to achieve their goals.

My prior leadership experience is quite limited. One scenario I remember is when I was working at another company and my supervisor gave me the role of a “lead” for a certain large project. We hired on 5 temps to assist and I was responsible of them including when break was/how long break was, what role each temp should do and making sure that they would stay on task.

One of my favorite quotes is…

“I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have
succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have
eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will
work.” – Thomas A. Edison

The reason this quote resonates with me is because I’m a big believer in trying something at least once even if that idea may sound like it will not work. I find it important to keep an open mind and appreciate everyone’s input in order to find success. I find determination and persistency to help me through my every day challenges and help me to improve upon myself.

A special hobby of mine is hiking and eating so if you’re ever in the area, let me know and I can give you some suggestions!

It’s great to meet you all and I look forward to working with everybody.

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