Job Discussion Forums

[matador]

I think both seniority and ability are important factors in Japanese and foreign owned MNCs in Japan; its just a question of emphasis when promotion time comes around.

Based on my experience of working at both types of company (and listening to the views of my students), it would appear that , in general, Japanese companies are 60%/40% (with seniority being 60%/ability 40%).

On the other hand, I would reverse those figures for MNCs in Tokyo such as Intel. The figures might also change between different departments such as front line management, field sales and processing and transactions.

There would also be differences between companies in different areas (finance, IT , banking and manufacturing. Regardless of whether they are Japanese owned or not, some professions are more/less traditional/progressive than others and this is reflected in the decisions that are made at promotion time.

You are far more likely to see a 30 year old CEO in software development than you are in banking...

[TokyoLiz]

alexcase,