Management under Uncertainty - Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Introduction 6 2.0 The JET Program 7 2. A Psychological Perspective 8 2.1.1 The Interns 8 2.1.2 The Japanese Employees 9 2.1.3 Sick leave and Psychology 10 Recommendations 11 References 13 Executive Summary Sick leave is mainly considered to be an essential aspect of employee welfare in the working place. The employee work life concern has brought about a number of debates. Whereas some organizations and employers question the amount of time employees should be given for sick leaves, some employees claim to not obtaining enough of the recommended sick leave days. A major focus is on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), which has existed in helping foreign students to obtain training opportunities in Japan. The interns who participate in the JET program experience a real life work environment, which helps to prepare them for their future career advancements. Despite the documented procedures set by the Program officials on the observation of sick leave, most of the interns claim to be experiencing the opposite. The oversight of such employment agreements influences the performance of the employees and staff alike. Whereas some theorists support that individual behaviour is commonly formulated from the internal as well as external factors, the Attribution theory may thus provide a key basis for assessing the psychology as well as the behaviour of the interns participating in the JET program. According to Robbins and Judge (2011), the behaviour of an individual in an organization can be mainly formed and structured from the different factors that they experience or go through in the working environment. To enhance the psychology of interns and other employees in the JET program, it is vital for the officials concerned with the program to consider the following: 1. The way the sick leave impacts on the psychology of the interns and employees within the organization. 2. A formal way of addressing the concerns raised by the interns and the employees on the unfair ways through which the supervisors are taking advantage of their deserved sick leaves. 3. Forming ways of ensuring that there are open systems in place that will enable the interns to access the sick leaves when they need it. 1.0 Introduction Sick leaves are mainly designed to help employees relax as well as have a break from the normal stress of work. In various researches conducted to identify the connection between sick leaves and work performances, scholars have noted that, work stresses as well as personal issues contribute a great deal to the way people perform at their work places. For instance, Kelly, together with some of her fellow interns could not function effectively in the work place because of their health challenges (Roy, 2003). They all took a sick leave to help them recuperate before resuming their work. If they had not been able to do so, chances are that their work performance and efficacy would have dropped as they would be struggling with their illnesses and trying to be efficient at the same time. Consequently, the psychological aspect of the interns would also have been affected. However, despite the sick leave taken by Kelly, she and her fellow interns still faced the challenge of dealing with their supervisor who was trying to coerce them into signing their paid leave and not sick leave documents (Lund & Labriola, 2009). Such occurrences contribute to the general psychology of the worker as well as impacts on their behaviour towards their supervisor. For example, following this event, Kelly and her fellow interns had a different opinion of their supervisor, Mr. Higashi. They changed their perception of him as a fatherly person to one that was not friendly. One of the interns changed and decided to not talk to him at all because of this tyranny behaviour. In situations where the workforce is not in good terms with their officials and the management, there is a high probability that their contribution towards the growth of that organization will drop. Employee relation contributes in a major way towards their productivity as well as the advancement of the organization. The attitude that the foreign interns form of their supervisor might impact on the future of the JET program. This is in that, while Kelly contemplates forwarding her complains to the International office, there is fear that this case might affect the relationship between the Japanese program and other officials responsible for running the JET program (Roy, 2003). 2.0 The JET Program Over the years, the JET program has been enhanced to help the Japanese English educators to advance the proficiency of the English language among the Japanese populace. Originally, the American participants were brought in to keep an eye on the Japanese English teachers as well as give a hand to them on their training to perfect their knowledge of the English language. On the other hand, this program can be acknowledged to have helped in enhancing the relationship between Japan and Britain. This is because, whilst the foreign interns helped the Japanese teachers with their proficiency of the English language, they were also able to learn the Japanese culture and hence, improve their national relations with the Japanese people. This relation considerably contributed to the unfastening of the Japanese culture and exposure to the international arena, it also advocated for the start of numerous educational exchange programs which has since then seen to the interaction of Japanese students with people from other nationalities (Mehlum, 2011). Considering the diversification of the JET programs, the Japanese Government factored in three different governmental ministries to help in facilitating the success of the program. Among the major contributing ministries is the Foreign affairs, which mainly helps in the creation and maintenance of international relations with the different nations that participate in the exchange program, the ministry of education which, ostensibly contributes towards the increase of knowledge and skills for both the foreign students along with the Japanese students and the ministry of Home Affairs which basically comes in between to ensure the proper care of the foreign students in the host country. Prior to this, the JET program was mainly denoted as the Monbusho English Fellows and later as the British English Teachers Scheme as it majorly focused on the enhancement of the training and learning of the English language among the Japanese community with the assistance British natives (Roy, 2003). 2. A Psychological Perspective Looking at the interns through a psychological perspective majorly helps in identifying their change in attitude towards their supervisor as well as their work behaviour. To be able to achieve this, it is essential to focus on the interns, the Japanese employees as well as the connection between the sick leave and the psychology of the interns (Mehlum, 2011). 2.1.1 The Interns Kelly is a Canadian native sent out to Japan as an intern for the JET program. She experiences a new life in Japan and is excited about it because she looks forward to advancing her knowledge of the Japanese language. While in Japan, she meets up with other English interns who like her have been selected to participate in the JET program. On arriving to Japan, Kelly first forms a positive perception of their supervisor who seemingly appears to be friendly and kind. Unlike the native Japanese employees, the foreign interns are exempted from working past the official office hours as well as from working over the weekends. This provides Kelly with an opportunity to tour Japan and experience the region (Quan, 2007). While the new experience seems to be intriguing for the interns, the constant pressure from their supervisor, Mr. Higashi who tries to push Kelly and her fellow interns to take part in other Japanese cultural activities appears to be unnecessary. Kelly feels that her supervisor is trying to force her to participate in the seemingly male dominated Japanese culture by coaxing her into taking part in some of the activities set up for women within the society. This considerably pushed Kelly and her colleagues to form a different view of Mr. Higashi (Burton, 2001). The interns generally came to learn to not depend on their supervisor for advice or direction on doing things. They turned to their fellow Japanese colleagues who seemed to be more productive and helpful. Further, the relationship between the interns and Mr. Higashi seemed to be falling out. This is mainly because of the supervisor’s attitude and autocratic form of leadership. Mr. Higashi seemed to be making plans and rearranging meetings for the interns without consulting them first. This led to numerous conflicts as the interns felt like they were being forced to do as their supervisor wanted. However, they all seemed to be assertive and stood their ground, a factor which affected their working relationship with their supervisor (Healey, 2005). 2.1.2 The Japanese Employees On the other hand, the Japanese employees had a different psychological perception of the foreign interns. They felt that they could not get too attached as the interns were rarely there to stay. Additionally, the language differences appeared to be causing major strains for the workers who could not express themselves fluently in English and the in-proficiency of the Japanese language among the interns. These challenges made communication in the workplace difficult. The native Japanese workers felt frustrated. Consequently, the Japanese workers seemed to have issues with the foreign interns as they perceived them to be younger than them and thus, did not feel comfortable when the JET program assigned the younger interns as their superiors. They perceived themselves to be more experienced and capable of handling their jobs effectively and thus did not need to be told what to do with someone who was ostensibly younger than them and who was rarely there for long, and hence did not know the going on of the organization (Antoniou and Cooper, 2005). Additionally, the Japanese workers viewed the foreign interns as uncommitted to their work. While the native workers were expected to work long hours in addition to the weekends, the foreign interns did not have to because of their contract with the program. This largely affected the way the natives perceived the interns and thus affecting their work relations with them. 2.1.3 Sick leave and Psychology According to Teale et. Al. (2003), a person can be capable of forming their perceptions basing on different aspects of their life. For instance, the way one views things will depend on their experience, knowledge, exposure as well as the existing conditions. This assertion is seemingly in line with the attribution theory where Robbins and Judge (2011) posit that, the internal as well as external factors can contribute to the way an individual reacts to a situation. These declarations can be aligned with the way the interns as well as the native Japanese workers view each other in addition to the way the interns relate to the workers and their supervisor. Kelly sees the change in working relations, perception and behaviour between their supervisor and Suzanne and Mark, two of the interns taking part in the JET program as arising from the conflict in perception between the working environment and leadership style existing between the two nationalities. Whereas Suzanne and Mark ascribe to the English style of leadership and working environment, where employees are allowed to take sick leave and contribute to the decisions being made by management, Mr. Higashi seems to have a different view of the same. According to his perception, the management seems to be in control of all the decisions affecting the workers as well as responsible for determining the amount of sick leave employees can take and when they can take them (Wade & Tavris, 2000). By side lining the contribution of the employees in decision making, Mr. Higashi influences the way they perceive him as an individual as well as their behaviour at work. Suzanne for instance becomes in-agreeable and tends to challenge every decision and proposal made by Mr. Higashi. This puts a strain in their working relations. On the other hand, Kelly seems to contemplate which action to take to prevent Mr. Higashi from taking advantage of them by forcing them to sign a paid leave sheet instead of a sick leave sheet that they deserved as employees. Recommendations In light of the major concerns raised on the issue of sick leave and work efficacy, the following essential aspects have been noted and recommendations suggested helping in the future decision making process regarding sick leaves. Table 1 Recommendation for the Future Description Recommendation Priority Unsatisfied interns as evidenced by the change in behavior and attitude Forming ways of ensuring that there are open systems in place that will enable the interns to access the sick leaves when they need it. Conduct a case study on the way the sick leave impacts on the psychology of the interns and employees within the organization. Design a formal way of addressing the concerns raised by the interns and the employees on the unfair ways through which the supervisors are taking advantage of their deserved sick leaves. Moderate High High References Antoniou, A. S., & Cooper, C. L. (2005). Research companion to organizational health psychology. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Burton, R. F. (2001). Goa, and the blue mountains, or, Six months of sick leave. Santa Barbara, Calif: Narrative Press. Healey, J. (2005). The changing workplace. Thirroul, N.S.W: Spinney Press. Lund, T., & Labriola, M. (2009). Sickness absence in Denmark: research, results and reflections. Scand J. Work Environ Health; 2009, 7:5-14 Mehlum, I.S. (2011). How much sick leave is work-related? Retrieved from http://tidsskriftet.no/article/45390/en_GB Quan, K. (2007). The everything guide to careers in health care: Find the job that's right for you. Avon, Mass: Adams Media. Robins, S and Judge, T. (2011). Perception and individual decision making in Organizational behaviour. 14th edition. Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education Inc. Prentice Hall Roy, L. (2003). Negotiation: readings, exercises and cases. 4th edition, Case 7 Teale, M., Dispenza, V., Flynn, J., & Currie, D. (2003). A psychological dimension in management decision making towards an integrative approach. United Kingdom: UK. Pearson Education Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2000). Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More