PERSONNEL PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES AND JOINT VENTURES IN JAPAN.

Eighty-six expatriate (US and European) and twenty-one Japanese executives were interviewed with regard to the nature of personnel related problems in international companies and Joint ventures in Japan. For crossvalidation 200 questionnaires each (with the same questions asked in the interview) were sent to different expatriate and Japanese managers. Expatriate managers perceived 16 specific problems, 12 of them mainly interaction difficulties like communication, information gathering, and problem solving, while 3 dealt with company-wide issues such as labor unions, personnel turnover, and recruiting of quality personnel. Japanese managers perceived only 8 major issues. The survey results basically concur with the findings of the interviews. Probable causes of the problems are discussed and solutions are suggested where appropriate. It is the conclusion of the study that expatriate managers in Japan like to change the people to fit the system while Japanese managers prefer to change the system to fit the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]