Confidential Role Information for Kelly.

You have been working for the Soto Board of Education in Japan for the past six months. You are the only foreigner working in the office and were hired to assist with the English language program in the citys public schools. You recently graduated with a degree in management from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Although not a prerequisite for this position, you have studied and speak some Japanese. You decided to spend some time in Japan in order improve your Japanese and to make yourself more marketable when you return to Canada to start your career. This is your first time in Japan and aside from the inevitable culture shock; you have had relatively no problem adjusting to your new surroundings. You attribute your ease of adjusting to the Japanese culture to the organization back in Canada which hired you. They were very thorough in briefing you about life in Japan and provided you with what you considered to be excellent pre-departure training. One aspect that you find hard to adjust to is the commitment which the Japanese have for their work. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. and officially ends at 5:00 p.m., but no one ever leaves the office before 7 or 8:00 p.m. The Japanese employees also work on Saturdays, which you find absurd since it infringes on what you consider to be personal and family time and you know that their salaries do not reflect the extra time put in on the weekends. You have a standard North American contract that you were given before leaving Canada which stipulates your hours, number of vacation days, how many days sick leave youre entitled to, etc. You work from Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00 p.m., but stay later if you have legitimate work to do (which is practically never). No one has ever asked you to stay after 5 p.m. and you have never been requested to come in on the weekend. You know that you receive what could be considered preferential treatment but the conditions of your employment were carefully outlined in your contract, and the people in your office seem to be following them to the letter which suits you fine. The only person in your office who speaks English is your supervisor, Mr. Higashi, and since your Japanese is not very good, you rely on him for all important office communications. Mr. Higashi is what you consider to be a traditional middle aged Japanese man. He works late every night and often goes out with the other men in the office to discuss business at the local sake establishments. He seems to have very conservative values and frowns upon innovation or change. His wife stays home to run the household and raise their two children, and Mr. Higashi doesnt think that women should be in the work force after marriage. Mr. Higashi is constantly bugging you to immerse yourself in Japanese culture and lifestyle. When you started practicing Kendo, a Japanese style of fencing, he was very pleased and you hoped he would drop the issue once and for all. You dont mind trying or adopting some of the Japanese ways, but you dont like feeling pressured to convert. After all, you have been hired only on a one year contract basis, which is renewable to a maximum of three, so you know that you are not going to be staying in Japan forever. -2- Last Monday you woke up with a severe fever and sore throat. You called in sick and were told by Mr. Higashi to rest until you were better, but to bring in a doctors note when you came back to work. After hanging up the phone, you thought that it was a bit ridiculous to get out of bed and go see a doctor about a simple flu, but you went to the clinic and got a note for your office. Two days later you returned to the office and brought with you the note from the physician. Mr. Higashi seemed concerned about your health and asked if you were feeling any better. You handed him the note telling him it was from your doctor. He took it without so much as a thank you and threw it onto a pile of papers on his desk. Around mid-morning, the office accountant comes to your desk with forms for you to sign. In spite of your limited Japanese, you are able to understand that these forms had to do with your absence and that you are signing for two days of your paid vacation time. You assume that she has made a mistake and try to explain to her that you were not on vacation, but were sick and that your contract allows you to take sick leave. The accountant appears to not understand, and motions for you to sign the papers. You go over to Mr. Higashis desk and tell him about the misunderstanding. To your surprise he tells you that there is no misunderstanding and that this is standard procedure in Japan. He tells you that since you work for a Japanese company, you may as well start behaving like a Japanese employee. He tells you that Japanese employees normally do not take their allotted paid vacation time each year because of their dedication to their work. He also says that when Japanese employees are sick, it is not uncommon for them to deduct the time off from their paid vacation and not use their sick leave out of respect for their employers. Mr. Higashi says that this is what you should do. You are so dumbfounded that you go back to your desk without speaking. Back at your desk you cannot believe what just happened. You know that your contract allows more than twenty days of sick leave and this is the first time that you have been sick. Your contract says nothing about having to bring in a doctors note, but you think that it should help to strengthen your case since it proves that you really were ill. You realize that your supervisor wants you to blend in to the Japanese way of doing things, but this is a fine time for him to start and besides, you have already planned a big vacation in the spring. If you lose two days now, you wont be able to go on your trip. The accountant has already come back twice to have you sign the paper and you have sent her away both times. You have approached your supervisor again on the subject and he is still adamant on the fact that this is the Japanese way of doing things and that it is time for you to Do as the Romans do. You try to reason with him but he refuses to talk to you. There is no way that you are going to sign the paper for paid vacation. Your contract says that you are entitled to sick leave and you have a doctors certificate to prove that you were. You know that you arent being unreasonable; you just want what is rightfully yours. It is more than the spring vacation at stake; it is the principle of the matter.

Quick Prep Worksheet

The Issues: What are the key issues that I want agreement on? Rank the issues in order of importance for you. (1 mark)

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________

Issue-By-Issue Planning. For each of my issues, what is my (a) opening point, (b) target point, and (c) resistance point? (1 mark)

ISSUE OPENING POINT TARGET POINT RESISTANCE POINT

1.

2.

3.

4.

My Interests. What I really care about. What are my wants, needs, concerns, hopes and fears. Note: this is not the same as issues; you do not have to provide one example of each of the above if it does not apply. (1 mark)

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________

Their interests. * What I think the other party really cares about. Their wants, needs, concerns, etc. (1 mark)

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________

* Identify which of their interests are similar (S), different but not conflicting (D), and conflicting (C) by noting this above. (.5 marks)

Options. List possible agreements or bits of an agreement that we might reach to satisfy both parties. Note: This should not just be a list of your target points. (1 mark)

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________________

Objective/ Independent Standards (Legitimacy): External standards or precedents that might convince one or both of us that a proposed agreement is fair when our interests conflict. Indicate the most appropriate or relevant standard with an asterisk (*). (1 mark)

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________

My BATNA (walk-away alternative). What can I do if I walk away without an agreement? What is my best alternative (indicate with an *)? (1 mark)

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

Their BATNA. What do I think their BATNA is? (1 mark)

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

People Problems. What people problems (e.g. biases, attitudes, emotions) are likely to arise in the negotiation that I should be prepared for, and how might I deal with these problems? Note: be specific; focus on the issues in the current negotiation scenario, and answer both parts of the question. (.5 marks)

________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Overall strategy. What is the main strategy that I will use for the negotiation? Why? If there is more than one, which strategy will I use for which issues? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________