...1 Was “Englishnization” a good idea for Rakuten? What are the costs/benefits of such a policy? Rakuten’s decision for “englishnization” of the company is 100% in line with the trend that “English is now the global Language of Business” Englishnization of global corporations: Strategy is Needed by Sebastian Reiche blog.iese.edu It still doesn’t mean an easy transition. People naturally oppose any changes and that can lead to higher costs especially in the beginning stages. The way Mikitani announced the “Englishnization” policy, without consulting with his management team did not prepare any employees for this change. The employers were immediately put under a lot of stress and experience a lot of pressure. Also linking the worker’s salaries to their English results and improvements increases the stress and uncertainty among employers. Higher stress levels normally have a negative impact on your efficiency and result in lower productivity. Poor communication (because of the immediate ban on any other language) also leads to lower productivity due to misunderstandings and waste of time. Despite these original costs in the short term, this Englishnization policy will have a lot more benefits for the company in the long way. As mentioned above English is the Global language of Business and this policy will lead to better communication between all international business. Being English efficient, managers will understand their competitors strategies better and will...
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...For exclusive use Macquarie University, 2015 9-412-002 REV: APRIL 3, 2013 TSEDAL NEELEY Language and Globalization: "Englishnization" at Rakuten (A) Our goal is not becoming No. 1 in Japan but becoming the No. 1 Internet services company in the world. By 2050, Japanese GDP as a portion of global GDP will shrink from 12% in 2006 to 3%. As we consider the future potential growth of the Japanese market and our company, global implementation is not a nice-to-have but a must-do. — Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group With less than a year to go before his self-imposed deadline of migrating to the exclusive use of English at Rakuten, Japan’s largest online retailer, CEO Hiroshi Mikitani (HBS ‘93) found himself seated outside Paris at the May 2011 e-G8 summit1. Seated alongside Internet, political, and business luminaries, Mikitani was among those shaping technology’s future agenda. But his future, his company’s future, was closing in on him. In a matter of days he would announce his acquisition of Ikeda in Brazil, marking another step in his company’s global ascent. And in a matter of months, he would evaluate its most critical stride toward becoming the world’s No. 1 Internet services company: the transition of his 7,100 Tokyo employees from their native Japanese to English, the global language of business. The future of his company lay in the success of his boldest step yet. Mikitani’s vision rested with his Japanese employees, who had fifteen...
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