tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84856654144154871212024-03-14T21:35:38.328+09:00The Japan Summer InternshipSebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-35886369788488070612012-09-19T11:52:00.001+09:002012-09-19T11:52:52.992+09:00Getting ready to leave Japan!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello again! What are you doing here?!<br />
<br />
It's been quite a while since I posted on this blog but there are plenty of updates to come in the next few weeks. I've been very busy recently with a whole host of things such as final reports to send to both my company boss and the prefectural government, as well as very mundane tasks such as sorting out my shinkansen ticket back to Osaka and finalising my health insurance plan so that the Japanese government doesn't come looking for me once I've left the country!<br />
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As some of you may know, it was my birthday just over a week ago and I was very lucky to receive plenty of birthday wishes from my colleagues, friends and family. While I actually spent my birthday alone in an internet cafe looking at the flood of birthday wishes on Facebook, a couple of days ago two of my dearest friends actually came all the way from Osaka to see me (<i>you know who you are and I love you both!</i>) from the 14th until the 17th. We were hoping to go somewhere in order to get a nice view of Mount Fuji but a combination of 90% bad weather and 10% laziness on my part meant that we couldn't quite accomplish our goal. Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time with my friends, talking about some ... intimate.. topics (<i>you know what they are</i>) and drinking plenty of alcohol. It was both nostalgic and strange to finally hear people speaking the Kansai dialect again, but I was thankful to hear "<b>se ya na-</b>" (<i>sou desu ne</i>) and "<b>honma ni</b>" (<i>hontou ni</i>) once again.<br />
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I'm heading to the prefectural government headquarters on Friday to hand in my final report and give a presentation about my experience over the past two months, after which I'll grab my suitcase and head directly for the shinkansen back to Osaka. I'll be on the plane before midnight on the 23rd, marking my last day in Japan (<b>FOR NOW MUWHAHAH!</b>)<br />
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I will try to post one last update before I do, indeed, depart from this beautiful country, but if I don't quite have time, I'll definitely have plenty of updates and a wide variety of photos to upload once I get back to England and settle into my student halls.<br />
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<b>While you're waiting, let me leave you with one photo!</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_gelbEpsSZJNwvG2PlEGFFx1YCDO86gNsyMkxRfAqwbiVhM7qbBDXgTNG7n1Jo_ZBViYK8OZru6VVBANDBqse5JcIZ8oUrwRC41ESOtp3EO0zkutL7lDrfAOFmsFuObVQDpHzNEHptU/s1600/best+one.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_gelbEpsSZJNwvG2PlEGFFx1YCDO86gNsyMkxRfAqwbiVhM7qbBDXgTNG7n1Jo_ZBViYK8OZru6VVBANDBqse5JcIZ8oUrwRC41ESOtp3EO0zkutL7lDrfAOFmsFuObVQDpHzNEHptU/s640/best+one.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was very lucky to be taught Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) by Mrs Ikegaya last night!</td></tr>
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<b> </b> I have a lot to thank Mr Ikegaya for! He's been my boss, my mentor but most importantly, one of my best friends over the past two months. Whenever I was in trouble he would come to my aid in an instant. He always explained things in detail so that I would understand but without ever making me feel stupid. </div>
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<b> </b></div>
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Although we are separated by a hefty age gap, I know you're still only 21 <i>at heart</i>. Despite the difference in age, rather than a father I want to think of you as my big brother! </div>
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I'm not sure if he will read this, but I just want to say: </div>
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Thanks Mr Ikegaya, </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Thanks Ken!!</b></div>
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Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-160911240516418522012-09-08T20:40:00.000+09:002012-09-09T21:33:42.075+09:00Meeting a very important person<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgBwbf437xDcLnE0I44r4VvVas4-WTh498YVW-p96JzoshA_KqCBlHwxz_cBEw5qk8e4WJYpCtMpf5Tu4QEYCO4oGG-SJxRAmyuC__04jcGndGoPbnwDjpFbx3EQi6IX2Sa-jlIWh5NQ/s1600/me+and+ikegaya+san+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgBwbf437xDcLnE0I44r4VvVas4-WTh498YVW-p96JzoshA_KqCBlHwxz_cBEw5qk8e4WJYpCtMpf5Tu4QEYCO4oGG-SJxRAmyuC__04jcGndGoPbnwDjpFbx3EQi6IX2Sa-jlIWh5NQ/s320/me+and+ikegaya+san+edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and the boss!</td></tr>
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Today I was quite lucky to meet a very important person not only in the Shizuoka area but someone who is well known through Japan and even internationally! If I were not working at this company, I definitely wouldn't have any chance of meeting a person in such a high position. He is an old friend of my boss and they rose in the ranks of their respective companies together and eventually both became "erai" or people at (or very close to) the top. Today proved that business really is all about <i>people</i>, <u>people</u> and <b>people</b>. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I wasn't sure what to expect when my suddenly boss said, "Come on, Seb!" and took me along to meet a guest who had just turned up. We went to the meeting room and I introduced myself, talking briefly about why I’m at the company, what I’m doing exactly and where I’m from (<i>which inevitably involved the drivel about the London Olympics after mentioning anything about the UK</i>). After that, my boss said it was time for lunch, but it wasn't really what I had in mind! With such an important guest, we ate at <span style="color: #666666;"><strike>a swanky restaurant</strike> </span>the company cafeteria. I suppose I didn't really mind either way because I was content with the opportunity to have lunch with such an important person.<br />
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As you'll see from my <i>other</i> blog that highlights the<a href="http://totallyjapan.blogspot.jp/"> <b>funny and often weird aspects of Japan</b></a>, I like to joke around so I took the opportunity to pull out all the stops and really impress. I couldn't write the jokes here because they were mostly contextual puns and in Japanese, but I tried my best!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4BASNFAq5RshOzMvTvNfWKQ2qn71k63fLNfmSfyPWWUJPd2P8NA1e8y7KpI63zv1AUVOrZ39XANNlFhsIQ_ZUi-AfSfwRe9R-2mkFi7H8BZX1WKi3DJVdZHBIDlsumtjcCEz3657dMs/s1600/karukan_manju021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4BASNFAq5RshOzMvTvNfWKQ2qn71k63fLNfmSfyPWWUJPd2P8NA1e8y7KpI63zv1AUVOrZ39XANNlFhsIQ_ZUi-AfSfwRe9R-2mkFi7H8BZX1WKi3DJVdZHBIDlsumtjcCEz3657dMs/s400/karukan_manju021.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">absolutely delicious!</td></tr>
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After finishing lunch, we made our way back to the meeting room. On the way, my boss kept saying, "Oh, we have something really important to talk about, Seb…" and I began to think that I might have to wait <i>outside</i> for the remainder of the session. However, upon reaching the meeting room, my boss ordered a tray of tea and coffee, and everybody suddenly seemed very relaxed. Before I knew it, our guest whipped out a plastic bag containing <b>manju</b>, which is a popular traditional Japanese confection (<i>not to be confused with men who say things like "Shalom" and tend to visit Israel a lot!</i>). The best way to describe it would be a sweet red bean paste filling contained inside a mixture of flour, rice powder and buckwheat. <b><a href="http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/manju">Do you want to know how to make manju?</a> </b><br />
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The person who provided such a delicious snack was none other than Mr Setsuo Iida, the president of Suzuyo Marine Japan; a company within a large business group containing 100 affiliated companies. Suzuyo focuses mainly on logistics and with over 1000 employees and £640,000,000 in sales, it's safe to say that the group is fairly big time! Mr Iida also manages Vine Oak Consulting Japan and chairs the Board of Ningbo Port Suzuyo Logistics Company, so he is a man with considerable power and responsibility. With that power, he was clearly able to get the best manju money can buy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88RC2Z87QU9jM1MGwj85XTXbtxT6Mq0gjx0uBlv05F0FtLlkQxIvtD8r158SbAxjrmiRVEA7OdlhWKgPYX5mILUu_KqkVBGyv7iJmCtJhufNjaApfXWSmooU3OkW6oCv2CUMYiMBZIQ8/s1600/RC+501+RED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88RC2Z87QU9jM1MGwj85XTXbtxT6Mq0gjx0uBlv05F0FtLlkQxIvtD8r158SbAxjrmiRVEA7OdlhWKgPYX5mILUu_KqkVBGyv7iJmCtJhufNjaApfXWSmooU3OkW6oCv2CUMYiMBZIQ8/s640/RC+501+RED.JPG" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">although it's going on sale soon they haven't even decided on a name haha!</td></tr>
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Following a long conversation about the hardships of international business and the troubles of export companies in Japan while the yen is so strong, we finally moved to the <b>showroom</b>. Marutaka Techno is launching (<i>not literally</i>) a new massage chair on the 10th of September, so my boss wanted to show it to Mr Iida. He seemed to like it and I imagine that he will be getting one for <u>free</u> (<i>despite these things costing well over £3000 each</i>) because that's what happens when you're old friends with the boss of a company producing massage machines! <br />
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That leads nicely onto what I wanted to say about what I've learned from meeting Mr Iida. Firstly, it's clear that making and maintaining a strong network of contacts is extremely important in the business world. When someone rises in the ranks, there are more and more people fighting for their time and attention so it's vital that you have that advantage over the others, especially when you need to ask for a favour. My Boss even said to me, "If you weren't working with me in this company, there is absolutely no way that you would have been able to meet Mr Iida in this lifetime". Although I wouldn't exactly say lifetime, he is basically right. As a student from a bog-standard family with no friends in high places, I have no contacts; nobody to "<u><i>hook me up</i></u>". <br />
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Participating in the <b><a href="http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/sangyou/sa-530/english/businessintern.html">Shizuoka Business Internship Programme</a></b> has exposed me to a lot of important people, especially within the prefectural government. I've already met the majority of the senior staff within the Department of Economic Development (<i>including the chief</i>) and I've seen myself in the Shizuoka Newspaper twice! I mentioned in my post about <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/the-benefits-of-doing-internship.html">the benefits to doing an internship</a></b> that it's fine to come out of the experience without a job, because you will meet <i>at least</i> one senior individual who can put in a good word for you when push comes to shove. I knew Suzuyo Japan because they sponsor Shimizu S Pulse (a football team in the J-League Division 1), but I would imagine a lot of people outside of Japan not knowing the company or Mr Iida at all. Having said that, it's important to maintain a good relationship with <b>every</b> contact, <i>even</i> the ones who <u>seem</u> wholly insignificant.<br />
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You might end up forgetting about someone who turned out to be good friends with the boss of a company you were hoping to work for! <br />
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So that's it! It's often said that landing a good job is often down to <b>whom you know, not than what you know</b>. That sounds a bit unfair but there's nothing you can do about that. One of the key pillars of the business world is not going to fall down over night just for you and me. You know what I say?<br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you can't fight them, join them! </span></span><br />
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Armed with the knowledge that building a solid contact base is important, you should make sure that the first impression is good if not spot-on! Yesterday I thought that I'd made a mistake by using polite Japanese (<b><i>teineigo</i></b>丁寧語) rather than super-polite Japanese (<b><i>keigo</i></b>敬語), but our guest turned out to be a very funny and down-to-earth fellow. Looking back, I don't think we could have had such a relaxed conversation had I been uptight and over-polite the whole time. That's not to say that I skimped on the manners at all. <b>Manners</b> are important anywhere but Japan takes it one step further! I'll endeavour to post something about<b> Japanese business manners</b> in due course. <br />
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Until then,<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">thanks for reading and see you next time! </span></div>
Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-48297561454472005662012-09-04T09:49:00.002+09:002012-09-04T11:19:38.929+09:00Wait... what exactly is an internship?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've been going on for a while about internships and my experience as an intern at a Japanese company, but exactly <i>what is an internship</i>? The words "intern" and "internship" don't really have any legal definition or basis in UK law, but there are a few definitions scattered around the web to give us a bit of an idea of both what interns should expect and what should be expected of them<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b><a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/internship">The Free Dictionary</a></b><br />
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"A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training."<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/internship">Dictionary.com</a></b><br />
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<span class="fcimgh" id="fcimgh"> </span> <span class="mdbt" style="display: block;"></span> <span class="hdmd" id="hdmd"> <span class="hdfb"></span> <span class="hdg"> </span> </span> <br />
<div id="midRail"><div id="rpane"><div><div class="sep_top shd_hdr pb2 luna"><div class="KonaBody" style="padding-left: 0px;"><div class="lunatext results_content frstluna"><div class="luna-Ent"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">"any</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">official</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">formal</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">program</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">provide</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">practical</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">experience</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">for</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">beginners</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">occupation</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">profession:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">internship</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">for</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">management</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">trainees."</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="body"><div class="pbk"><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"></span> </span></span><br />
<div class="dndata"></div><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">"any</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">period</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">time</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">during</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">which</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">beginner</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">acquires</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">experience</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">occupation,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">profession,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">pursuit</span></span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">"</span> </span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />
<b><a href="http://www.prospects.ac.uk/faqs_internship.htm">Prospects - What is an internship?</a></b><br />
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<div class="alice_content_block">"An internship is a fixed limited period of time spent within industry. Some students do an internship as a compulsory part of their degree while others choose to do one. With each company it can differ lasting anything from one week to a year and can be part time or full time. As with the length, the payment that is offered depends on the company. You could receive minimum wage, have just your costs covered or in some cases receive nothing at all.<br />
Usually certain jobs are set aside for interns to do, such as helping with a company project. It is a good way to explore an industry and network to build up your contacts for your future career. There are certain industries where an internship, or unpaid work experience, is the only way in for most people."<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.graduateadvantage.co.uk/blog/2011/09/what-is-an-internship/">Graduate Advantage - What is an internship?</a></b><br />
<br />
"An internship is a period of work experience offered by an employer to give students and graduates exposure to the working environment, often within a specific industry, which relates to their field of study.<br />
Internships can be as short as a week or as long as 12 months. They can be paid or voluntary; however, before you start an internship it’s important to know your rights with regards to getting paid.<br />
Internships can be done in a range of sectors, including sales, marketing, engineering, graphic design, management, I.T. and many, many more. Throughout an internship you will develop a variety of soft skills, including communication skills, personal effectiveness, presentation skills, creative problem solving and influencing skills."<br />
<br />
Clearly, the details of any internship will differ depending on the industry. Some occupations require significant training before proficiency is achieved. A good example of this would be a job involving a lot of numbers and specific procedures. In contrast, writing for a magazine or marketing firm will probably require practice with a pinch of trial-and-error rather than step-by-step training, as there is no definitive way to write an article. Having said that, we can draw a base definition from the websites quoted above. <br />
<br />
To sum up, let's say that an internship should be an opportunity for someone to gain work experience through practical training, building upon the skills learned in the classroom. It is difficult to gauge the appropriateness of what you are asked to do until you know what it is you are expecting to be doing.<br />
During my internship, I have been guided around the company facilities and have spent the best part of a week in the company showroom, getting to know the products like the back of my hand. I've been editing product brochures and preparing emails to send to UK companies. My internship has (so far) been a mix of learning and practical hands-on experience so I can certainly say that my internship more or less matches the criteria above! While I can't guarantee that your internship will be as fulfilling as mine, I have my fingers crossed for you!</div></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-80950937856851356132012-08-31T20:08:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:19:55.605+09:00Financial troubles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Last time I was talking about the various benefits to be gained from doing an internship. The post was extremely positive for the most part but I ended it on a more sinister note. Although it is good to put a positive spin on life and be optimistic about things, it sometimes helps to consider the worst-case scenario.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The fact of the matter is that businesses aim to make the biggest profit possible and will often use unscrupulous methods to achieve that aim. Whether it <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">be </span>shady accounting practices or offering people “experience” as a means of increasing staff numbers for free, we have to come to terms with the world in which we are living. As I mentioned last time, poor economic conditions and relatively high unemployment are giving businesses more power and influence over the way internships and work experience programs are handled. With the government promoting apprenticeships and internships but stopping short of clarifying the employment status of interns, companies have an ever-growing choice of people willing to work for free.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_dNxjmJ3c4TpbaF0fBX4zsqSvkNjpLhGw7Txrqu04I8F1Uj01IjFM0fqEvhqShE0jSbgcMcr-jNnZ6sVaQoIN0v6QtgZ6aBTeCbrX0rpglbXKGwx8HmeyHNapqpkuBQuFULPK7O_Mzg/s1600/Nick-Clegg-Picture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_dNxjmJ3c4TpbaF0fBX4zsqSvkNjpLhGw7Txrqu04I8F1Uj01IjFM0fqEvhqShE0jSbgcMcr-jNnZ6sVaQoIN0v6QtgZ6aBTeCbrX0rpglbXKGwx8HmeyHNapqpkuBQuFULPK7O_Mzg/s400/Nick-Clegg-Picture.png" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credits : InternAware</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Financial troubles</u></b></div> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">It’s a well-known fact that the stipulations of an internship vary depending on the company, the industry, how much they want/need interns and the state of the economy at the time. With the UK economy as it is right now, there are quite a few people without a job. It’s not just fresh graduates who struggle to find work due to lack of experience, but long-term employees are also being let go as companies restructure in order to survive during this tough period. Since you don’t necessarily have to be paid (depending on your circumstances and the type of things you do during the training period), taking on people through such a programme can be a good way to bolster numbers without the financial burden. That’s all well and good for the firm but for you, as an unpaid intern, it can potentially make your life a living hell for the duration of your stay at the company. Although there are some fantastic companies that do pay their interns fairly (and sometimes handsomely), they are few and far between, and it’s better to focus on the worst-case scenario anyway. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We all know that there are rich students and graduates who are supported financially by their parents or wider family and we either are those people, we know someone like that, or we know someone who knows someone like that. People like me who aren’t so lucky can often view these richer graduates as having an unfair advantage but the fact is, there’s nothing you can do about it. They just happened to be born into a richer family that you did. These richer students and graduates are probably able to take up any internship paid or unpaid, knowing that Mum and Dad will foot the bill. Rather than getting jealous and trying to emulate them, it’s better to forget about them and just accept the hand you’ve been dealt in life. If you are not one of these wealthier people (and the distribution of wealth between the rich and poor leads me to believe that you’re probably not), you have to ask yourself one important question:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is doing this internship worth the financial trouble that I might encounter in the short, medium or long term?</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let’s say you are someone from Scotland considering an internship in the heart of London.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Have you done your homework on London? </div><div class="MsoNormal">Do you know how much it’s going to cost to live there? </div><div class="MsoNormal">Do you have enough money to survive? </div><div class="MsoNormal">If not, do you have time to get a part-time job on the weekend? </div><div class="MsoNormal">Is the company going to pay for (or at least help you look for) somewhere to stay?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwvFHfDxl3SMcJtphXeWgGIyvrJBBSSoNc_3W9pzrybcLLqSM-VfnrWaBuRgiPqiP7s9oAuJc5kXtdIX59Fn8yBKWCbpr_y_EuqbsHOTm_d_9cJNbg8nagnKWMlWKJnyWX_H_UNh9IMA/s1600/debt-free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwvFHfDxl3SMcJtphXeWgGIyvrJBBSSoNc_3W9pzrybcLLqSM-VfnrWaBuRgiPqiP7s9oAuJc5kXtdIX59Fn8yBKWCbpr_y_EuqbsHOTm_d_9cJNbg8nagnKWMlWKJnyWX_H_UNh9IMA/s400/debt-free.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">credits: UKDebtLine</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">You can see <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_10027201">here</a> that the minimum wage in the UK is only around £6 for workers aged 21 an above (and it’s going to increase by 11p… how generous!) and is much lower for those under 21. Also, <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_175108">here</a> is another article talking about how your pay will decrease slightly if your employer provides accommodation. If your circumstances entitle you to be paid, you will be legally entitled the minimum wage <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">at most</b>, so think carefully about where you are going to be financially during and after your internship. You may well be paid more than the bare minimum, but again it is much better to be brutally honest about your financial situation. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I know some people who took out small loans just to be able to afford to do an internship at that dream company. Some were promptly offered full-time jobs after proving their worth, but others were left with no job and another notch of debt on their belt (probably already bruised from student loan debt). Doing an internship should be treated as an investment. Both are volatile but both can be very profitable if chosen with a bit of thought (and a teaspoon of luck!).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Are you going to come out of this internship better off than you were before making the move? Being “better off” doesn’t necessarily refer to the company giving you a job, because the skills you learn and that extra credential on your CV may help you to get a different (if not even better) job in the long term. So if the answer is “Yes”, you’ve likely secured a great opportunity with a company that has a real interest in developing your career prospects. If the answer is, “No” then I recommend taking another look at the details of the position. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8hkjpRuaSGMlEiz259xaKpzHaYhSxRrqhlLSfTv3f1onr5R0077Ynj1eN8Us-BE9X05yrEtQQB6d1USdi6GGLndC-AC-KF8GOh4oU2QFejSEHdEqE8zl3XjAivp9Pqv80yPkgDEtxKw/s1600/handshake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8hkjpRuaSGMlEiz259xaKpzHaYhSxRrqhlLSfTv3f1onr5R0077Ynj1eN8Us-BE9X05yrEtQQB6d1USdi6GGLndC-AC-KF8GOh4oU2QFejSEHdEqE8zl3XjAivp9Pqv80yPkgDEtxKw/s400/handshake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">credits : timesunion</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that you should only pursue paid internships. I’m not being paid during this internship but it’s a programme set up by the Department of International Economic Development at the Shizuoka Prefectural Government, so I trusted them to find a company that wouldn’t simply exploit me. There are plenty of people who land stellar jobs off the back of unpaid internships so don’t lose faith just yet. I’m simply trying to make you aware of the possible money problems you might run into during your internship, so that you can make a more informed decision and make sufficient preparations to avoid them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-87331640395726549072012-08-24T22:01:00.003+09:002012-09-04T11:20:49.511+09:00The benefits of doing an internship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In the current economic climate, it can be very difficult to land a safe, secure job. While even some of the more experienced employees are being laid off these days, people with no experience whatsoever find it hard to secure a job in the first place. While internships have been around as long as people have been willing to participate in them, they are becoming more common and sometimes even replace full-time/part-time employees as a (cheeky) way of cutting costs. But there are still many benefits to doing an internship!<br />
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Needless to say, everybody has different circumstances and I can only talk about my own situation; my own experience. As such, I'd like to focus on the situation of university students and how the necessity of an internship will differ depending on a variety of factors including your financial situation, your network of contacts and most importantly, the subject(s) you are studying or have studied at university. While I'm an Englishman doing an internship in Japan, the truths (as well as painful truths) regarding internships stay the same wherever you are.<br />
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So, exactly how can you benefit from doing an internship? Well, let's take a look at this word "<b><i>benefit</i></b>" and derive a few different meanings from it:<br />
<b><br />
</b> <u><b>Experience</b></u><br />
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The most common reason to enter a company as an intern is to gain experience. As I mentioned earlier, one of the big deal-breakers on you getting that dream job is <b>experience</b>. In most cases, a full-time job listing will require the candidate to have at least some experience in that field or a related field. But what happens when you have just come out of university looking for a job in an area like corporate finance, and you only have experience working in a supermarket? It's quite <u><i>ironic</i></u> that while you often need experience to be successful in your job application, the only way you can get experience is by having a job or doing an internship/apprenticeship.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlbjk2dGmaXqGAsEyXDLBS3VrnPKUF_DGoQae1ftl5MmFnAEsrOq_D17NpG1zd9IOjXxCzo1rc7RUFa8Pnw0EaIp8oGpJrem-tO3Pn_LgU1Zl-4SF61vcdUv64MHpXmkwYUMonO8nx60/s1600/experienceworks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlbjk2dGmaXqGAsEyXDLBS3VrnPKUF_DGoQae1ftl5MmFnAEsrOq_D17NpG1zd9IOjXxCzo1rc7RUFa8Pnw0EaIp8oGpJrem-tO3Pn_LgU1Zl-4SF61vcdUv64MHpXmkwYUMonO8nx60/s1600/experienceworks.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you need to be a cog if you want to get into the system!</td></tr>
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While doing an internship might not necessarily lead to a full-time position at that company, it will (hopefully) still be a valuable <b>learning experience</b>, something to put on your<b> CV</b> and something to <b>woo your potential future employer </b>during the interview.<br />
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Although I'll be dealing with this in more detail in the coming week, my degree pretty much necessitates an internship. There are so many people studying business that it really takes something special to set you apart from the crowd. I'm very lucky in that my company has given me a wide range of meaningful tasks and has allowed me free reign to go to any area and ask as many questions as I like on any topic. While I've learnt about various topics in university, they are really starting to hold water now that I've seen popular concepts practices being implemented in front of my very eyes. <br />
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<u><b>Character Building</b></u><br />
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While many people fail to get a job because they have no experience, others sometimes refrain from applying for jobs in the first place because they don't feel they are ready for it. Although this feeling of butterflies in the stomach will disappear after you've had a job for a while, it can still get to some people. I can tell you that doing an internship may be a very empowering experience. While it will depend entirely on the responsibilities and tasks given you, it might be surprising and even a self-esteem building exercise to see how much responsibility the company is willing to give you.<br />
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When I first arrived at Marutaka Techno, I was presented straight away with the "schedule" of my internship, including a detailed breakdown of what I would be doing. Three weeks into the internship, I have been tasked with contacting large UK companies and re-working product brochures into something that might attract UK clients. Although it's not guaranteed that they will ever decide to (or be able to) do business in the UK, the fact that they trust me to represent the company has done wonders for my confidence. <br />
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<b><u>Money</u></b><br />
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They say that money makes the world go round and, well let's be honest, it does! While I'm not receiving any pay for my internship (<i>partly because it would void my visa and put me in danger of being deported from Japan</i>) and a large amount of internships are unpaid, paid internships <i><b>are</b></i> out there if you're what they are looking for. On a side note, the company isn't paying me for the work I'm doing now, but I'm living in an apartment rented out by them for free and they also bought a £100 bike for me to go to work every day (my travel costs are £0) so it's not all doom and gloom!<br />
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Whether or not you get paid will often depend on what your internship entails. There's apparently no legal substance to the word "intern", so when the organisation/company takes you on, your legal status will depend on what you're doing. I'm not an expert on the legal nitty-gritty and I would expect it to be difficult to prove that you were entitled to pay even when a company refuses to do so. Also, mine is a special case in the sense that I'm a foreigner working in a Japanese company on a student visa. If you'd like to get more specific details on the UK situation, please have a look at<b> <a href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/advice_and_guides/do-i-need-to-pay-my-interns-national-minimum-wage">this</a></b> article on <b><a href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/">realbusiness.co.uk</a></b><br />
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<b><u>Stepping stones</u></b><br />
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Taking on an employee can be seen as an investment if one considers that a worker is assisting the company in turning a profit. With that said, a worker that doesn't perform as well as expected, or is simply not qualified to do the job at the required standard, will not be contributing enough to make their employment a worthwhile investment. Although we all want to be paid a good salary, we should look at things from their perspective.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYuwVFONKsq3P6g6aJjLB02gImuf9FzJc1o3ZTQVWwJQh8YJxh9BJbws24-w6iXUOcPhIliroJMSxCzOf77WNDmeMkP17hgTdpZX2Ckjq_YQxUD0YygHpMVLTm8UHNUY-f5m1M8J4meY/s1600/stepping-stones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYuwVFONKsq3P6g6aJjLB02gImuf9FzJc1o3ZTQVWwJQh8YJxh9BJbws24-w6iXUOcPhIliroJMSxCzOf77WNDmeMkP17hgTdpZX2Ckjq_YQxUD0YygHpMVLTm8UHNUY-f5m1M8J4meY/s400/stepping-stones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just make sure you don't fall into the drink!</td></tr>
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Are you <b>worth</b> employing? <br />
If so, how can you <b>prove</b> it?<br />
Are you what the <b>company</b> is looking for?<br />
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Even <i>after</i> you have graced the company with your CV, there's no way for them to be sure that you are right for them and their needs as a business. After taking you in as an internship for short period, the managers (and HR staff in the case of larger firms) can make a more informed decision about you.<br />
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Although I'm not getting paid and I can't be 100% sure about whether my company really does want to employ me after this period, I'm at least putting myself out there and saying,<br />
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<i>"Look at me! I can speak <b>decent</b> Japanese, I have <b>some</b> business <b>knowledge</b> and I'm <b>trying</b> my best to benefit your company!"</i><br />
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It's much better to be proactive instead of sitting at home and saying,<br />
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<i>"I <b>wish</b> some company <b>would</b> recognise my skills and give me a job.."</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhOPseJ29II0NLuVL1LXiEVfu-KL-LQidr1ceA15LvNMsi0esOpbUExX1OHog-2qQrZ6Nhydyl-umle8s1Ev1N5Vd18mBOmtXNi0H-_mO4qwwaA4jiZZ40ngw2OtZNvnXiqwBvYZKN5w/s1600/evening-standard-sorry-for-being-negative.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhOPseJ29II0NLuVL1LXiEVfu-KL-LQidr1ceA15LvNMsi0esOpbUExX1OHog-2qQrZ6Nhydyl-umle8s1Ev1N5Vd18mBOmtXNi0H-_mO4qwwaA4jiZZ40ngw2OtZNvnXiqwBvYZKN5w/s320/evening-standard-sorry-for-being-negative.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">don't give in to negativity!</td></tr>
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While there is a decent chance that you will be offered a full-time job if you perform to or above the standards expected of you, there is always a chance that the company <i>never</i> had any real intention of employing you at all. The unfortunate reality is that businesses will always try to increase their margins (who wouldn't?) and innocent interns are often caught in the crossfire. <br />
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Even if this is the case, you may come into contact with senior staff who know other companies that might be interested in you, or you may even come into contact directly with highly placed members of staff from other companies during your internship. These are all <i>stepping stones</i> and represent opportunities for you to literally <i>get your foot in the door</i>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">---------------------------------------------------------------------- </div><br />
So now that you know the <b>potential benefits</b> associated with becoming an intern, give yourself a pat on the back, have yourself a lettuce leaf and brace yourself for the <b>potential risks</b> that you expose yourself to when deciding to do an internship. I'm sorry to end this post on a negative note, but we have to look at both sides of the coin and be realistic. You would probably only experience all of the above mentioned benefits in the best case scenario, but if your expectations are too high you are only setting yourself up for a <b>big</b> <b>fall</b>.<br />
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I will be a bit busy editing product brochures over the weekend so I will aim to have my next post ready by Tuesday at the latest!<br />
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As always, <b>thank you very much for reading</b> and I look forward to seeing you again next time!<br />
<div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"> </span></div><br />
</div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-2019973446469569702012-08-22T12:00:00.001+09:002012-09-09T21:50:33.374+09:00Learning versus Doing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's been about three weeks since I started working at Marutaka Techno, and I already feel like I have learnt more about business in these three weeks than in my two years at university in the UK (I won't count my year in Japan as I didn't really study much business). In my opinion, business is not really something that can be "learnt" in a classroom or lecture theatre.<br />
<a name='more'></a>If one does a quick search for the <b><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/business">definition of business</a></b>, the best result is:<br />
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<i>"<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">purchase</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">and</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">sale</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">goods</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">attempt</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">make</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><b>profit</b>"</span></i><br />
<b><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"> </span></b><br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">While one could spend all day studying marketing theories and accounting techniques, <b>success</b> ultimately depends on whether you are turning a <u><b>profit</b></u>. The majority of business topics studied in university are based on widely-used concepts (accounting standards and pricing strategies etc.) but without using them in a real-world situation, the true meaning and value of these topics cannot be fully understood. </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">In my second year of university, my "international marketing" module included a period using a piece of simulation software called <b><a href="http://www.interpretive.com/rd6/index.php?pg=cm2">Country Manager</a></b> (CM). Although CM supposedly teaches the user about<b> brand awareness, advertising, pricing, segmenting, positioning</b> and a whole host of different marketing concepts, I came away from the experience feeling <i>underwhelmed</i>. The lecturer assured us that the virtual world would be fluid and dynamic (just like the real-world), but I think we all know that it isn't really possible (at least with current technology). Everything that happened inside the simulator was <i>simply a computer program responding to our actions and inputs</i>. I never had a sense of selling products in a real-life market. Nevertheless, I appreciate the lecturer's efforts to mix things up a bit and give us at least a partial taste of what it might be like to be in charge of a brand. </span><br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">From my experience working at Marutaka Techno, I feel that I've gained a lot of experience and a better understanding of exactly what goes into making business decisions. The majority of marketing studied in university is usually connected with selling to the consumer (the end-user), but as I mentioned in one of my <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/price-and-prejudice.html">earlier posts</a></b></span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">, Marutaka Techno primarily sells to distributors, who then sell to the consumer. Regarding the project I'm currently working on (<a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/lets-talk-marketing.html"><b>selling to </b><b>hotels and health clubs in the UK</b></a>), I have to be even more specific and think, </span><br />
<br />
<i><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">"What is going to make a big hotel chain want to buy these products?"</span></i><i><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"></span></i><br />
<i><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span></i> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">Without knowing Marutaka Techno's products and the characteristics of these hotel(s) extremely well, it is very difficult to answer such a question. In fact, there is no way to <i>really</i> know what we can do to get them to buy our products. We don't know the basis on which they make purchasing decisions and we don't know their future business plans (such as expansions and branch closures). Many private companies with a concentrated group of shareholders not obliged to disclose financial information usually do not publish financial reports. As a result, it is very difficult to weigh up the true scope of the company (such as their capital, employee numbers and revenue/profit figures for a period). This internship has taught me that business is <i>never</i> a simple case of black and white. We <i>rarely</i> have access to the information we need to make vital decisions.</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">Marketing in university is (largely) about learning theories and concepts, but with no real world situations in which to apply them, it would be naive to say "I <i>fully</i> understand this concept and it's applications". </span><br />
<br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">As there are very few ways to prove your worth as a "businessman" (or business woman), getting a job in the business world often boils down to the common phrase:</span><br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">"It's not about <i>what</i> you know, but <b>who</b> you know"</span><br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">Unfortunately, I know a lot of people who studied business and found it very difficult to get a job upon graduation without knowing someone in the industry. This may also be down to the sheer number of people studying business-related subjects and a general pattern among graduates of all disciplines due to economic conditions, but I suggest that the nature of "business" as an academic subject also makes matters worse. </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">Another issue is that "business" seems to be viewed as a <b>vague</b> subject (<i>I can understand the sentiment</i>) and while the entry requirements for some business management courses are quite strict (I needed an AAB with proof of proficiency in a foreign language at A-Level), they tend not to be as difficult to get into when compared with subjects such as Law, Medicine and Engineering. </span><br />
<br />
While I stand by my decision to study <b>International Business and Japanese</b> at university, I get the feeling that <u><i>studying alone is not enough</i></u> for the average Joe Bloggs to get a job off the back of a business degree in this day and age. I come from an average family with an average income. I don't have a rich dad who will give me a job when I graduate and I don't know anyone who can put in a good word for me at the board meeting. When you're in this situation, the only thing you can do is <b>try your best</b> to gain experience.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR7M9QNNY9lBxfZpQMtjLlhYX_NbZmmSNzBnpS3Pv0OEHjTad2N77ZIHq42OqyE2yoVQhDZ66jdFQ7ndxuWqclNs8AZ8E40e0E5frn1dYPtQMZfW5Qxp9vULUjZnYxHJrB_5CSprduwA/s1600/useitorloseit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibR7M9QNNY9lBxfZpQMtjLlhYX_NbZmmSNzBnpS3Pv0OEHjTad2N77ZIHq42OqyE2yoVQhDZ66jdFQ7ndxuWqclNs8AZ8E40e0E5frn1dYPtQMZfW5Qxp9vULUjZnYxHJrB_5CSprduwA/s320/useitorloseit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">couldn't be more true!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
But..<br />
<br />
<u><b>Is an internship the right decision for you? </b></u><br />
<br />
While many companies are offering internship opportunities at the moment, one has to keep one question in mind,<br />
<br />
<u>"<b style="color: red;"><i>Who</i></b> is going to benefit from this internship?"</u><br />
<br />
The word "<i>benefit</i>" here takes on a whole host of meanings. I want you to take a good look at that question and keep it in your mind. In the next post, I'm going to writing about that exact topic. I'll provide some real world examples (including my own situation right now). <br />
<br />
That's all I have time for right now, but I will be posting again either tomorrow or Friday!<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading and have a good morning/day/evening!<br />
<br /></div>
Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-40373665299871579392012-08-17T14:21:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:21:53.903+09:00Marketing to hotels and health clubs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So anyway I've been busy at work recently, searching for <b>prospective customers in the UK</b> to whom I might be able to sell <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/ladies-and-gentleman-free-time-has-left.html">Marutaka Techno's products</a></b>. As Marutaka Techno <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/price-and-prejudice.html">doesn't sell directly to the end-user</a></b>, I have to root out fairly large scale companies that might place substantial orders for our products. The company's products currently sell fairly well in hotels and spas across Japan, so I've decided to go down the same route for the UK entry plan.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
I'm finally <b>back</b> at the workplace and it feels <i>so</i> good to be around human beings who actually talk to me! I didn't really make the most of my one-week holiday, but I did see fireworks with one of my colleagues and his family and I finally got a <a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/lets-talk-tsutaya.html"><b>Tsutaya membership</b></a> so that I can start <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/lets-talk-tsutaya.html">renting out DVDs</a></b>.However, having free time usually means having to fill that free time with something to do. Filling free time with something to do often <b>costs money</b> so I'm <i>saving</i> by coming to work (<i>you see how I just talked myself into coming back to work for free?</i>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://hzjfgjhotel.com/images/ktyl_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://hzjfgjhotel.com/images/ktyl_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the foot massage machines could sell well in high class hotels like this one</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Although I've not really gone into real detail on Marutaka Techno's products, judging by the pictures<b> </b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/ladies-and-gentleman-free-time-has-left.html"><b>here</b> </a>I'm sure you can imagine the kinds of price tags on these wares. With such high prices, we can't simply sell to any old folk. Marutaka Techno's products attempt to relieve both pain and stress through techniques like <i>traditional massaging</i>, <i>acupressure treatment </i>and even <i>electrotherapy</i>. As you can tell, these are fairly <b>niche products</b> in the sense that Marutaka only caters to a specific set of customers from the wider health industry. In doing so, the engineers have been able to focus on developing and producing top notch technology in order to retain their position as experts in the field.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t8C5qEZ69ZA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can see in the video above that Marutaka Techno has developed state of the art technology designed to relieve fatigue and muscle tension. While the company does develop a fairly wide variety of products, they always stay within the bounds of the health and massage machines niche. I doubt that they would have the resources to produce such amazing technology had they branched out too far. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">With <b>focused development</b> and production comes <b>focused marketing</b> and sales.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Considering the price Marutaka Techno will be asking, I've kept my search limited to mid-range and higher class hotels and spa resorts. My logic is that budget hotels are usually a <b>no-frills experience</b>, meaning that it's very unlikely for the company to even commit the capital to buy our products. On the other hand, mid-range hotels may offer such services <i>as an extra </i>for which their more affluent customers may be willing to pay. I believe that this is the case with the <a href="http://www.bannatyne.co.uk/"><b>Bannatyne Group</b></a>, which comprises of mid-range to higher class health clubs, spas and hotels. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The higher class hotels and health clubs usually charge a higher price but include a much better service with various extras included (<i>e.g. free gym, spa treatment etc.</i>). Although the executive director has a <i>wild dream </i>of having the products placed in all of the rooms of these expensive hotels, I think that it's a tad <u>unrealistic</u>. The sheer <b>cost</b> involved would not warrant a <b>risk</b> on products which are (as of yet) <b>untested</b> in the British market. Moreover, another risk is that the hotels and health clubs may see these products as <u>damaging</u> to their <b>lucrative spa treatment businesses</b>, ending in total sales of <b>big fat zero</b>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To circumvent this problem, I suggested marketing our foot massage machines and shoulder tappers as products that could be <b>placed in lounges for waiting customers to use</b>. When we get into the price range of The Ritz-Carlton, The Marriot and the top class Hilton hotels, the only real differentiator is the level of <u><b>service</b></u>. We are <u><i>hoping that these hotels will be able to increase their level of service</i></u> by supplementing their massage services with these products rather than cannibalising a profitable business model. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.gereports.com/healthymagination-studies-japans-aging-population/">Japan's aging society</a></b> (an increase in the proportion of over 55's and a decrease in the under 15's) means that products and services targeted at the older populations are becoming more and more lucrative. Although you may not believe me, I don't think it's a coincidence that a substantial portion of commercials on Japanese TV are directed squarely at elderly people (<i>hair transplants, life insurance, treatments to make old skin look more beautiful</i>). Sure, we have those in the UK too, but the frequency at which they are shown on Japanese TV can be understood by living here and seeing it with your own eyes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://files.gereports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/chart5-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="329" src="http://files.gereports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/chart5-lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While the UK's population will also get older in the next decade or so (that's inevitable), the UK's elderly population is certainly nothing like Japan's in terms of affluence. As Japan's population gets older, a lot of the elderly people will be able to live (at least in the short term) on their savings, but I can't imagine many elderly UK residents having a big savings account to fall back on (let alone purchase one of our luxury products). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4ed4fafdeab8ea686600000e/old-people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4ed4fafdeab8ea686600000e/old-people.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While our products are mainly targeted at older people in Japan, the target users<b> </b>in the UK would most likely be middle-aged people (preferably women) on higher than average incomes who can afford to subscribe to health clubs and/or visit spas on a regular basis. According to the executive director, it's common for affluent customers to try our products at hotels and then decide to buy one for their own personal use. This situation would be fantastic but the one thing we need in the UK is <b>MARKET</b> <b>EXPOSURE!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's all I have time for now but I'm planning to talk about my <b>translation hardships</b> in the next update. Until then, sit tight and keep your fingers crossed for my return!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>As always, </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>THANKS FOR READING! </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>TAH TAH :]</b></div></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-57788288631500474442012-08-16T21:14:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:22:10.035+09:00Killing time with DVDs from Tsutaya!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hey guys I'm back at the <a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/#%21/2012/08/lets-talk-manga-kissatens.html">Manga Kissaten</a> throwing away my money again! Although I've been having a good time for the last few days, I can't live (as I expected) without the internet!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvfS18phITi70TzBDIv16TwBks94CrOTrM1Vi0vMM3bDrJDe5J-E8vjixRJulyOSOEMjHwRMgcWCDtfRGduJew9Emvc6vrYFgSZ1i8U8chBMwNpMBTlFHj8keYK268ma57wUH9Nlxru0/s1600/DSC00937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvfS18phITi70TzBDIv16TwBks94CrOTrM1Vi0vMM3bDrJDe5J-E8vjixRJulyOSOEMjHwRMgcWCDtfRGduJew9Emvc6vrYFgSZ1i8U8chBMwNpMBTlFHj8keYK268ma57wUH9Nlxru0/s400/DSC00937.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although I have an old TV, I prefer my clearer Mac screen and better speakers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
You're probably wondering.. <br />
<br />
"What in the world is <b>'Tsutaya'</b>?"<br />
<br />
Good question! I'm going to answer that right away!<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
Yesterday, when I came to the Manga Kissaten, I had a short list of things to do. <br />
<br />
1) Find somewhere to buy cheap tshirts<br />
2) Find a 100 yen shop (basically a PoundLand)<br />
3) Find someone where to get a haircut<br />
4)<b> Find a DVD (etc.) rental shop</b><br />
<br />
You will (might) be pleased to know that, while #1 and #2 are still out there, I accomplished tasks #3 and #4! I'm finally getting my hair cut on Saturday at 3pm so I can get rid of this hunk of fur which is turning slowly into a half-mop!<br />
<br />
Anyway!<br />
<br />
There is a very famous rental shop in Japan called <a href="http://www.tsutaya.co.jp/index.html"><b>Tsutaya</b></a><b>, </b>which is basically the equivalent of <b>Blockbuster </b>in the UK (are they even still going?). They have rental stores all over Japan and I knew that there would be one in my area; I just had to find it!Luckily, my nearest Tsutaya is literally a 5 minute bicycle ride away, so I can go there with relative ease!<br />
So, onto the nitty-gritty. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://uramono.org/uploads/2012/05/tsutaya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mda="true" src="http://uramono.org/uploads/2012/05/tsutaya.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Culture Convenience Club" sounds a bit dodgy but just ignore it, yeah?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Although I think it differs from store to store, there was no sign up fee when I joined Tsutaya. I just had to show a piece of ID with my address on it (so I showed my National Health Insurance Card) and then they made a membership card for me. I had to fill in an application form <b>(Oh boy, do the Japanese <i>love </i>filling in forms!)</b> but I made a mistake on the kanji for my address (although it was written clearly on my health insurance card D'Oh!) so the kind lady at the till offered to fill the whole thing in for me to get things moving (I felt like a right child!)<br />
<br />
Anyway, after I received my card, she told me that I could use it at that particular store for two weeks (probably for security reasons) and then after two weeks I could use it in any Tsutaya store. I'll be leaving Japan in just over a month anyway so I doubt that I'll be renting from any stores other than this one, but I included that for reference!<br />
<br />
There are a couple of differences between Tsutaya and Blockbuster:<br />
<br />
1) Tsutaya's service is much better (come on, we're in Japan)<br />
2) Tsutaya lets you borrow CDs and manga comics<br />
3) Tsutaya doesn't stock games (unfortunately!) but a rental company called <b><a href="http://geo-online.co.jp/">GEO</a></b> does!<br />
<br />
I'm not really sure about the pricing because I've been renting out pretty old DVDs so far!<br />
I was able to rent out 6 DVDs for a week at 100 yen each (600 yen in total) which works out around 4.5 GBP ish! I rented out:<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hataraki_Man"> 「働きマン」 (Hatarakiman)</a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.animeultima.tv/uploads/anime_photo/watch-hataraki-man-live-action-episodes-online-english-sub-thumbnailpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" mda="true" src="http://www.animeultima.tv/uploads/anime_photo/watch-hataraki-man-live-action-episodes-online-english-sub-thumbnailpic.jpg" width="149" /></a></div><br />
A ten-part series (five DVDs) about a woman who basically puts work at the top of her priorities to the point of constantly cancelling dates with her long-term boyfriend. You follow her through the trials and tribulations of working at a weekly magazine publisher! I really recommend it! Check it out <b><a href="http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hataraki_Man">here! </a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Wars">「サマーウォーズ」 (Summer Wars)</a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Summer_Wars_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" mda="true" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Summer_Wars_poster.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br />
Summer Wars was a fantastic feature length anime movie about a maths-wiz teenager who is falsely implicated in a plot by a hacking program to take down a huge social network and ultimately destroy the world. This teenage boy must band together with his friends and acquaintances to defeat the AI hacker and save the world! <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Wars"><b>Check it out! </b></a><br />
<br />
Well that's about all I have time for today, I better leave here before my wallet dies! <br />
<br />
I will update this post next time with more details on the prices!<br />
<br />
Until then..<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">BYE FOR NOW :]</span></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-42527623675996628792012-08-15T16:19:00.004+09:002012-09-04T11:22:29.256+09:00Killing time in the Manga Kissaten!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hey hey hey!<br />
<br />
As you may have noticed, I haven't posted since last week ish! The reason is that because my company is on holiday for a week, I don't have access to the internet! <br />
<br />
That's where Manga Kissatens (or Mangaki in short (or Mancs if you're a Mancunian like me)) come in! You become a member (about 300 yen) and you can go into one of the booths (by yourself) or get a slightly bigger one if there's two or more people and then use the internet, watch tv or just read comic books. There's also free drinks with unlimited refills so it's a pretty good deal! Some of the computers are a bit old here but some of them are brand new and can play the latest games at high resolutions!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
You usually check in and get a receipt of the time you enter, and then you just pay when you leave. Here the price options are something like 300 yen for the first hour and then it goes up incrementally every 30 minutes. <br />
<br />
There are also time packs which are 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours and then a "night pack" which usually means you get 8 hours starting from around midnight for about 1500 yen. <br />
<br />
If you are like me and you need the internet to search out places to buy things, these mancs are pretty convenient! Of course, if you come here everyday then it does start to get a bit pricey and you should consider just getting your own internet.<br />
<br />
I'm at a place called Kaiteki Club, which is about 5 minutes from my place by bike. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Jb5mmlT6GaibgCaRUIN0dUKeJAzQbwzWduDIx8FELeNBpEYHAe-y5oXECfx-Ryn6TkBhYschuWu9sW9wPKTGuUcl5XIKSo44Cu2A2knCMcblA8CaTFVhjA-ndhile9P5FWnQKa7OgBk/s1600/%E5%BF%AB%E9%81%A9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%95%E3%82%99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Jb5mmlT6GaibgCaRUIN0dUKeJAzQbwzWduDIx8FELeNBpEYHAe-y5oXECfx-Ryn6TkBhYschuWu9sW9wPKTGuUcl5XIKSo44Cu2A2knCMcblA8CaTFVhjA-ndhile9P5FWnQKa7OgBk/s320/%E5%BF%AB%E9%81%A9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%95%E3%82%99.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the place I go to doesn't quite look like this but it's basically the same!</td></tr>
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My time is about to come to 2 hours so I better get going now!<br />
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I'll try to upload some photos of this place when I get chance!<br />
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Bye for now!</div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-29532907503888258182012-08-10T18:29:00.001+09:002012-08-22T12:41:27.313+09:00Doing unpaid overtime on an unpaid internship!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was supposed to go home at 5.20pm but... my boss took me to work today so I can't go back without him. Tonight is my welcome party at 7pm but now that it's about 6.30pm I don't think I'll be going home before the party!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlKlLbi1xCEdRb0DhSBW93rZKqNjY6-GtiL_VbgU4V4zli9Hirq69KaXRtESCM7mfYRzPTpFkyd3OnrpeKW7rCM2zCF5fdPIw5eP-iue9Mf5txe6PwDDKvhUpmiHc4Y0fBxO7txC_Yqk/s1600/DSC00861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlKlLbi1xCEdRb0DhSBW93rZKqNjY6-GtiL_VbgU4V4zli9Hirq69KaXRtESCM7mfYRzPTpFkyd3OnrpeKW7rCM2zCF5fdPIw5eP-iue9Mf5txe6PwDDKvhUpmiHc4Y0fBxO7txC_Yqk/s320/DSC00861.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can see from the photo.. all of the lights are off apart from my area and I'm not even doing anything!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWbSKa-7xX8jdXZcRAhnnetcSUMzTzGPA1XLpqamuVO0AqhV42CjXuvMWVNgSKi0rp7VB4Hs9IcXLtEtY51cwMqL-wKB0py_x16DAALvdAnv7rZkC3F21ck279x2KtMuI99YSjuSBKm8/s1600/DSC00862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWbSKa-7xX8jdXZcRAhnnetcSUMzTzGPA1XLpqamuVO0AqhV42CjXuvMWVNgSKi0rp7VB4Hs9IcXLtEtY51cwMqL-wKB0py_x16DAALvdAnv7rZkC3F21ck279x2KtMuI99YSjuSBKm8/s320/DSC00862.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So I decided to make a mess of my desk haha!<br />
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Right my boss is back so I better go!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ciao!</span><br />
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Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-70587798914150835492012-08-10T13:35:00.002+09:002012-09-04T11:22:51.282+09:00Price and Prejudice #2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Good afternoon to all of my</b></span> (<i>two or three</i>) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>readers</b></span>!<br />
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It's a bright and sunny day here in Fujieda city (<i>not that I would know because I'm stuck in the office at the moment</i>) and I've come back to <b>Let's Talk Internships </b>to talk more about <b>pricing.</b> I'm going to be drawing on points from my previous entry about <a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/price-and-prejudice.html"><b>pricing</b></a> so I hope you will <b><a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/price-and-prejudice.html">check it</a></b> before you continue on with today's article.<br />
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So<b> <a href="http://talkinginternships.blogspot.jp/2012/08/price-and-prejudice.html">last time</a></b>, I was talking about Marutaka Techno's pricing policies, and how pricing policies change depending on whether you are a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor or retailer. Perhaps my last entry was a bit ambiguous, as I was talking about the price at which Marutaka Techno wants its products to be sold to the consumer. The price that Marutaka Techno quotes to its <b>buyers</b> (<i>the distributors and retailers</i>) is a whole <u>different</u> kettle of fish!<br />
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Pricing is mainly based on the type of customer to which Marutaka Techno sells. This is true because different customers will order in different volumes. Let's say that Marutaka Techno is selling the <b>Foot Refresher</b> (working title) to its customers. You might ask what the <b>price</b> is but that is a sticky question. If we're talking about the <b>price for consumers </b>then it will be about <b>JPY80,000</b>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6oduUxJoW7rShCPHjBt6D5gUTaKfFH8QGd3Yp5Vqw4YpwcMsjWYIBC1cNSrGOyYqR18roLv78kEwfJIjWzH-2H_7NdtHzJGQ9JvAZM6i8ksg-rgIOupRs9SCbQD05KaaJJWYvOofpCaU/s1600/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%95%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%EF%BC%91.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6oduUxJoW7rShCPHjBt6D5gUTaKfFH8QGd3Yp5Vqw4YpwcMsjWYIBC1cNSrGOyYqR18roLv78kEwfJIjWzH-2H_7NdtHzJGQ9JvAZM6i8ksg-rgIOupRs9SCbQD05KaaJJWYvOofpCaU/s400/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%95%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%EF%BC%91.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Foot Refresher (or in Japanese: リフレフット)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">As mentioned in the previous entry, Marutaka Techno employs a minimum pricing system to ensure that all distributors/retailers sell its product (<i>in this case the Foot Refresher</i>) at a certain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_floor"><b>floor price</b></a> (<i>80,000 Yen in this case</i>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><u><b> </b></u><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Before</b></u> the product gets to the consumer, it will have been sold to the distributor/retailer by the manufacturer. <b><i>This</i></b> price is what I am focusing on today. For the distributors to make a worthwhile profit on that <b>JPY80,000</b> they need to be buying for less. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>But</u></b> let's not forget that Marutaka Techno <i>also</i> needs to make a <b>profit</b> to keep trading. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As the final retail price is more or less set at JPY80,000, the profit made by the retailer/distributor will depend on how low they can get Marutaka Techno to go on the <b>trade price</b>. <i>This is where Marutaka Techno works its magic! </i>The price quoted to the retailer/distributor <b>depends on how many units they decide to order. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marutaka Techno has to buy <b>parts</b> from a <b>supplier</b> in order to actually make products, and the price it pays for those parts also depends on <i>how much</i> it orders. If it orders parts to make 300 units, the price per unit will be lower than if it orders parts for only 100 units. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRGF8DvgRtiuSkFip_gGUyu-JJMfYXrODr4fbB_QEFwrx8b8mlKPA05FBaNJoGcGY5GqEJJAsuvTnk_50QZnhqX00Q_hczzFenakfMBYJ1QNDAQZ6cjco1toCUwHCBojanOazd3y_QI0/s1600/DSC00840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRGF8DvgRtiuSkFip_gGUyu-JJMfYXrODr4fbB_QEFwrx8b8mlKPA05FBaNJoGcGY5GqEJJAsuvTnk_50QZnhqX00Q_hczzFenakfMBYJ1QNDAQZ6cjco1toCUwHCBojanOazd3y_QI0/s320/DSC00840.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sorry about my face!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">How does Marutaka Techno determine when and how much to order? Simple. They simply wait for orders to come in and then order parts based on <i>orders received </i>and <i>forecasts</i> for the coming month or two months. This is related to <b>Lead Time</b>, but I will delve into that topic in another entry. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since Marutaka Techno can get parts for cheaper when <b>buying in bulk</b> (<i>the same applies for most industries</i>), they can transfer this discount (<i>not 100%</i>) to their customers. As the price at which retailers can sell Marutaka Techno products is practically capped (as explained before), <u>the only way for them to make more profit is to buy in bulk from Marutaka Techno and achieve higher margins</u>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Let's imagine three different types of customer:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">1) If we consider a <b>door salesman</b> buying Marutaka Techno's products, he is only going to be buying a maximum of 10 products at a time (due to his low volume of sales). With an order as small as 10 units, Marutaka Techno will have to pay a relatively high amount for the parts, resulting in a higher production cost and lower profits for both the manufacturer and the reseller. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t1XJkwMbgm86aUBvoCkvXHz1_5SKSnGhY3W75INZSZg-M0tPAbXQSWFYQLDx5UtMcV6g-5fVkOV8kp9AxqMX3kupqAr0djquARX3vv8c-DxJFf_viDeC2vptbydiRuWmbt9Xb32qv7Q/s1600/door-to-door-salesman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t1XJkwMbgm86aUBvoCkvXHz1_5SKSnGhY3W75INZSZg-M0tPAbXQSWFYQLDx5UtMcV6g-5fVkOV8kp9AxqMX3kupqAr0djquARX3vv8c-DxJFf_viDeC2vptbydiRuWmbt9Xb32qv7Q/s200/door-to-door-salesman.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">2) Next, let's consider a <b>medium-sized distributor</b> that might only order 100 units at a time. At this volume, the distributor will get a discount over the door salesman, but the production cost will still be relatively high, meaning a low profit margin for the reseller. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaSTV5Nak0eEcJurnZjVMOL0blPplTA2T-OsWT964ZDIutuDdJlAU0U4TlP6QTHOsr28i-WBOpFRgkbBHvrYHru4xzWK3m_5yF_ttQ3GT1au5gN7I2gblEArsLubWzORow3NYfaMShvw/s1600/bnr-find-your-local-distributor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaSTV5Nak0eEcJurnZjVMOL0blPplTA2T-OsWT964ZDIutuDdJlAU0U4TlP6QTHOsr28i-WBOpFRgkbBHvrYHru4xzWK3m_5yF_ttQ3GT1au5gN7I2gblEArsLubWzORow3NYfaMShvw/s1600/bnr-find-your-local-distributor.png" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">3) Now, let's consider a <b>television shopping channel</b> or a<b> mail order magazine</b>. These types of customers might place orders for 1000+ units. At this volume, Marutaka Techno receives a substantial discount on the parts, and this is passed on (<i>in part</i>) to the customer. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3JkKcDOe-44ZIhORpXK3frWdf4KwTpjUq1xR9GfDidtR39CbLmKHr6tQr_K6MBJ1NWaZk6l6LejvviuuThiho9WWW4UtLU2uGYI0bITk8cDW0kzg-j3ekEys5gacpmX9NAW_gdVZJmw/s1600/tv+shopping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3JkKcDOe-44ZIhORpXK3frWdf4KwTpjUq1xR9GfDidtR39CbLmKHr6tQr_K6MBJ1NWaZk6l6LejvviuuThiho9WWW4UtLU2uGYI0bITk8cDW0kzg-j3ekEys5gacpmX9NAW_gdVZJmw/s320/tv+shopping.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope that example made sense! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Through this clever system, Marutaka Techno (<i>and many other manufacturers</i>) can manipulate prices to encourage larger orders of its products and therefore reap bigger profits. In simple terms, this is a <b>win/win situation</b> for the manufacturer and the reseller. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's all I have time for right now, and I might be gone for a short while! There's a national holiday here in Japan for a week. Since I don't access to the internet in my apartment, I won't be able to access the world wide interwebs until next Friday! (17/08/2012)</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I hope you'll miss me because I'll miss you!</b></span></span></span></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-63647004047675695152012-08-09T17:12:00.003+09:002012-09-04T11:23:10.052+09:00Price and Prejudice #1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Do you like what I did there?<br />
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As you will have realised by now, I'm currently working at a company called <a href="http://marutakatechno.com/">MARUTAKA TECHNO</a> <a href="http://marutakatechno.co.jp/">マルタカテクノ</a>. If you had a look at the company's modest website, you'll soon notice that it isn't such a big operation. However, Marutaka Techno is loosely connected to a <i>much </i>larger group of Marutaka firms.<br />
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There are over 40 <b>sales subsidiaries </b>(販売会社 <i>hanbai gaisha</i>) that distribute Marutaka products mostly throughout Japan but also in a small number of European countries. The group as a whole has sales of over <b>350,000,000,000 Japanese Yen</b> (<i>that's about 3 billion pounds</i>!) and employs almost 2000 people. Marutaka Techno is more of a sister or <b>affiliate company</b> (関連会社 <i>kanren gaisha</i>), as it does not directly own any shares in, or have shares owned by, the main group. This company is more based on the technology side of things and developing new products.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tokyo-office-web.com/img/bldg/529/2529/2529-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://tokyo-office-web.com/img/bldg/529/2529/2529-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main Marutaka Building 丸高ビル</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Marutaka Techno <b>develops</b> and <b>produces</b> new products and then sells them to<b> distributors </b>or agents (代理店<i> dairi ten</i>). This could be a Marutaka sales subsidiary or even a mail order catalogue. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.k-marutaka.co.jp/img/group_img.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://www.k-marutaka.co.jp/img/group_img.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marutaka Techno is on the far right!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> When we think of a company producing and selling products, we imagine that they just sell them directly to the consumer. In actual fact, this is rarely the case. Instead, we get a system which (in simple terms) looks a bit like this:<br />
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<i>(Of course, some steps are added and some parts are missed out depending on the good/service and circumstances of the parties involved)</i><br />
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<b>Manufacturer → Wholesaler → Distributor → Retailer → Consumer (End-User)</b><br />
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Due to this divide between the manufacturer and the consumer, we see abbreviations a lot like <b>Recommended Retail Price (RRP)</b> and <b>Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)</b>. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Although RRP's and MSRP's do not necessarily have to be followed, there is quite an interesting story regarding new cars! The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroney_sticker">Monroney Sticker</a> is a sticker which has to be visible on all new cars before purchase. Among other things, the MSRP has to be clearly visible. The reason for this is that car salesmen (we know they are cheeky so and so's) used to make up a price for cars based on what they thought their prospective buyer was willing to pay. This lead to some gross over-charging, and Senator Mike Monroney finally had laws passed to ensure that adequate information be made visible to protect buyers of new cars. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Due to the voluntary nature of RRP and MSRP, it is common to see retailers undercutting each other in order to secure high sales volumes. Unfortunately, this can damage the <b>brand image</b> or <b>reputation</b> of the product in question, as a <u>low price</u> <b>can</b> (in some cases) denote <u>low quality</u>. While some retailers take the opportunity to hike the price and make a quick buck, competition in the market (in theory) keeps this to a minimum. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marutaka Techno is a producer of <b>high technology</b>, <b>high quality</b> products. In terms of build quality and functionality, <b>Marutaka's health-related machines are second to none</b> (I've tried products from the competition and they pale in comparison). As a result, they can (and need to) set a fairly high price for their products. Clearly, Marutaka Techno is aiming to sell their products (<i>or rather have their products sold</i>) to affluent consumers with very high disposable incomes. Marutaka adopts a <a href="http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-pricing.html#">Premium Pricing</a> strategy. If prices fall, the brand image dips with it and Marutaka Techno's whole development strategy has to be altered.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In order to combat this, Marutaka Techno has a <b>Minimum Price Systsem </b>(最低価格制度 <i>saitei kakaku seido). </i>With this system (implemented through contracts) Marutaka Techno can ensure that the price at which its products are sold will never go below a certain point. Unless there is only one seller in a certain area or country, competition will largely prevent any distributors from raising the price by any significant amount, thereby keeping prices fairly level across the board. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think I should end this post here before my fingers fall off!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next time, I'm going to be talking about <b>Lead Time </b>and <b>Production Management</b>. These topics are both closely related to Marutaka's Minimum Price System and I will explain <b>how Marutaka can encourage its customers to buy more products</b>. I recommend going over this post again before digging your teeth into my next update. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thanks for reading and bye for now! </b></span></span></span></div></div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-12040171290508580582012-08-08T17:50:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:23:25.292+09:00Photos of my company (Marutaka Techno)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I'm back again already! Wasn't that quick ;)<br />
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Did you have a look at the <a href="http://thejapaninternship.blogspot.jp/2012/08/hope-you-like-pictures.html">photos from around Yaizu</a>? If you haven't then please click <a href="http://thejapaninternship.blogspot.jp/2012/08/hope-you-like-pictures.html">here</a>!<br />
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Now that you've seen where I'm living, I'd like to show you photos from my workplace. I could explain my job but as they say (I think..) a picture paints a thousand words. So without further ado..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEpL0L0NL5Al1v1TYOlo88FHVIladkXVLtn34RU4cdMKdIvVPOn7qyBy0IRJ7W29cmv2tab-OPJs002PO5Z1XfVEqpVZb8HyV6ZH7ltSrq1XesPP0KdOf8pToLu0E1yPZX7Sy5NPk510/s1600/DSC00846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEpL0L0NL5Al1v1TYOlo88FHVIladkXVLtn34RU4cdMKdIvVPOn7qyBy0IRJ7W29cmv2tab-OPJs002PO5Z1XfVEqpVZb8HyV6ZH7ltSrq1XesPP0KdOf8pToLu0E1yPZX7Sy5NPk510/s640/DSC00846.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So this is the main entrance of Marutaka Techno Ltd. (Ignore the skinny whippet in blue! It's only me!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscx0j5zEo5V4meZR56z0piNtkgWDPGTAen4HOgSxF5MTPLHz_Nqj-y5anDjWbwD61eA4SaJpH6rBVDxTWiqp_1seLXHIEUO99X0uxxGrM8iDJo4_G7KLCJ9JUoDSQECQpQTmxi9M91-g/s1600/DSC00847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscx0j5zEo5V4meZR56z0piNtkgWDPGTAen4HOgSxF5MTPLHz_Nqj-y5anDjWbwD61eA4SaJpH6rBVDxTWiqp_1seLXHIEUO99X0uxxGrM8iDJo4_G7KLCJ9JUoDSQECQpQTmxi9M91-g/s640/DSC00847.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I look a bit constipated in this photo (I probably was!) but you can see that I can get away with fairly casual attire!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFmC6_asuiK3iD2N-4pLuCUvkiE-dsieyqaF_YE2yF67xYJ2NjWJYifpN_2wYc-nxkXaN2D53bAkClGnkxYaSp4Hu1LyXoqlb-EGgX7auwlvPiBf9x59CGfObgo2vhW91rJeGGeldGac/s1600/DSC00845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFmC6_asuiK3iD2N-4pLuCUvkiE-dsieyqaF_YE2yF67xYJ2NjWJYifpN_2wYc-nxkXaN2D53bAkClGnkxYaSp4Hu1LyXoqlb-EGgX7auwlvPiBf9x59CGfObgo2vhW91rJeGGeldGac/s640/DSC00845.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not a massive company but it's substantial with a decent set of financial figures</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bjs2JkE1jGpHGFTFXncksqC_t9DvHf3mPPhtIcTrn8Fu0IjNG4jzudkCkH_GTEnVOLbVr5PJX8LtonUPy1n1czlyYGjM2SFK-clbqvxdCbVax8zCKyd-MjNGBclWUWx4lrRYTI0SxS4/s1600/DSC00836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bjs2JkE1jGpHGFTFXncksqC_t9DvHf3mPPhtIcTrn8Fu0IjNG4jzudkCkH_GTEnVOLbVr5PJX8LtonUPy1n1czlyYGjM2SFK-clbqvxdCbVax8zCKyd-MjNGBclWUWx4lrRYTI0SxS4/s640/DSC00836.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the scene of 440 foot massage machines being packed into a container ready to be shipped to Moscow!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3ftfCyzDHMK92Z1pfr8fE9VcnZkHgusg9MgZ22W2JejuvgzALx6Sue-XTVX17pZHbF56_5VWxRkcfb48n2MGLqcSxHZ3HnuLRA-MQQjlozaO67LLwENRhtnbhTQ4zk2STALbTp7QE_Q/s1600/DSC00837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3ftfCyzDHMK92Z1pfr8fE9VcnZkHgusg9MgZ22W2JejuvgzALx6Sue-XTVX17pZHbF56_5VWxRkcfb48n2MGLqcSxHZ3HnuLRA-MQQjlozaO67LLwENRhtnbhTQ4zk2STALbTp7QE_Q/s640/DSC00837.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, I thought they might need a bit of a push to start them off!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4J77ef8xYacujhTIFkYSoN3CLgBDKR6-gYj1h_YRsBPqFCfOEVQEIZzMgj338dcqiO9HQLdhMDXQBfj70wVht4fbCu2VIy7eQQbiVz6LinJ9G9PZcBFGOuvJAwutyQIYj5mouBTo0bD0/s1600/DSC00839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4J77ef8xYacujhTIFkYSoN3CLgBDKR6-gYj1h_YRsBPqFCfOEVQEIZzMgj338dcqiO9HQLdhMDXQBfj70wVht4fbCu2VIy7eQQbiVz6LinJ9G9PZcBFGOuvJAwutyQIYj5mouBTo0bD0/s640/DSC00839.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The value of finished products stored here is staggering!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv1E5Ib7Igk4GvkuSGF0MOnAnME-cue02bIKVW_ssutdIUN2IZH12hVUop22TV4En1CnNSmjou7exj7ANzJl-5oEaF0z6gEahuduQ6fGbAcHYDGcQvPDW8oBesMOmqZgnJ0i1nt7bcZY/s1600/DSC00840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv1E5Ib7Igk4GvkuSGF0MOnAnME-cue02bIKVW_ssutdIUN2IZH12hVUop22TV4En1CnNSmjou7exj7ANzJl-5oEaF0z6gEahuduQ6fGbAcHYDGcQvPDW8oBesMOmqZgnJ0i1nt7bcZY/s640/DSC00840.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see a lady behind working on one of the "Celevita" foot massage machines. It takes a good 10 days or so to make it from start to finish. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipI9Oow3r5zguTWFXMwFXReredHRX_QzX8bp7sg5uxkRyQnaJd7NiDT1bZAuEtAvt_90aB4qUCmeO47FBK1fUeuvNO0tPKKaeWgQK2RE2i0-ywaeza3Pu9l2eKsvXLZlQHCsVwcHupSrY/s1600/DSC00844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipI9Oow3r5zguTWFXMwFXReredHRX_QzX8bp7sg5uxkRyQnaJd7NiDT1bZAuEtAvt_90aB4qUCmeO47FBK1fUeuvNO0tPKKaeWgQK2RE2i0-ywaeza3Pu9l2eKsvXLZlQHCsVwcHupSrY/s640/DSC00844.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The assembly area is pretty messy but they do get a lot of work done!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHqlFMA2YFMjrKbpRn9ZlF6Dtvy41NSwebPJu-Ka53l-t0aBHWkeN-g3PGPlenqbIlKza-W7FOzmgIbpGYg-wEAog_9801572wAVwVRQ6J4r92FwB8XlPAqW2baCi0aF7aERbPaZDmrE/s1600/DSC00853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHqlFMA2YFMjrKbpRn9ZlF6Dtvy41NSwebPJu-Ka53l-t0aBHWkeN-g3PGPlenqbIlKza-W7FOzmgIbpGYg-wEAog_9801572wAVwVRQ6J4r92FwB8XlPAqW2baCi0aF7aERbPaZDmrE/s640/DSC00853.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where I work! The desk behind and to the left is that of the executive director so I always get a lot of good information every day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> So that just about wraps it up!<br />
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I'm sorry for appearing in so many of the photos with my ugly mug but my boss insisted that I be in all of them! The photos probably didn't go such a long way to explaining in detail what I do but I'll try to cover that in a later post!<br />
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See ya! </div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-53885798928001882552012-08-08T17:20:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:23:41.121+09:00Just a few photos!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It's me again!<br />
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While I've been here I've taken a few pictures so I'd like to share those with you!<br />
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Here are some photos of where I live and the area around me. I'll be sure to upload photos of my workplace in the next post so keep your eyes peeled!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqi4e-UcgmC-CdMWOXgyY7BzLT7SeTg8UZU6p6wygUEaMTuXiVS1EQ9b8JYJIxpov-72u1gLc9bNjevG4vSAJ-0M9dmgGOsd1iWiUIE7W6jDyCg1zS1FVIaX0xLhkji4ucraryyVqMS9Q/s400/DSC00794.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad! (well host dad..) I might have gotten lost if it weren't for him on the day of moving!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz8WX6ZYkdV-wu7ZLvChl5RGvAqR1nZaua6QgNgqF8pv0nxpxx3XAPoRaySJyzKKLDdXf_S-r7xmIUd238iVwwWm5pg_HIHEacvN4HhD5yXjMsdfh0g_Xx4f88E75jRaaz9q1OpeRT9M/s1600/DSC00800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz8WX6ZYkdV-wu7ZLvChl5RGvAqR1nZaua6QgNgqF8pv0nxpxx3XAPoRaySJyzKKLDdXf_S-r7xmIUd238iVwwWm5pg_HIHEacvN4HhD5yXjMsdfh0g_Xx4f88E75jRaaz9q1OpeRT9M/s400/DSC00800.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lounge when I first moved on! I instantly made it messy (and it's still messy now haha!)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZGEYylHI2GYxlG9PjYZpr4GvO5rk8WDfB3boaTYQTvhcSs6L6ee4SOr1DULwTXDXidofjVkRhwflewPysx7DKWzPqH0GnqyJWDTiMggj-JcyMOLLGV2j57PaZTRPycK_MrxIUtS9-bQ/s1600/DSC00803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZGEYylHI2GYxlG9PjYZpr4GvO5rk8WDfB3boaTYQTvhcSs6L6ee4SOr1DULwTXDXidofjVkRhwflewPysx7DKWzPqH0GnqyJWDTiMggj-JcyMOLLGV2j57PaZTRPycK_MrxIUtS9-bQ/s400/DSC00803.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took 5 attempts to get the washer to work! You'll see why in a later post!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u4R-dMPaJWf2niCYmmdXuRONjY1ysXtMRehKNuMI49uhtK_2R24Oure9xknr_-quy4R2Mpyh4Om-_cu3t3S3ABVdwEnpm3hO2sKD79fOykj-6ftlTNJDQMCbaCgGZyZLgmYK0PacQhw/s1600/DSC00804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u4R-dMPaJWf2niCYmmdXuRONjY1ysXtMRehKNuMI49uhtK_2R24Oure9xknr_-quy4R2Mpyh4Om-_cu3t3S3ABVdwEnpm3hO2sKD79fOykj-6ftlTNJDQMCbaCgGZyZLgmYK0PacQhw/s400/DSC00804.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Absolutely fantastic shower area complete with an automatic bath (that's right.. automatic!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-O3XZJCpQ2MsOOS-KUkEMnjffjqM5ItVs5-DYsI0zrbzI_X9mwbrAxm-amoTr3f32vrtx2D2MWGFo6kxIooAkEN-NoCVJmOOMUgP6aF6BqbjGd4BOOSo-0PJ0g1SbFa2b9ytbKmeD6w/s1600/DSC00805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-O3XZJCpQ2MsOOS-KUkEMnjffjqM5ItVs5-DYsI0zrbzI_X9mwbrAxm-amoTr3f32vrtx2D2MWGFo6kxIooAkEN-NoCVJmOOMUgP6aF6BqbjGd4BOOSo-0PJ0g1SbFa2b9ytbKmeD6w/s400/DSC00805.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Japanese residence is complete without a Genkan 「玄関」</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JvFbDdjpA3wHoMdlMvxTHu4KlnN29RKdTLvDcnHYaciN0E7tnwQxORDlf7OINZ577r3W7fMvO5kHd5ucXGsyKmhubgs1yh8BPdTYKH2BKn6VRQ-ijukiWuTrLlpemkJ6WCGU7o2TOQ0/s1600/DSC00824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JvFbDdjpA3wHoMdlMvxTHu4KlnN29RKdTLvDcnHYaciN0E7tnwQxORDlf7OINZ577r3W7fMvO5kHd5ucXGsyKmhubgs1yh8BPdTYKH2BKn6VRQ-ijukiWuTrLlpemkJ6WCGU7o2TOQ0/s400/DSC00824.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messy bedroom! The bed is so dodgy I think it's broken on one side.. oh well!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQmqz93JU-Q3XhEnk4XMFH0xWyUomQVxhjQtxj2Xw_himintHON_HuilkCmcUz_oofKwYCTmcrum-mG1daG28stLVx0lF2JLOen-ubHP-fIbGkhj6-k31bY8jb6AWMCSAdYkLeCLJjjQ/s1600/DSC00823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQmqz93JU-Q3XhEnk4XMFH0xWyUomQVxhjQtxj2Xw_himintHON_HuilkCmcUz_oofKwYCTmcrum-mG1daG28stLVx0lF2JLOen-ubHP-fIbGkhj6-k31bY8jb6AWMCSAdYkLeCLJjjQ/s400/DSC00823.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had a good night : Beer, Melon and CITY HUNTEERRRRR!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbGTCTTa_EBPVEeCOU16DCcIEfN3wUea1vlCDreXUFpg6oWRRGT-ibeFJwgr5hdeCCX8Cw_2iGLB9DPJBca7a7KBOYMCeLeEIcPRxTi9s-iEsz5x-MVh_DXHqM6pTxU7WOyJl3T7Zf14/s1600/DSC00832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbGTCTTa_EBPVEeCOU16DCcIEfN3wUea1vlCDreXUFpg6oWRRGT-ibeFJwgr5hdeCCX8Cw_2iGLB9DPJBca7a7KBOYMCeLeEIcPRxTi9s-iEsz5x-MVh_DXHqM6pTxU7WOyJl3T7Zf14/s400/DSC00832.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is Yaizu train station. It looks a lot bigger than it really is!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cHT6r0JEayucMxUts-2atQMX_UbUyAu2ixcYK4lCvBcmtI3v5bJvgVUTmCwBxWnM-fbdD3xC9ZhqD4XP7Ku0XPb3G8c4DnwctDrCTXtCeXhft2S4hWkAllZb8nDty84IO342-qTa4xI/s1600/DSC00834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cHT6r0JEayucMxUts-2atQMX_UbUyAu2ixcYK4lCvBcmtI3v5bJvgVUTmCwBxWnM-fbdD3xC9ZhqD4XP7Ku0XPb3G8c4DnwctDrCTXtCeXhft2S4hWkAllZb8nDty84IO342-qTa4xI/s400/DSC00834.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally, for all you pervs out there.. a LOVE HOTEL muwhaha!</td></tr>
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What do you think of my photos? Is there anything you want to see specifically in Yaizu or the Shizuoka area?<br />
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I'm going to upload photos from my workplace very soon so keep your toast toasted! </div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-21879541126178087912012-08-07T12:49:00.000+09:002012-09-12T17:26:36.817+09:00Follow my blog with Bloglovin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-60961260454726431352012-08-06T13:11:00.002+09:002012-09-04T11:24:03.629+09:00My trip to Hamamatsu with a bit of self-racism!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Good to see you here again!<br />
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It's been a few couple of days since I last posted, but I'm back again!<br />
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On the weekend I took a trip to Hamamatsu for a small drinking event and it was a very enriching experience! Hamamatsu is a medium-sized city located near the coast, between Shizuoka and Nagoya. I'm currently living in a place near Shizuoka called Yaizu, so it took me just over an hour and (1110 yen) to get to Hamamatsu by train. While I was living in Amagasaki and commuting around the Osaka area, I would say that the vast (VAST) majority of people were "native" Japanese. As such, I was usually the only foreign-looking person within my line of sight (Yes, I can see myself!). As a knock-on effect, I would usually get given the stares (I would say more curious stares rather than evil ones) but I eventually got used to it and it happened less and less as people saw me more often around town.<br />
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Before going to Hamamatsu, I had heard about a number of factories (Yamaha, Suzuki) that employ a large amount of Brazilian-Japanese (in some cases pretty much just Brazilian) workers. As a result of this, there has been, to some extent, intercultural breeding (for lack of a better phrase). There are a lot of foreign looking people in Hamamatsu but somehow it didn't make me feel at ease.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You might be interested to Know that Tulio (a popular soccer player) is of Brazilian descent!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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It might sound strange, but I tend to attribute Japanese people with safety and trust, knowing that they won't burgle my house even if I forget to lock the door. However, I tend to attribute non-Japanese people (including everybody so as not to unintentionally appear racist) with crime! I know it sounds like a horrible thing to say, but living in Japan has brought to my attention how dangerous and riddled with crime the UK actually is!<br />
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So, walking around Hamamatsu city, I no longer felt safe enough to carry my wallet in my back pocket (basically in plain view) as I would usually. I felt slightly uneasy and I wanted to go back to my bubble of all Japanese people. At that moment, it struck me: I wonder how the Japanese people in Amagasaki and Osaka felt when they saw me? If that's how I view my fellow "gaijin", how scared must the Japanese be of me?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2X3AtyFQh32bkFTxP3bV2ctPAOIACKaJV-ekvTBqqiWn2NsC2diTgWIs9FjxoIH1_dPyQslyaOZpIsIOoAK0y3yG1NV7Gm_ah7FmGGjZc7ZK0QnEy89eVB_AaWzTJoA5G0Hma2PImYMb/s400/tim-ernst-gaijin-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2X3AtyFQh32bkFTxP3bV2ctPAOIACKaJV-ekvTBqqiWn2NsC2diTgWIs9FjxoIH1_dPyQslyaOZpIsIOoAK0y3yG1NV7Gm_ah7FmGGjZc7ZK0QnEy89eVB_AaWzTJoA5G0Hma2PImYMb/s400/tim-ernst-gaijin-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This author wants you to under the feelings of foreigners in Japan.. haha!</td></tr>
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Well, having said that, I'm only about 15cm tall and weigh less than a ton of feathers (get it?) so my scariness doesn't stretch very far. It was certainly an eye-opener and it made me consider the way I think about other people and other races. I think living in Japan has made me racist towards anyone other than Japanese people as I feel like they are the only ones whom I can trust.<br />
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Hopefully, when I return to the UK I will regain my trust in Britain. It probably doesn't help that I got my (locked) bike stolen after 3 days in Birmingham but still had my bike after leaving it unlocked in Amagasaki for 2 days. In any case, I will be back in the UK within 2 months, so we shall see how I cope with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock#Reverse_culture_shock">reverse culture-shock</a>.<br />
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That's all for now but I will update you with some details about my internship again very soon!</div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-13497147320113613622012-08-03T18:26:00.003+09:002012-09-04T11:24:25.625+09:00Internship Specifics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It's me again!<br />
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It's been four days since I moved to Shizuoka and while there have been a couple of bad apples, there have been a lot fantastic developments!<br />
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You might remember that I wrote about <a href="http://thejapaninternship.blogspot.jp/2012/07/company-dormitories-and-last-minute.html">Japanese company dormitories</a>, but it turns out that the place I'm staying in is basically just a spacious apartment which the company owns. The biggest benefit is that I can invite my friends or family without having to worry about rules! <br />
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Mr Suzuki (the employee taking care of me) is extremely <b>kind</b>! On the first day he picked me up from the train station and took me to the apartment. From there, we went to the company and he briefly introduced me to everybody. Although I'm doing an internship, it really sounds like the executive director has a view to actually employing or contracting with me as a business partner to sell their products in the UK. He keeps saying "Although you're here for an internship, I want you to try your best to get into a position where we can sell our goods in the UK". Everything feels very real now! <br />
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Before I was accepted onto the Shizuoka <a href="http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/sangyou/sa-530/english/businessintern.html">Business Internship Programme</a>, I had to write an essay explaining why I wanted to join the internship programme and what kinds of things I hoped to learn from my experience. While I thought that writing such an essay was just a formality, it turns out that the company director took an interest in my essay, and gave me some further essays to write based on its contents.<br />
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As a part of my training, I need to consolidate what I learn at the company and put it into words (in Japanese, of course).<br />
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<b><u>Key Internship Learning Points</u></b><br />
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<b>(1) 原価について (Costing)</b><br />
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<i>「原価改善は、直接原価計算と会計原価計をどのように利用しますか?」</i><br />
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<i>"With a view to improving costs, how are <b>direct costing</b> and and <b>cost accounting</b> used?"</i><br />
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<b>(2) 看板方式制度の実施について (Implementation of the Just-In-Time Production system)</b><br />
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</i> <i>「マルタカの健康機は、どんな生産方式(トヨタ看板方式、セル方式、海外生産、他)</i><br />
<i>を採用すべきでしょうか?」 </i><br />
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</i> <i>What kind of <b>production system</b> should Marutaka Techno adopt? (e.g. Toyota's JIT system, Cell production, Overeseas Production etc). </i><br />
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<b>(3) 価格について (Pricing)</b><br />
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<i>「健康機の販売設定は、どのようにすべきか提言してください」 </i><br />
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</i> <i>Please suggest what kind of <b>pricing policy</b> should be set for health-related machines (such as the ones produced by Marutaka Techno). </i><br />
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<b>(4) マーケティングについて (Marketing)</b><br />
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</i> <i>「マルタカ健康機のマーケティング(営業)の改善提言をしてください」</i><br />
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<i>Please suggest areas for improvement regarding the <u>marketing </u>and<u> selling</u> of Marutaka's products.</i><br />
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<b>(5) 良いセールスマンの条件はなんですか? (How to become a good salesman)</b><br />
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</i> <i>「対人能力向上について述べてください」</i><br />
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<i>Please write about improving interpersonal skills (with a view to improving business negotiations etc.)</i><br />
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So those are the five main things that the director wants me to learn during this two-month internship. When I say "five main things", it doesn't really seem like a lot but there are <i>so</i> many different things contained inside each topic. <br />
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I've already learned a lot in the last couple of days and I'm sure that I'll let a lot more in the next two months. Today I was introduced to all of the products made by Marutaka Techno, and I'll post a few photos here until next time!<br />
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Can you guess <b>where</b> we sell these products? <b>Who</b> might the most common end users be?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ip5qOzejPc5la9gd9CQVS3lIXVHPGsawk04QfxXgQrRlGqL6C81TvxreguLJ4i4AuBqAEY1qlnR0wx8ke4-sgBv2AQmyRNNixPQh8aYNZCSNjrCP4QRzpAghiHqNVFmCZOrUv7TYE8/s1600/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%95%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%EF%BC%91.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ip5qOzejPc5la9gd9CQVS3lIXVHPGsawk04QfxXgQrRlGqL6C81TvxreguLJ4i4AuBqAEY1qlnR0wx8ke4-sgBv2AQmyRNNixPQh8aYNZCSNjrCP4QRzpAghiHqNVFmCZOrUv7TYE8/s320/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%95%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%EF%BC%91.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> These photos show the majority of the products made and sold by Marutaka Techno. While it's easy to see that some of these are massage chairs, the other ones may be a bit more mysterious. Although I don't have time to explain them one by one right now, I'm going to talk about them in detail and try to explain the production processes. Marutaka Techno employs a couple of different production processes, but I'll just say that its main production system is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_manufacturing">Cellular Manufacturing</a>. <br />
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That's all for now, but stay tuned for more interesting news from <b>LET'S DO AN INTERNSHIP! </b><br />
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</div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8485665414415487121.post-29632993177812592542012-07-30T12:30:00.001+09:002012-09-04T11:24:41.192+09:00Company dormitories and last minute packing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sorry that it's been a while since I last posted an update!<br />
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I've been extremely busy having final parties with all of my friends as I'll be leaving tomorrow morning! I haven't even finished packing but I have one last飲み会 (nomikai or drinking party) tonight from around 6pm.<br />
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Just recently I received an email from one of the section chiefs from the company at which I'll be interning for the next two months. Originally he told me that the apartment would be <i><b>naked</b></i> in the sense that there would be no crockery or cutlery, but with this latest email he reassured me that most stuff would be there.<br />
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Anyway!<br />
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Attached to the email were seven photos from inside the apartment. It is a very spacious apartment and you will see those photos in a moment! Although it looks just like an apartment, it's being called a 社員寮 (shainryou) which means company dormitory. While it might come as a bit of a surprise, many employees of medium to large sized companies often stay in these dormitories as there are some key benefits.<br />
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The biggest benefit is usually that the rent is very cheap and some are even offered discounts on utility bills. One of my friends pays just 20,000 yen a month but he would have to pay at least 60,000 to live by himself in the same area. As the company usually owns the whole building, everybody in the building is an employee. It's like imagining a company taking over an apartment block and then subletting it to its employees. It is supposed to harbour camaraderie and coworkers can be safe knowing that they are going home to same place after a long day at work and a long night at an 居酒屋 (izakaya or Japanese style pub). As the company is <i>not</i> going to be paying me any salary whatsoever, they will allow me to stay in the apartment/dorm <b>free of charge</b>. Although I've not confirmed it, I doubt that they will make me pay for the utility bills either.<br />
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There are a few (draconian) drawbacks to living in such a place (at least as far as I've heard). These company dormitories are usually male only. While it is not immediately clear why, girlfriends and even female friends are not allowed in. I'm sure this makes it that much more difficult for men to find or maintain girlfriends, but at the same time I'm sure they find ways around it. Perhaps this is maintain loyalty to the company and get rid of any distractions, but guys need time to wind down right?<br />
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Another issue that might come up is that of company supervisors living in the same apartment blocks. I've heard from friends that these supervisors keep tabs on all of the employees living in the dorm, and report them to human resources when ever they step out of line. This can be something as petty as using the air conditioner too much during the summer when energy needs to be conserved. While I don't think that my company will deal with in such a harsh manner, I'd better keep my wits about me and make sure that I don't accidentally break any rules. <br />
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My host father actually told me that he had been living in a Mitsubishi company dormitory for about 8 years before finally moving in with my host mother. I suppose one of the reasons these dorms are attractive is that most young employees start off on salaries that do not allow them to live in a nice place by themselves. Having said that, my friend who works at a bank tells me that his salary more than covers the cost of an average apartment. When I asked him why he hadn't already moved out, he said that he is often working from 8am until 9pm every day, so the brief time that he spends at his home is just to sleep, so it doesn't really make much of a difference where he stays. While I can't say I would agree with that, I haven't yet experienced the long hours of working in a Japanese company so I don't yet have a fully formed opinion on the matter.<br />
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I didn't ask the company representative about the rules of the "dorm" at which I'll be staying, as there have been much more pressing issues to deal with (e.g. visa changes, alien registration changes, meeting arrangements and packing). One thing that left me a bit disheartened is the fact that there is no television, no telephone line and no Internet. There is actually an old television in one of the photos, but I'm going to make an educated guess that it either doesn't work or does not have an aerial. If they do actually let me finish work at the agreed time of 17:20, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all of that free time. Read a book? FAT CHANCE.<br />
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Anyway, without further ado, here are the photos from my apartment!<br />
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<br />
Let me know what you think!<br />
<br />
I've been living with a Japanese family for almost a year now, so this is going to be a very different experience.. <br />
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I'll endeavour to update more often as soon as I get access to the internet!<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading and bye for now !<br />
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</div>Sebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347918043879372965noreply@blogger.com0