Overview
Every day, 700,000 Americans working in Japanese companies confront the "rice-paper ceiling." International business consultant Rochelle Kopp exposes this invisible obstacle to advancement at Japanese corporations, how it operates, and what you can do to "break through" it to improve your workplace relationships and career prospects. Along the way she details case studies that reveal the profound differences between Japanese and American work styles and cultures. If you work for a Japanese company, or plan to, you need this book. "A revealing, readable account of American-Japanese interactions in the workplace."-Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School
Rochelle Kopp is a Yale graduate with an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. She is Managing Principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting in Chicago.
Editorials
Library Journal
Is there really a "rice-paper ceiling" that keeps Americans out of top management jobs in Japanese companies? Kopp, a principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting in Chicago and a former employee at a Japanese firm, investigates the cultural origins of the ceiling and gives advice on breaking through it. She presents an evenhanded analysis meant not to Japan-bash but to help Americans and Japanese build bridges. In the future, she contends, Americans and Japanese will have to rely more closely on one another to maintain global economic success. Though a bit long-winded and repetitive, this well-written and interesting book offers important advice on how to evaluate a potential Japanese employer and how to succeed on the job. It should be read by anyone seeking a job with a Japanese firm. Recommended for all career collections.-Kris Swank, American Graduate Sch. of International Management, Glendale, Ariz.In The Rice-Paper Ceiling: Breaking Through Japanese Corporate Culture, Rochelle Kopp notes that although more than 700,000 Americans are currently employed by Japanese companies, very few Americans are in top-level management positions with those firms. The explanation lies in the real but almost invisible barrier that prevents sufficient communication across the cultural divide. Due to differing attitudes toward work, goals, accountability, and a variety of other factors, American employees and Japanese bosses often have completely opposite assumptions about how things should get done. Japan's current economic slump (and the litigation pending against such companies as Mitsubishi) clearly show that Japanese managers are not infallible. Success comes from honest communication and mutual understanding of goals. Highly recommended reading for American employees of Japanese corporations, American governmental and economic policy makers, economists, as well as both Japanese and American corporate executives, The Rice-Paper Ceiling provides numerous practical and forward-thinking strategies for getting beyond the culturally induced conflicts as Rochelle Kopp provides a very highly recommended, insider's guide to what really goes on inside the Japanese corporate system.