New job in Kobe IKEA Port Island, Part 2

2015/02/19 Daniel

So far, even though I’ve only worked for two months, I can say that…

A lot of things are similar to my previous workplace. My co-workers are nice and my boss is friendly. This may vary from store to store, but I feel that in general, the staff are engaged and motivated to work. I also think that it’s fun going to work (at IKEA).

I can say that most people working at IKEA Japan have an open mind and wish to learn more English and about new cultures, etc. The meatballs served in the restaurant also taste the same as in Sweden (although the jam served here is in much smaller portions).

There are, of course, some differences. I believe the differences between the IKEA of Sweden in Barkarby and the one in Port Island-Kobe in some ways represent the differences between Sweden and Japan in general. For example, the IKEA store in Japan is way more tidy and clean compared to the one in Sweden. In Japan, even a basic shopping tool such as the yellow bag is folded neatly and placed in straight columns, while in Sweden, they are simply forced down a big box.

While the bistro in IKEA Sweden always serves pizza slices, Japan has different set menus and have been through potato slices and fried chicken so far I’ve worked here. The Japanese restaurant also serves local dishes such as curry rice, which cannot be found in the restaurant in IKEA of Sweden.

これまでのところ、２か月働いていないけれど、その短い経験でも私はこれを言うことができます…

多くのことは、私の以前の職場のものと似ています。私の同僚は皆いい人たちだし、係りの者も友好的です。これは店舗によって異なりますが、私は、一般的には、スタッフが従事して働くように動機づけられていると感じています。私もそこに（イケアに）仕事に行くことを、毎日楽しみにしています。

IKEA Japanで働いてる人のほとんど（多く）は、オープンマインドで、英語など新しい文化にとても興味があります。レストランで売っているミートボールはスウェーデンと同じ味味で、ジャムもちいさな例のひとつです。

しかしもちろん、色々な違いはあります。私は、スウェーデンのIKEA Barkarbyと日本のIKEA Port Island神戸の間でのいくつかの違いは、スウェーデンと日本の一般的な違いを表していると考えています。例えば、日本のイケアストアは、スウェーデンのと比べると、よりきれいで清潔です。日本は、買い物に使われる黄色のバッグがきちんと折り畳まれ、まっすぐの列に配置されていますが、スウェーデンでは、大きな箱に単にいれています。

イケアスウェーデンのビストロは、常にピザのスライスを提供していますが、日本は異なるセットメニューを有しており（少なくとも）。私がここで働き始めてからは、フライドポテトを提供したり、その後にフライドチキンも提供するようになりました。日本のレストランでは、スウェーデンのイケアにあるレストランでは見つけれことができないような、カレーライス等の地元料理を提供しています。

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IKEA, Work

New job in Kobe IKEA Port Island, Part 1

2015/02/01 Daniel

I have worked at IKEA Japan’s Bistro and Swedish Food Market (in the Kobe store) for about two months now. Here are some of my ideas and thoughts about it:

I first started working at IKEA in Sweden for a summer job in 2012. I continued working there after graduating from Södertörn University until I left for Japan in September 2014. After that, I took a 3-month break before working at IKEA Japan in December. Since my previous responsibilities at IKEA of Sweden were mostly customer service-related jobs, my job at IKEA Japan was an entirely new experience for me. I didn’t know anything about the food industry or how to operate the restaurant. (Take a look here on how I first got the job.)

This December, I was given a friendly reception. Even though I was still working for the same corporation, the changes in country, culture and language, left me feeling a bit nervous. The reception started with an introduction of IKEA as a corporation and the different functions of the store. It continued with more specific education regarding the routines at IKEA Food, and especially about the rigorous food safety regulations.

今までイケアジャパン（の神戸の店舗）ビストロとスウェーデンフードマーケットで２か月ぐらい働いていました。これは私のその事についての考えです。

私はIKEA Swedenで２０１２年の夏から働き初めました。Sodertorn Universityを卒業した後はずっと働いて、２０１４年の九月にやめて、日本に引っ越した。それで、イケアを３か休職して、また１２月にイケアに入りました。前のイケアでの仕事はほとんど接客業務で、イケアフードは新しい経験でした。食品産業とかレストランの管理とかは今まで、全然やったことありませんでした。これはどうやってイケアができたのかの記録です。

去年の１２月に私はIKEAでフレンドリーな迎えられました。まだ同じ会社で働き続けていたけど、国、文化、言語が変わったのせいで、少し緊張感があった。最初の日、レセプションは、企業としてのIKEAの紹介や店舗の異なる機能についての説明で始まった。そして、特に食品安全規制について厳しく教えられ、IKEA Foodでのルーティンワークについての具体的な教育が続いた。

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Education

Japans challenges

2015/01/17 Daniel

Challenges Facing Japan Today

I just finished reading this article from Japan for Sustainability, where Junko Edahiro talks about Japan’s challenges in society and economy.

Environmental changes are impacting Japan (and the world) in many ways. Global warming, for example, lead to a higher occurrence of extreme rainfalls and mudslides. And in 2010 alone, 1,700 people died of heatstroke.

The Japanese society is undergoing a large demographical change as the aging population continues to rise (even more than Sweden). An increasing amount of retirees will put a strain to the pension system, and the monthly payments will have to be cut. Doing so however, will decrease the disposable income of the retirement rich, which will lead to a decrease in economical growth for Japan. As the workforce decreases, there is talk of increasing the minimum retirement age to 74.

This all relates to a society’s carrying capacity, which is the maximum population an environment can sustain, and the need to keep develop processes that limit the use of resources to stay within that capacity.

Historically, Japan had enjoyed a long period of steady self-sustainability from 1603-1867 with limited contacts with the outside world. Westerners visiting Japan during that that time left stories of Japanese people being friendly, polite and happy looking. Compared to today where there aren’t so many smiles anymore. I`m wondering what the negative implications of Japan’s decreasing population of now 128 million people would be? Is there a way to make the Japanese people smile again? And is there an alternative route towards a sustainable and ‘happy’ society?

現代日本の課題

環境の変化はいろいろなことで日本に影響を与えている。たとえば、地球温暖化(global warming) が、たくさんの量の雨と土砂崩れをもたらしている。そして、2010年だけで1700人が熱中症で死亡した。

日本の社会はお年寄りが増えて、スウェーデンよりも高齢化という人口統計の変化を受けている。お年寄りの増加は年金制度への負担をかけますした。毎月の年金の支払額を減らさなければならないかもしれない。これにより、日本の経済の成長のマイナスになるお年寄りの年金の金額が少なくなる。また日本の労働力が少なくなると、年金をもらえる年齢を最低でも74歳まで引き上げる話しがある。

最初のところはこんな感じだと思います。

この全てのことは、社会の収容力に関わるものです。私たちは心に入れて億と共に、容量内に入るように、その容量以内での資源利用のプロセスを考える必要がある。

歴史的に日本は限られた外国との貿易により、1603から1867まで、の長い自立する機会を持っていた。それで、私は日本の人口減少についてを考えました。1.28億人もへらなければいけないのか？昔、外国人は日本人と生活をして幸せな生活があったようでした。今の日本を比べると、前より多くの笑顔はありません。人々を笑顔にする方法はあるのか、ずっと幸せに暮らせる社会にするための別のルートがあるのでしょうか?

Kyoto, Temples and shrines

Celebrating Christmas and New Year

2015/01/08 Daniel

Christmas and New Year in Japan vs Sweden.

Christmas

While Christmas in Sweden is a time to gather and meet your family. Christmas in Japan is arguably a romantic time for couples. Going on a date to USJ (Universal Studios Japan) or to a fancy restaurant seems to be customary.

In one of the smartest marketing moves in Japan, KFC – Kentucky fried chicken has become associated with Christmas in Japan. If you don’t pre-order the special chicken bucket one months in advance, you have to make it without it on Christmas, what a bummer!?

Finally, there is the phenomenon of eating christmas cake in Japan, that is consumed instead of Julbord, which is a Swedish Christmas buffet.

New year

I would say that the new year is for the family in Japan, whilst it is more about drinking with friends in Sweden (very generalized). I visited the Yasaka shrine in Kyoto during the new year and witnessed A LOT of Japanese going there as well, praying, eating fast food at the stalls, and ringing the bell. You can see and hear it in my video below. The day after, on new years day, I went to my friends in the Ueda family and had a very pleasant evening with amazing new years food and games afterward.

日本とスウェーデンのクリスマスとお正月

クリスマス

スウェーデンでは、クリスマスに家族が集まりす。しかし、日本のクリスマスは、カップルにとって一番大事な日だと思います。USJにデートをしたり、素敵なレストランに行ったりすろようです。

KFCは、日本の一番最高なマーケティングイデアに、クリスマスと関連しています。特別チキンナゲットをクリスマスにたべたければ、１ヶ月前に、予約しなくちゃいけないです。

また、クリスマスケーキというものがあって、スウェーデンのJulbordの代わりに食べます。

お正月

日本のお正月は家族と会ったり、一緒に食事をしますが、スウェーデンは友達とお酒を飲むことが多い日です。

お正月には八坂神社へ行きました。そこでは、多くの人で賑わっていました。日本人は初詣でお願い事をしたり、屋台の食べ物を食べたりしていました。鐘の音は大きかったです。この下は私のそのイベントにとった映画です。その次の日は友達の上田の家に行って、食べたり、ゲームしたりしました。

Doshisha MBA, Education, Kyoto

What am I doing as an MBA student?

2014/12/16 Daniel

Up until now, I’ve mostly written about things that happened outside of Doshisha Business School. This time, I will focus on my school life here in Kyoto, Japan. So far, 2.5 months have passed and I’ve taken 7 courses simultaneously this first quarter (the maximum courseload that you could take), and was quite intense. My program consists of 32 international students from all over the world who have gathered at a building called Kambaikan at Doshisha’s Imadegawa Campus. Here, we spend most of our weekdays attending lectures, working on projects, and sitting in our exclusive business school lounge discussing life in Japan. On evenings and Saturdays, the Japanese MBA students (JMBA) come to the school to attend their lessons and study at the library. Every Saturday, a group of us meet for a language exchange and to share our experiences.

This quarter, I took courses in: Accounting, Business Economics, Operations Management, Strategic Management, and Critical and Analytical Thinking. Additionally, I took two optional courses: written and spoken Japanese, level IV.

The quarter started off nice and slow, but ended in utter mayhem. I overestimated my own abilities, and my 7-course workload in addition to doing other things really stressed me out. I simply had too many things going on at the same time – my MBA studies, kendo practice, interviews for my part-time job, meeting friends and making new ones, exploring Kyoto, etc. I made some strategic decisions and cut out Kendo club for now, as it conflicts with the schedule of my new job at IKEA. One Japanese course also had to go, since I felt that I would learn much more Japanese working at my job (more about that later).

The second quarter started on December 2014. Currently, I’m taking: Marketing, People and Organizations, Business and Society in the Global Context; and continuing with Critical and Analytical Thinking, as well as my Japanese speaking class. Having only five classes instead of seven is working wonders! I’ve also rearranged my priorities to:

Getting an MBA degree
Working at IKEA
Meeting people and exploring

Mari Kondo, who teaches my Strategic Management class, asked us to come up with an idea for a business plan and to implement some of the strategic frameworks that we have learned. My team and I ended up making this silly, but awesome, video. Enjoy!!!

Daniel Jacobson