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Why Japanese companies do so many different things

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Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#401

Post by xandrius »

ExoticPearTree wrote: post #311
xandrius wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people saying that the Japanese counterpart of other cuisines are better? Have you guys eaten the originals? OP mentions curry, bread, pizza, etc. Those are things most gaijins complain about when in Japan! Can't find a proper piece of bread that isn't sweetened, or you find a French chain doing something almost similar but still not on par with breads found in France. I helped at a pizza shop near Fuji city…

> Can't find a proper piece of bread that isn't sweetened, or you find a French chain doing something almost similar but still not on par with breads found in France. Funny you mentioned France. Japan won the world pastry competition held in France. The french came second. How about that?

Japan as a country or a person from Japan?

I still think that you'd find better French bread at any average French town than in Japan, given my personal experience living there.

And sure maybe not upscale Tokyo but Japan is not just Tokyo.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#402

Post by xandrius »

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #201
xandrius wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people saying that the Japanese counterpart of other cuisines are better? Have you guys eaten the originals? OP mentions curry, bread, pizza, etc. Those are things most gaijins complain about when in Japan! Can't find a proper piece of bread that isn't sweetened, or you find a French chain doing something almost similar but still not on par with breads found in France. I helped at a pizza shop near Fuji city…

> general aversion for strong spices You can get very hot spicy katsu curry in most Japanese cities.

And yet, many of their Indian restaurants are super super mild compared to authentic Indian ones.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#403

Post by amfern »

jdw64 wrote: post #7

It’s always fascinating to see how Westerners idealize Japan on platforms like HN. It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. This essay on Japan's corporate diversification and physical tacit knowledge is an interesting read. However, as an East Asian, my assessment is tha…

Working in japanese software company with Toyota.

It's not at all like in the article, it's not horizontal, and very much hierchcal and rigid.

And it can be seen in japanese software, it looks like it was designed from request sheet without actually understanding why. It's often nonsensical and extremely convoluted.

Most of the good japanese software is actually developed in the west by subcontractors. For example Sony games

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#404

Post by parineum »

jmyeet wrote: post #107
jdw64 wrote: post #7

It’s always fascinating to see how Westerners idealize Japan on platforms like HN. It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. This essay on Japan's corporate diversification and physical tacit knowledge is an interesting read. However, as an East Asian, my assessment is tha…

I've thought a lot about (and I don't mean this in a derogatory way) the weebu phenomenon. I remember encountering it first in college when I met people who were in an anime club. It wasn't for me but my philosophy generally is "let people enjoy things". I will say that it often goes beyond "idealizing". I'd use the word "fetishizing". I've wondered how much of this stems from being disaffected by the modern (particu…

> But the transformation in the lives of ordinary Chinese people over the last few decades is unbelievable. China pulled ~800 million people out of extreme poverty.

By abandoning the policies that put them in poverty.

The story of China in the 20th century is largely one of missing the bus of the progress that was happening around them. The mechanization of Japan enabled the atrocities you mentioned because China refused to see the writing on the wall (from a balance of power perspective, Japan doesn't get a pass for what they did). Then, when they finally do have a revolution, they end up joining up with the group that weilds absolute power and causes catastrophic famine.

In the 21st century, they've slowly begun adopting western policies and are reaping the benefits while eroding their previously disasterous national policies.

The CCP has become more prosperous as it's become more like Hong Kong.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#405

Post by fyrn_ »

kevmo314 wrote: post #313
fyrn_ wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although from the perspective of most of the world, the US is also very work oriented. We also work some of the longest hours

The American work week has been progressively shortening over the years: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/658235/why-americans-workin... Americans including myself love saying we’re busy though.

> Thinking about your primary job: On average, how many hours do you work per week?

Not really sure they are measuring what they think they are measuring. This being more pronounced amongst young people may be because working long is being seen as less and less cool, as there has been a major vibe shift among young workers regarding their relationships with employers. Doesn't necessarily mean they are actually working less, might mean they don't want to admit it.

Revealed concrete hours would be much more trustworthy

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#406

Post by redwall_hp »

ompogUe wrote: post #302
redwall_hp wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Growing up in the 90s, Japan was the undisputed king of cool, affordable entry level sports cars. RX-7, Integra, Impreza WRX, et al. Yamaha, Korg an Roland were the defining instrument producers of the 80s and 90s. Few things have altered the course of popular music as much as the TR-909 and TR-808, M1, DX-7, Juno, Jupiter. All of electronic music grew out of those. The Walkman and Discman were iconic. Honda was…

As the owner of a Juno 106, I can't disagree. In the 90's, to me, it was Panasonic video gear that I found amazing. Had to take apart a couple of toughbooks tonight, and they are great little machines. Although, to me, what I've always loved about Japan is how they will take every medium that arrives on the scene and treat it with loving craftsmanship. From jazz to skateboarding to yo-yos.

Exactly. There's a lot of value placed on expert craftsmanship or just...being an extreme nerd about some niche thing, as well as on the act of creating things. Whatever you're interested in, there's some random person in Japan who's really good at it.

It resonates with me, because I get uncomfortable if I do too much passive consumption and am not making something.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#407

Post by krupan »

stymaar wrote: post #212

> This is very different from how most wealthy countries operate. American firms, for example, tend to prioritize focus above all else It hasn't always been like that. Western companies, including US companies, used to have lots of diversification as well (maybe not as much as the Japanese, but much more than today's companies still: not that long ago a company like IBM used to make mouses and keyboards, in addition…

True. I started my career at HP when it was being changed from a company where you spent your entire career and worked on lots of different things to a more "modern" and "focused" company. It was a sad transition to watch. This article brought back a lot of memories

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#408

Post by snapplebobapple »

jodacola wrote: post #20
jdw64 wrote: post #7

It’s always fascinating to see how Westerners idealize Japan on platforms like HN. It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. This essay on Japan's corporate diversification and physical tacit knowledge is an interesting read. However, as an East Asian, my assessment is tha…

> It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. Quite the opposite - for me, anyway. FWIW, as a Westerner, I find the Mondragon Corporation to be fascinating and something I've read a lot about because there's no way we've figured out the ideal sort of setup for a business (or…

Because the only certainty is there is no ideal sort of setup, just a set of probably decent options for the current conditions, which are highly changeable. The only thing that is certain from a benefit maximization perspective is there are a lot of companies much larger than minimum efficient scale that we should probably antitrust out of existence to increase competition

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#410

Post by rjzzleep »

jdw64 wrote: post #351
rjzzleep wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, how can you as a Korean say these things as if you're different, given that Korean companies are essentially the same?

Korean companies are no different, but the author only singled out 'Japan.'

I responded to the wrong post. I meant to respond to the parent("korean"/"as an east asian")
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