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Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2011 (Revised April 2013)

Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)

by Tsedal Neeley

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Abstract

Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, (Japan's largest online retailer), is at the helm of an organization that is rapidly expanding into global markets. In a critical stride toward becoming the world's No. 1 Internet services company, Mikitani announces Englishnization—a highly publicized aggressive two-year English proficiency mandate for all 7,100 of Rakuten's Japanese employees. Mikitani's goal is not only to ensure the success of the organization, but also to break down linguistic and cultural boundaries in Japanese society. At the time, only an estimated 10% of the Japanese staff could function in English. The stakes are high: those who do not reach their target score by the deadline risk being demoted. As Englishnization progresses, loss of productivity, lack of time to study, and conflicted views among managers impede staff success. Some employees even question the relevance of Englishnization, particularly for staff working exclusively in Japan. Fifteen months since the announcement, the vast majority had not yet reached their target English proficiency scores. With the deadline rapidly approaching, Mikitani must decide how to proceed to ensure the success of Englishnization, the continued global rise of his organization, and even the future of Japan.

Keywords: Teaching; Human Capital; Change Management; Transformation; Social Enterprise; Communication Strategy; Internet; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan;

Language: English Format: Print 15 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Neeley, Tsedal. "Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)." Harvard Business School Case 412-002, August 2011. (Revised April 2013.)

Related Work

  1. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | March 2013 (Revised April 2013)

    Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten: Results Are In! (B)

    Tsedal Neeley

    Keywords: Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan;

    Citation:

    Neeley, Tsedal. "Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten: Results Are In! (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 413-090, March 2013. (Revised April 2013.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related
  2. Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2011 (Revised April 2013)

    Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)

    Tsedal Neeley

    Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, (Japan's largest online retailer), is at the helm of an organization that is rapidly expanding into global markets. In a critical stride toward becoming the world's No. 1 Internet services company, Mikitani announces Englishnization—a highly publicized aggressive two-year English proficiency mandate for all 7,100 of Rakuten's Japanese employees. Mikitani's goal is not only to ensure the success of the organization, but also to break down linguistic and cultural boundaries in Japanese society. At the time, only an estimated 10% of the Japanese staff could function in English. The stakes are high: those who do not reach their target score by the deadline risk being demoted. As Englishnization progresses, loss of productivity, lack of time to study, and conflicted views among managers impede staff success. Some employees even question the relevance of Englishnization, particularly for staff working exclusively in Japan. Fifteen months since the announcement, the vast majority had not yet reached their target English proficiency scores. With the deadline rapidly approaching, Mikitani must decide how to proceed to ensure the success of Englishnization, the continued global rise of his organization, and even the future of Japan.

    Keywords: Teaching; Human Capital; Change Management; Transformation; Social Enterprise; Communication Strategy; Internet; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan;

    Citation:

    Neeley, Tsedal. "Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)." Harvard Business School Case 412-002, August 2011. (Revised April 2013.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

About the Author

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Tsedal Neeley
Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration
Organizational Behavior

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More from the Author

  • Article | Organization Science | November–December 2019

    Head, Heart or Hands: How Do Employees Respond to a Radical Global Language Change Over Time?

    Sebastian Reiche and Tsedal Neeley

    To understand how recipients respond to radical change over time across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions, we conducted a longitudinal study of a mandated language change at a Chilean subsidiary of a large U.S. multinational organization. The engineering-focused subsidiary aiming to facilitate cross-border interactions embedded language acquisition experts to transition all employees from Spanish to English full time. We gathered survey data and objective fluency scores from the language change recipients at five points over a period of two years. Using variable and person-centered exploratory analyses, our results suggest that recipients’ negative affective responses to the language change precede their cognitive responses or self-efficacy, predicting their current language learning. Further, we find that recipients’ cognitive and affective responses over time differentially influence two future behavioral outcomes: intention to leave the organization and willingness to adopt the change. While cognitive rather than affective responses over time drive recipients’ intentions to leave, affective responses influence recipients’ willingness to adopt English. Finally, we show that change recipients followed three trajectories of cognitive responses and two trajectories of affective responses over time. We discuss theoretical and practical implications to the literature on organizational change, emotions, and language in global organizations.

    Keywords: language; Communication; Change; Employees; Attitudes; Emotions; Globalized Firms and Management;

    Citation:

    Reiche, Sebastian, and Tsedal Neeley. "Head, Heart or Hands: How Do Employees Respond to a Radical Global Language Change Over Time?" Organization Science 30, no. 6 (November–December 2019): 1252–1269.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at Harvard Related
  • Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | June 2019

    The Global-Local Tension: Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao Leading with'International Values and Local Roots' (A) and (B)

    Tsedal Neeley and Julia Kelley

    Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 419-031 and 419-032.

    Citation:

    Neeley, Tsedal, and Julia Kelley. "The Global-Local Tension: Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao Leading with'International Values and Local Roots' (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 419-063, June 2019.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related
  • Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2019

    Eric Hawkins Leading Agile Teams @ Digitally-Born AppFolio (A)

    Tsedal Neeley, Paul Leonardi and Michael Norris

    Eric Hawkins, director of engineering at AppFolio—a digital technology firm that offered cloud-based business software to small and medium sized companies—was shocked by an unusual request from his senior leadership team. Could Hawkins and one of his agile teams build a check scanner feature inside their management software? AppFolio’s founders had instructed to never build a check scanner; providing technologies to help businesses move into the digital era was a primary company goal. A scanner for paper checks would contradict the hard-won culture of software innovation and project self-selection that AppFolio and Hawkins’ teams lived by. Hawkins also worried that creating a new team to work on the check scanning project would cause workload and morale issues. But the sales team believed that this technology could close deals with larger, more complex property management companies, some with managers who wanted the check scanner feature. Several large-scale deals were on the line. Hawkins quickly assembled an agile market validation team and considered two options: hold fast to the company’s values and refuse to build the check scanner feature or capitulate and build a basic check scanner with minimum functionality. Engineers would likely consider this a “loser” project, yet sales might get a boost that could open a new revenue stream. Hawkins had to make his decision quickly.

    Keywords: digital transformation; values; Agile; vision; corporate culture; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Neeley, Tsedal, Paul Leonardi, and Michael Norris. "Eric Hawkins Leading Agile Teams @ Digitally-Born AppFolio (A)." Harvard Business School Case 419-066, June 2019.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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