Japanese Firms
According to human resources managers of the J1 firm, “localization” of its
subsidiaries means that higher management positions, except finance/accounting
positions, are occupied by local employees. Yet, almost all presidents at the
researched Japanese subsidiaries in Asia are Japanese expatriates. At the JS4
subsidiary in Hong Kong, all positions higher than (and including) general
managers are filled with Japanese expatriates. In contrast, a president and a
senior vice president are staffed with local employees at the JS3 subsidiary in
Taiwan. In terms of the incomplete localization, a Japanese human resources
manager at the JS4 subsidiary in Hong Kong stressed that Japanese expatriates
can communicate easier with managers of Japanese headquarters/business units
than local employees. Another Japanese human resources general manager at the
J2 firm stated that the skill level of local employees is generally lower than the
Japanese expatriates would ideally like to see. However, a general human
resources manager at the J5 firm predicts that president positions of Japanese
subsidiaries in Asia will be occupied by local employees in the near future, like
Japanese subsidiaries in America and Europe.