Slow career progression. Too many changes at the top management level hence there is no direction. No clear idea of what your role/ jobscope is. There are a lot of overlaps in functions and you just basically do everything that is thrown to you by your managers.
Weak leadership as managers/ general managers are only promoted by the number of years they worked or if not, Japanese expats. Those promoted solely based on the grounds of long serving are very weak leaders who do not give their staff a clear direction. They do very operational work and like to push the job to their staffs without having an idea of what should be done. They just follow what the management wants and have no opinions (or do not dare to speak up) of their own. These managers only goal is to keep their superiors (top management) happy.
Japanese expats do not understand local culture at all and expect locals to adhere to their way of life/ culture. They expect long working hours (even when there is nothing to do) and total submission to superiors. Hierarchy level is very strong here and all junior staffs are expected to "bow down" to them. If you are Japanese, you will be treated much better than the local staff. So they do not have basic respect for the local staffs and don't trust the locals. They tend to have their private discussions and make a decision before communicating to the local staff. Hence, locals have no say at all, everything is decided. They give a sense that being Japanese makes them superior to everyone else.
Pay is also low as compared to the market but they expect much more from their staff, which is unfair as compensation is not too good.
Gives exception to selected group of people, usually Japanese expats or managerial levels. Standard rules do not apply to them. Do not lead by example, but expect high standards from staff.
No succession planning and non transparent career progression route.
No culture of its own, Japanese culture too embedded.
