CULTURAL INTEGRATION, VALUES AND FORMS OF MULTICULTURALISM, pages: 89 - 94, 2018

The Business Effect of an International Internship Program on Organizational Development and Cultural Integration within the “en” Group in Japan

Rezumat: After the acquisition of the Wall Street Associates executive hiring firm in 2012, en Japan, a Tokyo based talent operations organization was struggling with the integration of the newly acquired multinational business. In 2015, three years after the merger, the organization was still divided due to language, cultural and operational mindset differences. In an effort to enhance the internationalization of the mono-cultural en Japan business, the Founder and Chairman, Michikatsu Ochi, together with the President, Takatsugu Suzuki, as well as the HR team agreed in March 2015 to welcome a group on international internship students from overseas universities, in view of potentially hiring the ones with the right cultural fit at the end of the program. This was the first time ever the Firm was considering international hires straight out of overseas universities, a practice still rare in corporate Japan. At the end of the three-month internship program, the Firm understood the importance of hiring and including diverse talent, as the international students proved to be highly eligible candidates for hiring, as, in the short period of time, they introduced the Firm to new technology, collaborative talent practices and contributed to the integration of the two internal cultures.