LANGUAGE

AND
GLOBALIZATION:
ENGLISHNIZATION AT
RAKUTEN
Managerial Communication II

CHIRAG ASHOK KAVDIA

0109/53
PROF. SHANTANU DEY

1. PROBLEM ESSAY
a. Problem Statement:
To successfully implement the Englishnization program for achieving the goals of global
expansion and integration across countries.
b. Problem Analysis
Rakuten is the leading E-commerce player in the Japanese market. The worldwide expansion
of Rakuten has turned into a need considering the contracting share of Japanese GDP in the
worldwide GDP. Rakuten Group's Consolidated Profits were soaring high till 2005, where they
peaked and had started to decline in the subsequent years, with its consolidated sales also
stagnating in 2005-07. Hiroshi Mikatani, the CEO of the Rakuten Group, realised that there
was a lot of difference between the way Japanese organizations operate vis--vis their
counterparts in the global world.
With only approximately 10% of the staff being able to communicate in English,
communicating with international partners and subsidiaries effectively is a challenge.
According to Mikitani, English could serve as the true integrator for Rakuten. So he launched
a 2-year migration drive to the exclusive use of English at Rakuten for all its employees. It
sounds all well and good in theory, but there are several factors that threaten this migration.
Younger people were enthusiastic about learning but a majority of the people were against it
or finding it harder to adapt to this new reality.
The shift to English was made obligatory, every employee had to obtain a minimum score of
660 out of 900 in TOEIC in the period of 2 years or face the risk of demotion. The move wasnt
welcomed by most of the employees but with their pay rates connected to their individual
scores, numerous workers attempted to learn and join English in their official correspondence.
There was no proper planning done for such a radical move. Fear of being demoted, absence
of any proper guidance, the company not providing any support in terms of relaxation from
regular job duties making employees learn English in their own personal time are some of the
challenges being faced by the Rakuten employees. Employees were not happy with the manner

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in which Englishnization had been implemented, proving it to be counter-productive for the

organization. Even after fifteen months into the program most of the employees were still
below the target score with no sign of improvement. This has raised questions over its
implementation which needs to be looked upon in the remaining period for achieving the
desired outcome.

2. DECISION ESSAY
a. Recommended Decision Option
It is recommended that the company implement a more flexible structure to customize the
requirement as per the work load of employees for the adoption of English as primary means
of communication. There needs to be a greater involvement of managers in their subordinates
progress to provide personalized guidance and support to the employees. In addition,
employees need to be incentivized by linking rewards with their TOEIC scores.
b. List of Decision Options
i.

Do not do anything. Let this implementation program run its due course

ii.

Announce reimbursement of the costs incurred in learning English of all the

employees who have successfully achieved their target scores

iii.

Incorporate a flexible and customizable arrangement as per employee

requirement and give incentives to those who achieve the target within the
stipulated time

c. Criteria for Evaluating Decision Option

i.

Employee Satisfaction Level and consensus in decision making

ii.

Proper guidance and training structure for employees

iii.

Incentive structure for learning English

d. Decision Analysis (Evaluation of Decision Option)

i.

Recommended Option
Criteria 1: In order to design customizable and flexible targets for employees,
employees will have to be interviewed taking into consideration their job

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requirements and performance, thus fulfilling employee satisfaction and

involving them in decision making process
Criteria 2: Constant interaction with the managers and their personalized
guidance would make this autocratic rule seem a lot more democratic and
would help the employees see this as a collaborative effort of the entire
organization.
Criteria 3: Employees would be provided with different prerequisites which
will be dependent on their test scores. The target scores and their
accomplishment course of events would be subject to occupation necessities of
the workers it would not superfluously punish the individuals who have no
utilization of English Language in their employment and still need to learn it
in a similar way contrasted with somebody who needs to utilize it broadly.
ii.

Rejected Options
Option 1 : Continuing the current implementation without any change would
do more harm than doing any good. The employees are currently unhappy with
the mandate being autocratically introduced without any proper training
support and guidance. With no employee involvement the collaboration would
be difficult.
Option 2 : Reimbursement of costs would provide incentives to the employees
to work harder to achieve their targets. But this alternative would not provide
any additional guidance or training to employees, neither would it lead to
greater participation of employees in the decision making.

3. DECISION ACTION PLAN

Phase I: The Company would conduct training seminars by inviting professional trainers from
outside for providing a well laid out plan for the remaining period and carrying out a continuous
assessment in every one and a half month. Inform employees that their endeavor to achieve the
desirable scores would be supported and rewarded by the organization.

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Phase II: Direct the first session, survey the advance of every individual worker, comprehend
their issues and attempt to address them. Persuade them to push harder to effectively achieve
the target and guarantee workers of full support from the organization in their endeavors to
enhance their English
Phase III: Review the progress and encourage the employees who are still lagging behind in
achieving the target score by inviting employees who have been successful in doing the same
to share their experience and motivate the rest.

4.

CONCLUSION

Keeping in mind the global expansion plan of Rakuten and English being the standard for
global communication, proper implementation of Englishnization is very important. Mikitani's
unexpected, spontaneous Englishnization mandate led to a lot of behavioral and operational
hassles. So as to improve the current situation, it is prescribed that a more adaptable structure,
with flexible targets that are adjustable, as per employment necessities, ought to be
incorporated.

Chirag Ashok Kavdia

0109/53