2012 Volume 152 Pages 14-29
The increase of Indian IT engineers (IEs) employed by Japanese IT companies during the past decade has undoubtedly in turn raised the necessity of Indian Bridge Resources (IBRs) who can play the important role of facilitators between IEs and Japanese co-workers (JCWs). Even though the IBRs possess a high level of Japanese language proficiency, they face many communication problems while carrying out their duties. In this paper it is intended to illustrate the communication framework utilized during IT projects in Japanese companies, and bring to light the communication competence required by IBRs, by focusing on interview surveys carried out on IBRs, IEs and JCWs. By analyzing the problems that occur during communication among these three groups, it was identified that IBRs faced difficulty in obtaining information from IEs which JCWs require for "vision sharing". Such a situation can arise due to the IEs' lack of knowledge about JCWs' communication practices. In this case, IBRs are required to try to mediate and make both IEs and JCWs understand the advantages of the practices of each, and manage the two opinions so that they can work harmoniously to optimize and ensure the best outcome of the project.
