This paper verified the factors that influence the success or failure of college students’ job-seeking efforts. In particular, it focused on analyzing the roles of social networks.

First, it was discovered that, as a significant factor influencing job offer acquisition, those who systematically utilized a strategic job hunting process from the start obtained job offers with a high level of satisfaction.

On the other hand, looking at satisfaction levels, compared to those who started job hunting early, those who started slightly later, in February or March of their third year, had a higher level of satisfaction. It can be speculated that satisfaction level is positively associated with the amount of time students spend considering what kind of job they want before they apply.

The results of this study also confirmed that the use of social networks enhanced the likelihood of receiving job offers as well as the level of satisfaction with the job offers. The results also showed that the size of one’s social network is positively associated with the acquisition of job offers.

On the other hand, satisfaction level was positively associated with not only the size of one’s social network, but also the number of people with whom they spoke by mobile phone, for which no association with job offer acquisition could be found. Unlike the number of contacts stored in their phones, the number of people with whom they spoke shows not only how many connections they have but also the strength of those connections. These differing analysis results are important.

Large social networks are helpful for directly and indirectly providing information relating to job hunting, and it is conceivable that they can act as a safety net for job hunting in particular.

The size of one’s social network can increase the likelihood of obtaining a job offer. Also, this study revealed that the quality of one’s social network may influence one’s job satisfaction. Information gathered on the size of social networks is information relating to schedule and skills of job hunting, and is not sufficient as information for increasing satisfaction levels from finding employment.

In addition, information alone is not sufficient for increasing satisfaction levels. The researcher believes that it is necessary for students to reflect on themselves and have a deep understanding of the company offering employment, but it can be said that it is important to have strong social network for that process.

When supporting college students’ job hunting in the future, it is necessary not only to make them have a large social network, but also to establish strong connections. Guiding them to have not only the social network that develops spontaneously through college life, but also to establish a variety of social networks, can be effective support.

This Paper investigates the factors and backgrounds that influence employment systems in financial institutions in Japan. The author focuses on three major factors that are giving rise to varieties and changes in the employment systems. First, country factor indicates that the employment practices of multinational financial institutions are influenced by the best practices adopted by the parent company as well as the relevant institutions in the host country. Secondly, the product factor indicates that the employment practices are influenced by the products handled by each company and required skill formation to deliver such products and services. Lastly, the individual strategy factor indicates the differences in employment practices that can be attributed to corporate strategy selected by each company. The author conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 major financial institutions that include companies of Japanese and foreign origin, in three different sectors, namely, banks, securities companies and life insurance companies, to analyze these different factors.

The results indicate that many important employment practices are determined by country factor, such as hiring and downsizing practices, role of HR department, retirement age, etc., which means that these practices are affected by the origin of the company. Product category or business sector also has strong influence on corporate employment practices, particularly in the domain of skill formation and rewards such as job rotation, ratio of performance related pay, number of job grades, etc. Individual strategy also causes some differences albeit to a somewhat lesser degree.

Such findings lead to the conclusion that the growth of multinational companies in Japan are contributing to the increased diversities in employment systems in Japanese financial institutions, whereas differences in products and business sector also contribute to the existence and/or growth of varieties in employment practices, which could be amplified by the recent financial deregulations.

Since the 1980s, there have been various arguments that surround Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), especially in Britain and the US. In Japan, however, only a few studies on SHRM have been conducted, and it may be no exaggeration to say that there are no case studies on it at all. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between sales strategy and human resource management using a case of a Japanese leading department store the Daimaru Inc. The results of our survey of Daimaru on a variety of their activities and their CEO’s statements over the last decade revealed that Daimaru has been adopting a cooperative strategy for autonomy of management. It was also found that in order to reinforce this strategy Daimaru established a job-oriented HRM system, and to complement this system they have further adopted various HRM practices. These results lead to the suggestion that the best fit theory that has been discussed on the SHRM debate is quite effective.

The objective of this document is to investigate and analyze the correlation between the characteristics of the call center work environment, thought to be associated with emotional labor, and stress, and to obtain findings useful in the reduction of such stress. The study pays particular attention to emotional labor behaviors as a characteristic of the call center work environment.

As the structure of industry has shifted toward tertiary sectors of the economy, giving rise to the concept of emotional labor, in Japan, research into this topic has advanced only in certain occupational categories. At the same time, driven by the growth of the telecommunications industry and the development of outsourcing, the call center business has expanded enormously in recent years, and today has a significant impact on employment. Despite this fact, little research has been done targeting workers in the call center. In light of these issues, the study focuses on emotional labor as a unique characteristic of the call center work environment, and analyzes its correlation with stress.

In researching the connection between the characteristics of the call center work environment and stress, the“General health questionnaire-12” (GHQ-12) was used as an explained variable. Ishikawa (2009) was used as a measure of emotional labor and measures of stress used in the“ Brief Job Stress Questionnaire” were used as the explanatory variable.

The study began with a preliminary survey involving interviews with call center management staff to corroborate the workplace environment, the results of which were considered in preparation of the questionnaire, which was conducted targeting all operators in the call centers. To avoid the influence of any outsourcer bias, companies selected for the study included those in the financial services and education-related sectors with their own, in-house call centers. The anonymous survey was distributed to 2,175 operators in fifteen workplaces nationwide, and a total of 1,406 responses were retrieved (a collection rate of 65%).

The survey results were complied through a mean value comparison by type of task assigned. Viewed by type of product handled, finance-related services trended higher than education-related services for“ Emotional dissonance”,“ Surface adaptation to the customer”,“ Stress response”,“ Control of stressor”, and “Strictness of management by results”, while education-related services trended higher for “Positive emotional expression toward the customer”. In terms of type of operation, inbound work trended higher than outbound work for “Emotional dissonance”. These results brought to thought that stress response and emotional labor behaviors are influenced by the types of products handled, the target customer, and the type of operation.

From the estimated results of stress response, it is clear that emotional labor, a characteristic of the workplace environment, does have an influence on stress response, but that this influence can either increase stress, or work to alleviate it. That is, a connection was found between “Emotional dissonance” and “Adaptation to the customer” which produce greater stress, and “Sensitivity to customer emotion”, which eases stress. Further, findings from the call center substantiate that“ Work load (volume)” and“ Control”, both stressors under existing models, do in fact increase stress.