Kyushu University Graduate School of Social & Cultural Studies Speech Communication Course and Faculty of Languages & Cultures jointly presents:
Open Lecture on Communication

The Influence of the Information Technology Industry (IT)
on Japanese Corporate Communication:
Change or Continuity?

Dr. Edwin R. McDaniel
School of Communication, San Diego State University

May 22nd, 2002, Wednesday 15:00-16:30

Kyushu University, Ropponmatsu Campus
Main Building 2F Conference Room 2

Contact for more information:
Narahiko INOUE, associate professor, Faculty of Languages & Cultures
(x4667, Email: inouen@rc.kyushu-u.ac.jp)

ABSTRACT
    The Japanese government has initiated a national information technology (IT) strategy with the announced intention of making Japan the world’s leading IT nation by 2006.  This development plan advocates a “drastic reform of the social structure,” calls for the elimination of the vertical divisions in government administration, and promises that the Japanese will be “able to do the work of their choice regardless of age and sex.”
    If carried to fruition, the government’s objective of creating an information society could very well alter Japan’s established business model, which rests on a culturally based social hierarchy emphasizing continuity over change.  The plan could also usher in a period of significant evolution for Japanese corporate structure and communicative practices.  
    Evidence of small entrepreneurial companies gaining a foothold in Japan’s IT industry is provided by the Fujitsu Research Company’s identification of a growing cluster of new media companies in the Tokyo area.  The ‘Bit Valley’ Association (BVA), an Tokyo based entrepreneurial IT organization dedicated to creating a “region-oriented community for Internet players”, provides further support for the growth of venture companies.  In addition to working with emergent Internet companies, BVA is also consulting with the Japanese government to expand IT into national and regional agencies.  These activities hold the promise of bringing change to the traditional Japanese business practices.
    This research project will interact with Japanese government, corporate, and NGO representatives who are actively implementing IT innovations in their organizations.   The objective is to determine if IT innovations are creating new corporate communicative practices or simply being applied to established traditional modes.  Data will be collected through interviews with representatives from the private sector and government agencies.

Profile of the Speaker:

Dr. Ed McDaniel currently teaches in the School of Communication at San Diego State University, where he teaches courses in cross-cultural communication in international organizations and communication theory.  He completed his Ph.D. in Communication (intercultural and organizational emphasis) at Arizona State University.
    During the 1997-98, Dr. McDaniel was the Executive Coordinator for the Japan–U.S. Telecommunications Research Institute, where he worked closely with U.S. and Japanese corporate executives, government representatives, and academicians.  As a Naval Officer, he served on national, regional, and tactical level staffs in the U.S. and abroad.  He has extensive experience in strategic planning, preparing command position papers, and drafting congressional testimony.  He has also prepared and presented a wide variety of written and oral presentations to top naval leaders, U.S. congressional delegates, and international representatives.  
      Dr. McDaniel is the author and co-author of a number of book chapters, journal articles and conference papers, most of which explore Japanese communicative behaviors.  His area of expertise is Japanese–U.S. organizational communication and current research examines the influence of information technology on traditional Japanese organizational communication practices.