LANGUAGE AND

GLOBALIZATION:
ENGLISHNIZATION
AT RAKUTEN

RITIKA SHARMA
FP/14/16
MANAGERI AL COMMUNICATION-II

PROF. SHANTANU DEY

1

LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION: ENGLISHNIZATION AT RAKUTEN

I.

PROBLEM ESSAY

a. Problem Statement
Rakutens global expansion plans are at stake with the Englishnization mandate lagging behind its
target.
b. Problem Analysis
The global expansion of Rakuten has become a necessity considering the shrinking share of Japanese
GDP in the global GDP. For a company that is deeply rooted in its Japanese origins of establishing
power structures, protecting and controlling information, with only approximately 10% of the staff being
able to communicate in English, communicating with international partners and subsidiaries effectively
is a challenge. Englishnization of all the company employees and all official communications was
considered to be a prerequisite for successfully transforming Rakuten into a global major.
The migration to English language was announced as a mandate to be achieved by all in terms of a
minimum level of TOEIC scores or face the consequence of getting demoted. The mandate was not
welcomed by a large proportion of the employees but with their salaries linked to their respective scores,
many employees tried to learn and incorporate English in their official communication.
However, the manner in which it is being implemented made it a much bigger struggle for employees
than due to a sudden shift of all communications to a completely new language. Lack of any proper
guidance, fear of being demoted, lack of support from the company in terms of relaxation from regular
job duties making employees learn English in their own personal time are only some of the challenges
being faced by the Rakuten employees. As a result, fifteen months post the announcement of
Englishnization mandate, maximum employees are quite below the target scores with no visible sign
of major improvement in the remaining period. This puts the two-year Englishnization plan under
threat and as a consequence, the global expansion of Rakuten as well.
Therefore, the decision on how to better implement Englishnization in the coming few months are
crucial for the companys future.

RITIKA SHARMA

FP/14/16

LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION: ENGLISHNIZATION AT RAKUTEN

II.

DECISION ESSAY

a. Recommended Decision Option

Given that 9 months are left for the completion of the mandate and the prospects of most employees
achieving target scores is dismal to low, its recommended that Rakuten organize Englishnization
Progress Review Sessions every 2 months starting now, i.e. now, 2nd, 4th, 6th and the 8th month from
now. These sessions should be held for all 7100 employees, where the latest scores of each employee
are reviewed and the problems encountered are discussed.
The progress of the employees is ascertained and are then provided personalized guidance and
suggestions on how to improve their English skills and are motivated to strive for better performance
by explaining the relevance of learning English for their personal progress as well as for career
development.
b. List of Decision Options
I. Organize Progress Review Seminars. (Recommended Option)
II. Announce reimbursement of the costs incurred in learning English of all the employees who
have successfully achieved their target scores.
III. Dont change anything as of now, i.e. let the Englishnization process carry out as it is and
see the results later. If needed, extend the deadline later.

c. Criteria for Evaluating Decision Option

1. Does the Decision Option Incentivise employees?
2. Does the Decision Option provide Flexibility to the employees?
3. Is the Decision Option Collaborative?

d. Decision Analysis (Evaluation of Decision Options)

1. Recommended Option

Criteria 1: If customized guidance and motivation is provided to each employee, then it

would definitely make the employees accepting of the mandate. It will make them positively
inclined to work towards having better English speaking and writing skills since now they

RITIKA SHARMA

FP/14/16

LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION: ENGLISHNIZATION AT RAKUTEN

would better understand that being well-versed in English would broaden their horizons, both
personally and professionally.
Criteria 2: Since employees progress is continuously being monitored and customized
suggestions provided as per their individual workloads and goals, itll be comparatively
easier for employees to manage the additional task of learning English with their respective
work, than it would have been otherwise.
Criteria 3: 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 the
Englishnization of Rakuten as a collaborative effort of the entire organization.

2. Rejected OptionsOption II
Criteria 1: Reimbursement of costs incurred in learning English provided the target scores
have been achieved would provide an incentive to all employees to intensify their efforts of
learning English.
Criteria 2: Just this incentive would not provide any more flexibility to the employees who
deal only with local Japanese people or are incredibly busy with their existing workload.
Criteria 3: Also, since this incentive also doesnt give any chance for the employees to
engage with the managers, discuss their problems/ issues, it will still appear to be requiring
self-directed efforts with no guidance from the top-down.

Option III
Criteria 1, 2 and 3: Maintaining the status quo would most likely be a disastrous
proposition. Given that there is currently a serious disenchantment among employees with
the mandate being autocratically introduced without proper organizational support and
employees having to fend for themselves, it is highly unlikely that employees will be able to
achieve the target score.
Additionally, since the Test scores are not a true indicator of the communication skills of the employees,
Option II and III are not desirable. Option I is most attractive, since there is a higher likelihood of the
employees getting intrinsically motivated to learn communicating in English because they would
understand the importance of English for their personal growth.

RITIKA SHARMA

FP/14/16

LANGUAGE AND GLOBALIZATION: ENGLISHNIZATION AT RAKUTEN

III.

DECISION ACTION PLAN

Phase I: Announce that the company would from now on organize Progress Review Sessions for the
remaining period in every two months to help, aid and support each employee in their
collective goal of becoming a globally competitive firm.

Phase II: Conduct the 1st session, review the progress of each individual employee, understand their
problems and issues and try and address them. Motivate them to push harder to successfully
complete the mandate and assure employees of full support from the company.
Phase III: Regularly review the progress in subsequent sessions and address the concerns as
reported. If still, there are some employees with scores below the stipulated level, instead of
demotion they should be encouraged to adopt English as primary means of official
communication otherwise their career growth would be limited. Give an annual review option

for such employees after this 2-year period is over.

IV.

CONCLUSION

Englishnization is key for global plans of Rakuten. The dismal progress by the employees so far
due to flawed implementation of the mandate can be corrected only if the employees are intrinsically
motivated, adequately incentivised and personally guided.

RITIKA SHARMA

FP/14/16