http://www.action-japan.com/index.php en mjd-s@souzouzone.jp Copyright 2007 2007-01-11T10:30:00+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/affiliations/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/affiliations/#When:10:30:00Z Action Japan is proud to be a member of the following organizations: The British Chamber of Commerce, Japan (BCCJ) Victoria Bolam, Managing Director of Action Japan, has been on the Executive Committee of the BCCJ since 2004. www.bccjapan.com The Economist Intelligence Unit (Corporate Network) Corporate Network is the Economist Intelligence Unit’s exclusive, membership-based executive briefing and networking service. It offers a tailored blend of interactive meetings and high-caliber research. www.corporatenetwork.com Developing the Potential of Women (in the Japanese workplace) Action Japan is co-founder of a group specifically aimed at building the skills and business networks of women in the Japanese workplace. The group organizes seminar and workshops, and undertakes leading research in this area. (Contact: ) LATT Dinner Group ‘Lonely At The Top’. A social dinner hosted by Victoria Bolam, Managing Director of Action Japan. This dinner is for executives operating in a largely Japanese environment. Members, from a wide range of industries and varying Japan experience enjoy swapping tips and anecdotes over a relaxed and enjoyable dinner. (contact: ) Foreign Executive Women A networking organization whose aim is to help foreign women in Japan achieve their full professional and personal potential. www.fewjapan.com Temple University, Japan Victoria Bolam, Managing Director of Action Japan, is an adjunct professor for Temple University Japan www.tuj.ac.jp The Forum for Corporate Communications The Forum for Corporate Communications (FCC)—a Tokyo-based volunteer organization for anyone interested in advertising, public relations, marketing, journalism, and the Internet in Japan. www.fcctokyo.com 2007-01-11T10:30:00+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/client_testimonials/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/client_testimonials/#When:10:29:01Z Action Japan and its partners have added value to a wide range of companies and industries in Japan, from Fortune 500 multinational organizations, to small privately owned Japanese companies. Here is what a few of our clients have to say… Performance Culture Building Consulting and Roll-out Testimonial Senior Leadership Workshop Testimonial Change Management Workshop & Consulting Testimonial Personal Development Training Testimonial Multicultural Team Building Workshop Testimonial Executive Cross Cultural Coaching (Japan) Testimonial Executive Coaching Performance Culture Building Consulting and Roll-out Testimonial “Action Japan has been extremely useful to our new supply chain company Coca-Cola National Beverages Co., Ltd. (CCNBC). As we had created a new company to manage an existing business with a new business model, we needed to create our own distinguishable new corporate culture. Victoria Bolam’s ability to make the link between the Western style directive and Japanese style consensus cultures has proven to be a big contributor to this work. Victoria leverages both her experience in big global corporations as well as her extensive network in solution providers related to business improvement through organizational performance. The strategic support and guidance from Action Japan allowed our own people to define for themselves the corporate values that are now embraced by all staff and which will form the basis for our behaviours and ultimately corporate culture.” Guy Wollaert Former Managing Director, Coca- Cola National Beverages Co. Top of page Senior Leadership Workshop Testimonial “Due to our company’s rapid growth and ambitious goals, we felt we could utilize training that would help our management team instill our company’s values into our hiring, training and office/sales procedures. We have definitely gotten what we were looking for from Action-Japan, and are now incorporating what we learned into virtually all aspects of our business.” Director of major multinational recruiting firm Top of page Change Management Workshop & Consulting Testimonial “Action Japan provided change management consulting to our company and we were very satisfied. Action Japan has a high proficiency in organizational development concepts, models and approaches and is able to effectively apply the appropriate solution for an organizational need.  The consultant’s years of experience, ability to exercise diplomacy, self confidence and interpersonal perceptiveness allowed them to influence both senior leaders and front line staff.  The company was collaborative in their approach and sought to solve problems creatively and not with one standard consultant solution.  Action Japan would be a great asset for a company that is serious about developing their organization.” Ann T. Woods, Former Assistant Director, Change Management Hartford Life Insurance, K.K. Top of page Personal Development Training Testimonial “Action Japan’s innovative programs engage our staff in stimulating and thought provoking sessions that help them develop skills and new ideas that they can apply immediately to the improvement of their performance.” Larry Purdy Director of Training and Development Citigroup Japan Top of page Multicultural Team Building Workshop Testimonial “We were looking for a combination of cultural awareness and team build for our multi-national team to improve ways of working and team spirit. Action Japan took the time to listen to our requirements and to get a good understanding of the challenges we faced. The resulting tailor-made program focused the team on our specific issues and was highly effective in raising motivation and gaining commitment to change. What was particularly impressive was their responsiveness during the sessions to adjust the content and emphasis as new information emerged.” John Westnedge Programme Director Tesco Japan Top of page Executive Cross Cultural Coaching (Japan) Testimonial “Being parachuted into a Japanese working environment is a daunting experience, especially for those who wish to understand why things happen the way they do in Japan! As the saying goes, there are many layers to the onion, but the cultural coaching provided by Action Japan enabled me to get on the inside both professionally and socially. Whilst it would take a lifetime (or more!) in Japan for a non-Japanese to fully understand the culture, I quickly grasped the critical nuances that can make or break a cross-cultural relationship.  I found Victoria Bolam to be a knowledgeable and experienced tutor who was able to provide context to the working and social environment. Victoria’s depth of in-country experience, knowledge of Japanese cultural history and her language skills, coupled with her professional and approachable manner made for an effective and engaging learning experience. Although I have now moved on from Japan to a regional office role, I often find myself advising my colleagues traveling to Japan with cultural tips drawn from the briefings I received from Action Japan!” Nigel Clarke Former Chief Finance Officer PCA Life, Japan Top of page Executive Coaching Japan was my first assignment as a Senior Executive. Not only did I have to deal with the pressures of an executive role, but had to deal with them in a foreign country – who’s business culture was vastly different to that I had experienced in my earlier years.  Action Japan’s coaches has been an invaluable tool in taking my career to the next level.  Having someone to ask me the ‘hard questions’ and help me to clarify the answers not only benefits my company, but also benefits me personally. Through Action Japan’s coaching, I was able to gain an understanding of how things are done in Japan and adapt my experience to the new challenges presented in my organisation.  Gaining an understanding of the business culture in Japan assisted me in tackling a reorganisation of the Sales & Marketing divisions – leading to an increase in business penetration and employee, dealer and customer satisfaction. I would highly recommend Victoria Bolam to anyone who would like to become more focused, use their time more efficiently and see their visions come to pass – especially in the very demanding environment of a foreign executive in Japan. Marketing Executive for global automotive financial services firm Top of page 2007-01-11T10:29:01+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/action_japan_structure/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/action_japan_structure/#When:01:50:00Z A holistic approach to organizational development is essential for achieving sustainable business results. It is therefore necessary to understand the larger context in which an intervention is developed. Action Japan is focused on the big picture at the same time as designing and delivering specialized interventions. Action Japan understands your unique needs, the specific context in which those needs will be addressed and handpicks the implementation team to design your optimal solution.  2007-01-10T01:50:00+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/the_power_chikara/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/the_power_chikara/#When:01:36:00Z Action Japan’s logo has at its centre the Japanese Kanji 力(chikara). Kanji are the Chinese characters that are used in Japanese in conjunction with the 2 phonetic alphabets; hiragana and katakana (for imported foreign words) The Japanese term kanji (漢字) literally means ”Han characters”. 力　(which can also be read, riku or ryoku) originated from a pictograph of an arm with bulging biceps pressing down. It symbolizes strength, effort, and power. It is therefore apt to symbolize Action Japan’s motto ‘The Power To Change’. The red dot in the center of the logo is symbolic of the red sun in the centre of the Japanese flag.  2007-01-10T01:36:00+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/the_action_japan_advantage/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/the_action_japan_advantage/#When:01:35:01Z The Action Japan Advantage is that we support our clients in achieving superior businesses results through optimizing their human capital. Partnering with Action Japan means our clients have: 1) One committed partner. We provide expertise in a wide range of areas related to organizational development and human resource management. 2) Alignment. For maximum impact, all initiatives should be aligned behind the organizational strategy. By partnering with us, our clients benefit from one partner synergistically managing a variety of interventions. 3) Reinforcement of current initiatives. Our custom-made, holistic approach dovetails new initiatives with our client’s existing initiatives. Consistent communication and content across different interventions ensures greater effectiveness of existing initiatives. 4) Integrated impact. Our initiatives can be focused on any level of the organization (individual, team, department, organization, leader, manager, staff, etc.) 5) Access to leading professionals. Our network of professionals lead their fields in organizational development and human resource management. They have been carefully selected for their expertise and quality of delivery. Our affiliate consultant network allows ‘Big 5’ consulting capability to be provided at affordable prices (see The Team). 6) Cross-cultural capability. We take the best of global thought leadership (research and practice) and Japanese practices in order to provide custom-made, practical solutions which are highly effective in the local environment.  2007-01-10T01:35:01+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/what_is_action_japan/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/what_is_action_japan/#When:01:35:00Z Action Japan is a specialized consulting and training company dedicated to optimizing organizational performance through the development of an organization’s human capital. We build ‘performance cultures’ by aligning corporate leadership, people and culture to strategy. We achieve alignment through people development and change management. Action Japan provides our clients with highly effective, tailor-made consulting and training solutions which leverage our deep understanding of the Japanese business environment and expertise of global organizational development . 2007-01-10T01:35:00+09:00 http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/about_us/ http://backup.action-japan.com/index.php/about_eng/about_us/#When:01:34:00Z Action Japan is a specialized consulting and training company dedicated to optimizing organizational performance through the development of an organization’s human capital. We build ‘performance cultures’ by aligning corporate leadership, people and culture to strategy. We achieve alignment through people development and change management. Action Japan provides our clients with highly effective, tailor-made consulting and training solutions which leverage our deep understanding of the Japanese business environment and expertise of global organizational development . 2007-01-10T01:34:00+09:00