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INDONESIANS AT WORK THROUGH JAPANESE EYES

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Yoshihiro TSUBOUCHI
March, 1978

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9
INDONESIANS AT WORK THROUGH JAPANESE EYES
byYoshihiro TSUBOUCHI
March, 1978

This is an interim report on a survey of "Interpersonal
relationships among urban people of Indonesia," which I conducted1)

in Jakarta over、a period of about one year in 1975/76.

The survey,of which Indonesian‑Japanese interpersonal relationships forms but
one part, is yet incomplete; but rather than delay publication of
the results so far obtained I here report part of the data furnished2)

by Japanese informants.

Raw material was collected in interviews

lasting from one to three hours with fifty‑seven Japanese men who
had been sent by their companies to work in Indonesia. The informants
held positions ranging from president to field supervisor and rangedin age from twenties to fifties. Residence periods in Indonesia
varied from a few months up to seven or eight years. For many of
the informants this was their first experience of living abroad,though a few had lived in other countries. Indonesians with whomthey came into contact ranged from upper class white‑collar workers
to factor、
yhands.

Many wereJavanese or Sundanese, a reflection of

the location of Jakarta, though others were Indonesians from theouter islands and Chinese. The informants all held supervisory
positions vis‑a‑vis the local staff and worker、s, and the majorityof them were employees of large corporations on temporary transfer
abroad.
This report describes the attitudes to work and working habitsof the Indonesians as seen through the eyes of the Japanese. The
informants impressions of the Indonesians were far from uniform,
and their own attitudes also varied considerably: some expressed the‑1‑official stance, others private opinions; some were neutral, others
sympathetic; some were internationalist in outlook, others Japanese.
In view of this diversity, I have taken the following steps inanalyzing and presenting the results of the interviews: (1) tape‑recorded interviews were transcribed in toto; (2) the content ofstatements was reduced to the smallest unit; (3) related statements
were grouped together; （斗） representative statements are presented
for each grouping; and (5) statements are presented as far as possible
in the informants' own words. The names and organizations of theinformants are not reported, nor is any information which might offera clue to their identity.

I. Job Performance
While their appraisals of the same activity differed according
to their expectations, the supervisors generally spoke highly of
their Indonesian employees' ability to perform simple jobs. Theユpersevere with simple jobs"
general evaluation was that they "wiland "are good at simple repetition." For example, "if I tell themto cut a big iron bar they'll do it even if it takes half a day." In
the estimation of some of the informants the Indonesians comparedfavorably with their Japanese counterparts. "Japanese yongsters set
their sights on a stylish job in which they won t get tired or dirty,
whereas the Indonesians will do even a monotonous job wholeheartedly.""Japanese are too ready to com
promise with their principles and bend
the rules." Manual dexterity was also highly evaluated: the following‑2‑

y workers. "I was surprised that、comments pertain to spinning factor
they learnt to twist the cotton threads together as quickly as Japanese" "They are about twenty percent more dextrous than Japanese
workers.
workers in setting up the thread on the machines." Some informants alsocommented on the high quality of office employees. "Office workers areeven better than in developed countries‑‑the United States, for example."nd,
Nevertheless, patience and efficiency do not always go・hand in ha
and for more complex work or work requiring stamina a greater number of
informants indicated some problems. "They have no physical stamina andtire easily," and "can t concentrate on their work for a long period;"ity、
in sum, "they are patient but work slowly." Despユte the工r manual dexterin isolated tasks, the Indonesians are reportedly "poor at performing
a connected series of tasks." They were also said to be "good at simple
repetition, but unable to deal with trouble. When problems arise they
have no idea what to do." The arithmetical incompetence of office workers
was also criticized frequently: "In work involving figures they are far
below Japanese middle‑school students;" "they just work T陀 chanically、check their results." One informant criticized performanceand nevery are extremely inefficient; they often rewrite orin the office: "Theretype things time and time again."Numerous other problems were cited regarding the Indonesians'
conception of a particular task as one part of the whole operation.
s failed to confirm and、First, informants stated that their worker
report back results. "They don't reiterate orders." "They leavesomething they ve been ordered to do to someone else and don t‑3‑check that it s been done．

They never report resu
工ts.
" As a result,in one case "a Japanese supervisor、was himself doing confirmation
work, which would not be necessary in Japan." However, one informant
reported that "at first they never sent in reports, but recently they
have not failed to do so."
The second problem mentioned was a lack of planning ability.
廿1ey never use their heads and take steps to finish a job quickly.""Even the factory manager (an Indonesian) has not acquired the habitof keeping records and making use of them." "They have not grasped
what is important in collecting and filing data, and consequently
prepare useless materials." "Suddenly someone will turn up saying that
he's stoppedhis machine because he's run out of the chemicals he needs."
The third complaint was that workers are inflexible． They reonly concerned with their own assignment; they re not flexible."Indonesians are seen to be the "opposite of the Japanese, who prefer 田
over、all scope to individual assignments.＂廿 1e following comments werein the same vein：

They seldom exercise any judgement in wor、
king.""Even if they have time they don't do extrawork．＇They stick totheir own province and don t like to help out with other work." "It'shard to get them to switch jobs." One trivial but daily occurrent
出pect of this phenomenon which was mentioned frequently was thatIndonesians are "verγstatus‑conscious and won t do their cleaning
themselves." However、，a minority of informants thought that theiremployees would "help out even if the job has nothing to do with them."
Fourth was the problem of transmitting information. "They fileー斗ーaway circulars and nobody else gets to know." "Eveh if you talk to
the representatives all the worker、s don t get to hear." One infor
mant
reported: "Even though verbal communication would suffice thev write
everything down," although conversely another stated: "If I draw
someone s attention to an error in something I ve informed him ofverbally he'll say he hasn't hear、d about it."、level, the informants indicated a lack of under‑
At a higher
standing on the part of the Indonesians about the company as anorganization． 円 The company is an organization that all Japanese
under、stand, but here the company is not understood." "Since they
don t understand the full picture they only consider their own partof
the job,and the overall efficiency is very low." "They are unable
to make use of the organization in their、work." In consequence,"
when an order comes from above they'll obey it even if it means
abandoning the job on hand;" and "they ask for permission to dosomething against the regulations, since they don t consider itwrong providing the supervisor gives the OK.＇ The following
observations also related to company regulations: "The regulations
can easily be broken;" "some worker、s sleep on the night shiftγ？
"when we employ girls they turn up to work in hot pantsγ ＇ and"in the factory office they sometimes work in high heels and thelike.
"One exceptional informant stated thaモ ＂the efficiency of thefactory is higher than in Japan." Probably more expressive of the
feelings of the majority is the comment: "In Japan I heard thatphv

against a rating of one for a Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans would
rate as half, and Indonesians half of that again. In fact it s notthat bad. The quality of worker、s in Japan is declining at present.
The comparatively high assessments of efficiency were seventy oreighty percent of that in Japan; the harshest estimate was thirty
percent. In many cases, "sever、
al workers are assigned to one machine,which means that while the output of the machine is maintained the
productivity per worker is low." Other informants reported：I

handle the work of two Japanese with a group of fiveγ
vand "I use
thirty, if not fifty, more hands to do what I could with a hundred
workers in Japan." However, one informant had noted a gradual increasein efficiency: ''Previously it was about forty percent of the level
in Japan; now it s about fifty percent." An9tper eensidered thatin the plant efficiency can be raised through training, but inthe administrative section it will take a considerable time to reachthe level 9f Japan.'・' In general affairs, in particular, which require
the ability to make a comprehensive judgement, difficulties were
often encounter
、
ed.

II
. Will to workl
. Attitudes to work
"My fellow front‑line Japanese super、
visors were surprised
to find Indonesians who wanted quickly to become fully qualified
workers. Before coming here they had heard only three reports:
Indonesians don t like to work， they dislike standing and soon

‑6‑

sit down,'and when you tell them to do somethinεthey carry on
until you tell them to stop.
' But they have been highly impressedby the Indonesians'positive attitudes to work. In Japan a middle‑
or high‑school graduate is a golden egg;but in Indonesia such aperson is grateful to get a job. The Indonesians attitude on
starting a job is different: they're very positive and want tolearn the job and establish their position quickly; they 11 eventurn their hands to things they know nothing about."
This statement was exceptional,however. Most of the Japanesesupervisor、s were dissatisfied with their Indonesian eπiployees,
because "although they 11 do what they've been assigned they won t
venture beyond that.
" The following shortcomings were also pointed
out: "If they're ordered to do something they will, but they won't
take the initiative." "They define their own area of work too finely.""When trouble occurs they come and ask what steps to take. Theynever say 『I think we should do such‑and‑such, how about it?"'
"They never create work on their own.
" "One can't expect them towork out the details of their jobs for thernselves, like people doin Japan. They dawdle through their work following a method someone
has thought up for them.
" "They don t consider it their job tothink about what improvements could be made." "It bothers me thatthey don t have opinions of their own." "There are very few positiveand constructive opinions or proposals put forward." "They seldom
advance their own opinions.
＂＇ They have absolutely no competitive
spirit.
" "A Japanese would continually be thinking of his own‑7‑future and how to make it a success, but here there are very few who
try to learn the Job and make the most they can of their future."、prise and feel something
Japanese tend to value personal enterlacking in the obedience of the Indonesians. For example, one
interviewee thought that "if anything it is a failing that theIndonesians don't com
plain about trivial matters or say they don't
like things." Another felt it "spiritless that even a capable
graduate of Gajah Mada Univer、sity shouユd tamely follow the Japaneseinterpretation of Indonesian labor laws." One informant statedthat "while an Indonesian supervisor wants subordinates who are
obedient even if they can t do the job, a Japanese would prefersomeone who was spirited and capable." There were, however, a few
accounts of disobedience among workers. For example: "When we
introduced a new system they said they didn't like it, even though
they understood the reasons for it." "Although they have beentaught and say they understand a certain way of doing something,
they pretend not to know and do it in an Indonesian way 一 forexample, mixing up personal and coπpany matters."
The supervisors were also asked about their employees' senseof responsibility. The following responses are typical: "It seasy to tell those who have a sense of responsibility and those. Generally very few do." "Generally they lack much
who don tsense of responsibility, though some feel their responsibility
strongly." A minority of informants felt their employees "nodifferent from the Japanese." And replies were mixed concerningー8‑the managerial class: "Graduates of the academies (junior colleges)
and aLove have a sense of responsibility, but middle‑school andelementary‑school graduates rarely do." "The assisc
ant manager
class do hav
e a sense of responsibility,but I woula hardly callit strong.
" "Foremen are not aware that they are responsi
ble fora project.
"
Many of the informants indicated that the Indonesians felt
responsibility in a different way. "I can t say outright that「they have no sense of responsibility at all. They do their utm
ost,
but don『 t feel responsible for the results like a Japanese would."
1 1As long
"They don t feel responsible as a matter of conscience.
as the supervisor sa
ys something s OK it s OK. But that s notreally feeling responsible for a job.

I was once asked who I was

responsible to!1 1
1If I ask a Japanese to do something at his own
discretion he will do it, whereas with Indonesians, like Westerners,
one can t expect this." One self‑conscious interviewee stated:"By Japanese standards they have no sense of responsibility atall. But then, the Japanese have too great a sense of responsibil
iてy• II
The following are a few of the instances in which the su
per‑visors felt their emplo
yees to lack a sense of responsibility.
"One I
ndonesian manager said that he gave instructions but thatthe matter went no further through the fault of his under、lings.
""When there was a t
yping error in a slip the :ndonesian in charge"~1leaded ignorance and layed the blame on the girl who typed it.
"When I asked the day manager of our three shifts to investigate‑9‑the cause of a failure on the night shift so that the same thing
wouldn t happen again, he said it was the business of the night
shift and nothing to do with him." "When a box of merchandise wasstolen the director of general affairs blamed the compan
y for nothaving a warehouse. Although we employ thirty guards he had nevereven checked the guard system." "Even when there's been a mistake
l
f l
fIf I
in their own area of responsibility they won t admit it.
point out a mistake they say they don t know. There s no way roundtidak tau ［ I don't know].fl flThey seldom help each other. Ifthey make a slip while helping someone else they will be held
responsible, so they limit their own responsibility.lf "They don tlike to stay over to finish a job. Even if I te工l them I want themto do the job today, they answer they haven t the time today.""If I give a Japanese a job he will carry it through to the end,
but here they all go home at 斗 o clock. Even when the production
line would have to be stopped the next day thvough their not cleaning
up today's work, they don t care."
There were a few cases reported of workers who had developed
a sense of responsibility through working with Japanese. One
informant stated that "they change considerably in a year;" andanother observed: "At first they tended to leave as soon as
working hours were over, but lately if they think there are things
they should do they stay over from 斗 o clock till about 6 o clock."‑10 ‑2. Attendance
Many of the informants made statements to the effect that"absenteeism is generally low; the attendance rate is higher than、tainingin Japanese comp叩 ies." Below is a number of examples per
to factories, cited in abbreviated form.
(l) The attendance rate is extremely good:about ninety‑eightpercent in the weaving sector. Directly after pay day this drops
to about nin.
ety percent. To encourage attendance we offer bonuses、attendance. (Textile industry)for perfect attendance and regular(2) Exclusive of paid holidays the attendance rate is 97.5 percent;inclusive of them it s still 97.斗 percent. (Textile industry)(3) The attendance rate is ninety‑seven percent, better than inother sections of the company. In Japan it s about ninety‑fourpercent. (Textile industrγ ）（斗） The attendance rate is around ninety‑five percent.

In Japanit s ninety‑two tc ninety‑three percent of late. Reasons forabsence include sickness and childbirth. (Electrical industry)(5) The attendance rate is about ninety‑two percent, better、than
I d imagined it would be before I came. It drops to about eighty‑:
five percent dir
ectl
y after pa
y day. (Textile industry)(6) Recent data showed the average attendance for men and women to
be about ninety‑one percent. There s a gap of about five percent
between men and women: for men the rate is 9斗 .
8percent and for
women 89.
9 percent. (Textile industη ）(7) The attendance rate tops ninety percent. On the day after pay‑11‑

day it's eighty‑seven to eighty‑eight percent. They don t like to
wor
l
ィ w
hen they have money. The attendance rate has gone up since
we ve been making efforts in that direction, but if we let things
ride it would drop. When the fast ended (Lebaran) we recorded
sixty percent. (Textile industrγ ）(8) The attendance ratei
saboutninety percent. Since we employ
a lot of women absenteeism is high. There's also maternity leave.
Absenteeism is a headache. When the attendance rate is down theElectricalline can t run at full speed and efficiency falls. (industry)
Although there were slight variations depending on the typeand location of the industry, the sex ratio of the employees, andthe management system, the attendance rates in most concerns, inaddition to those just cited, were maintained above ninety percent.
Clerical sections also reported generally high attendance rates.
One informant, not cited in the foregoing examples, noted that thesystem of payment in his factory greatly affected the attendance
rate. "Two years ago when we switched from monthly to daily payment
the attendance rate jumped from eighty‑odd percent to ninety‑eightpercent.
" Another noteworthy occurrence in the factories is that"the attendance rate drops on the two days after pay dayJ

A

deter
、
ioration in attendance during and directly after the fasting
month was also noted, but this I will treat in more detail when I
deal with religion.
Despite the comparatively good attendance, the diligent‑12‑

Japanese som
etimes view as i工＇respo
nsible those Indonesians who
consider it "natural to stay off work and recoverwhen they feelunwell," and think that "in Japan one s wife's or brother's orsister s being ill would not be sufficient reason to stay offwork."
Most companies grant about twelve days of paid holidays annua
工ly'
and worker、s show "a general tendenc
y to take the days off as aright." With a few exceptions, the workers "tend to trγand makesure that they take all their days off." Also noted was "a tendency
to pay little attention to timing." "They use their annual holidays
for recreation、not to make up for days lost through sickness.
官my a
re basically different from the Japanese, who sa
ve up theirholidays in case they become sick." There was also a case of aworker using all his paid leave for his own recreation without anyforethought, and then staying off work without notice for his own
wedding."
Most informants agreed that "there isn't much lateness.
"
Because of the unreliability of the transport facilities, many
comp田 ies sendbuses to collect their workers. One comp却 y inJalくarta "tolerates lateness of up to ten or fifteen minutes, becauseof the traffice conditions." Particularly during heavy rain thebuses are sometimes late or don t arrive at all. The traffic
situation is also reflected in the following statement: "Ouroffice is in Jakarta, and although work starts at half past eighthalf of the staff come from half past seven." Leaving early isless comm<
コn than lateness, but there are examples: "Some of the‑13‑

workers go home before work is over. This is hard to control.""They get ready to go home before leaving time." "They're waitingat the factory exit five or ten minutes before leaving time."、s sometimes "don t like to work overtime, for
The worker
example, when transportation is not guaranteed." And "sometimes
the girls don't like to stay over because someone is coming tocollect them by bike or something." Another informant noted that"they 11 gladly stay overwhen we pay an overtime allowance." Insome cases, "drivers and telex operators, for example, have cometo depend on overtime pay for part of their living expenses."
Factory workers often receive, for example, a fifty‑percent increment
in wage rate for the first hour s overtime, one hundred percent forthe second hour, and two hundred percent for each subsequent hour,
and a
̲
r
e "delighted to do overtime, especially before pay day.""When I want them to work over、time, they expect something besides
overtime pay. First they make it clear that they don t like tostay over. Then when I say we'll pay a meal allowance they beamwith delight." One company decided to "pay a meal allowance of3)

a hundred rupiah

to workers staying till 8 o clock." Now the

workers reportedly don t like to work overtime if they are to finishー

before 8 o'clock. Workers generally will not volunteer to stayover without overtime pay, although a small number of exceptional
cases was reported, for example, of secretaries who worked overtime
without requesting extra payment, of female office staff andtrainees who had resided in Japan, and of some assistant managers.

‑1斗ーIII. Loyalty and Long Service
l. Loyalty

The Japanese su
pervisors had the following comments to makeabout the sense of loyalty felt by their Indonesian employees, afeeling affinitive to the will to work just described. "They havea different attitude to the company. They put their private lives
first. If I ask them to come in on a Sunday they'11 sa
y it sdifficultc
if they have anything on." "They have a strong sense ofindividuality and not much responsibility toward the organization.""In the factorγthe section chiefs and above don t get an overtime
allowance so they go home at the regular time. Both management
and union members think the same way." "The assistant departmental
heads and section chiefs don't seem to think of the company as
中 田y differently. But wetheir own." "They see loyalty to the corr views on the seniority system and the fa
mily type
can t force ou
of company on them.
"Some informants pointed out that workers are frequently dishonestwith company money 田 d goods. In clerical affairs, problems arise
with employees manipulating receipts for purchases and taking
rebates fro
m traders,and also taking cuts of "favor monies.
" Someemployees even loaned company funds to their own relativ
es. "They
don t consider this sort of dishonest
y as wrong." "T
he question oftrustworthiness in financial matters is the most difficult pointin employing Indonesians." "When I give someone a job handlingmoney something almost always happens.
" "From the top to the bottom‑15‑

I can t place any trust in them. Not even the section chiefs. Onlya small proportion of them are trustworthy." On the other hand, therew.
ere super、visors who claimed・
1
1
t
h
e
t
‑
e is no dishonesty," or qualified
this statement with 出 far as I know." "I entrust themwith
receipts and e｝φenses up to ten thousand rupiah, and there s neveronce been a mistake．

The girls are seldom dishonest." Oneinformant related that "reportedly one of our competitors made anoffer of a five‑percent rebate to an employee. The employee went
as far as to refuse it, but this didn t lead him to think of asking
for a five‑percent discount．
Pr
由 工 ems also arise through drivers falsifying receipts for、
epairs to vehicles and through workers taking goods
gasoline and r
モ parts from the factory. "Even when a theft
and fittings and spar

is discovered they deny any personal knowledge." "They re verγgoodat justifying themselves." "I get 田 gry because the people around
won't say anything even if they ve seen something happen." "Eventhough they know it S wrong they Justify it on the grounds that thepay is low." "When someone is dismissed for stealing we tell themto come and.collect their outstanding pay the next day. They comein nonchalantly,then go around greeting theirworkmates,sa
ying
they ve done something wrong and are quitting. They have no senseof shame." "After release from prison they have no qualms at allabout coming bac
k to see the people they stole fr
om and put to somuch trouble." It was also reported that d工shonesty such as thetheft of goods was common at first, but is now less prevalent.

‑16‑

2
. Employee stability
One informant declared：

The Japanese have too strong a senseofbelonging. It's not that the people here don t.
1
1 The following
observations were made of the white‑collar workers of Jakarta:"Because of the salary the turnover rate is low." "It s fair to saythat people stay a long time. The salary is better than in Indonesiancompanies, and the atmosphere more relaxed than in American companies,
which are rationalism incarnate." "If you provide conditions thatexactly fit the job then the workers won t move if they get small pay
rises." "Since there are a lot of people seeking for a job verγfew
workers quit. Our turnover rate is very low. I worry what to do about
promotions in three or four years' time." The situation was similar
for factor、
y workers. An informant from a rural factory remote from
Jakarta stated that "there are fewer employment opportunities thanin the suburbs of Jakarta, so people don't quit. A much greater
problem is what to do with people whose performance is poor."
Nevertheless,most informants felt that "generally there 1sno conception of lifelong employment." This view is not、however,incompatible with the foregoing comments on employee stabilit丸 、 as
is clearly recognized in the following expla
nation concerningο ffiCf'
workers: "If the sala町r were slightl
y better elsewhere a worh,rmight move. However, there are few employment opportunities and ~npractice the workforce is stable." The following opinions alιcsurfaced: "One can consider that while a Japa
nese bas a sense c子

J
司

︑
ム

loyalty toward his company, here a worker is always looking for amo四lucrative job.＂ Jap担 ese always think of entering a job

permanently. Here people don t feel guilty or uneasy about changing
jobs. You have to provide a good salarγand other conditions tokeep workers." "Like a Japanese working for a Western company,aworkerwill stay permanently if he is satisfied with good economic
conditions but few opportunities for promotion."
Although long service is considered important, especially among
the upper classes, one informant observed that "the best workers
tend to leave． Japanese tend to "exprモss their sadness in thestrongest terms when someone quits after all the trouble taken to
train him," and think "why quit after all we ve done for him." In
Indonesia, the Japanese ideas of "duty and human feelings are notunderstood." One supervisor、＂was saddened to the point of tears
trying to persuade a clerk not to leave, but he would not be put off."
The following examples from textile companies, again cited inabbreviated form, illustrate the staff turnover、situation in factories
in Indonesia.
(l) The turnover rate is about 3 per month out of 150 employees.
(
2) Of 250 employees in spinning, about one‑third leave every year.
Of 150 in processing, 2 or 3 leave every month. Usually it s thehands that leave; the super、
visors stay on.
(3) About twenty percent of the staff leave annually. I hear thisis quite good for Indonesia.
（斗）廿1
e comp田 y tries to keep the turnover rate (excluding dismiss‑‑18‑

t exceeds
etimes ials) to within one percent per month, but som
t s around twenty percent.
this figure. Annually, I d say i) Turnover is high. About ten percent annually. People quit
(5
for no great reason.
(6) To judge from this year s statistics, about five percent ofworkers quit. This is comparatively low. One reason is that we
employ few women; another is the salarγ．

. Interpersonal Relationships
IV. Superior‑inferior relationships
1

Superiors and older people are shown due respect. The superior‑inferior relationships between clerical employees and office juniors,s aresecretaries and dr1vers, and office staff and factory worker、dirtymore distinct than in Japan. "People in the office nevertheir hands." "Discrimination based on educational background isstrong; university and academy graduates are proud and look down onhigh‑school and middle‑school graduates." Many of the Japanese
informants expressed opinions to the effect that tall occupations
a四ypeole are intensel
H 田 d "
not equally respected in this countrγ ，aware of their status." In their contacts with the Japanese thegh one!attitudeis polite and differential," althou
Indonesians' 'informant offered the criticism that "they are acutely aware oferior relationships and won t express their opinions
superior‑inf
to superiors."
Despite their intense self‑aHareness, the Indonesi田 s do not‑19‑discriminate on grounds of sex, and seldom make distinctions instatus between members of the same class. "University graduatesare greatly respected, but if a graduate who lands a position by
virtue of his degree can't do the job he will soon find himself
adrift." "When someone is made section chief his contemporaries
from the same university won t listen to what he says." Informants
pointed out a general lack of leadership. "Unless someone is、ed leader he can t car町 r out that role. In Japan groupdeclarleaders emerge spont田 eously, but here it doesn『 t happen." "Thegroup leader is the same sort of man as the workers and he works
alongside them. He seldom takes an outside view and changes workers
round, or takes action to exert his leader、
ship by gathering all theemployees together before they begin work." "Those who won t work

、told to do so; the Job is Just done by those who will
are neverwork." "They set great store by interpersonal links. They make no
distinction between company and personal affairs.
" "The group leader
seldom scolds his people." They respect the general opinion anddon t give orders. They don t even observe the simple matter ofnot smoking on the factory floor." "They hesitate to caution others
about dishonesty.
" "They smile at someone while warning him aboutsomething.
1
1

An Indonesian supervisor repeatedly warned a wo
rker

1
1

about his long hair, but he didn t listen. The super、
visor said he
couldn't fire him because it would be hard on his family." Mostof the Japanese enter
prises were established verγ recentl
y, and thefact that they deemed it necessarγto quickly appoint leaders from‑20‑

among groups of equals 百日y have some bearing on the phenomena justdescribed． 百1e same characte:ristic features of super、
ior‑inferior
relationships was also noted in the relationships between colleagues
and equals. "People are amiable and don t like arguments." "Theywon t pursue 田

adversary r
叫 hlessly.11 "They won t show someone

up in public." "They won t say anything that might hurt someone
else." In Japanese eyes these characteristics are sometimes seen
as virtues, but in the conduct ofbusiness they are percieved 部
shortcomings.
2. Family relationships
M田 y of the informants pointed out that nepotism plays animportant role among Indonesians. The companies adopted quite
divergent policies for dealing with this situation. Infomants
whose companies actively tried to use it to advantage noted that
"if things don t go well there is someone to act as mediator,"田d that they feel "more at ease employing someone who has family

links with the company than someone whose background they know
nothing about." One comp田 y "gives prefer、ence to people who have、
工e
latives in the company, particularly in positions handling cash."

On the other hand, many comp田 ies "have eliminated nepotism bystressing the ability principle." However, on occasion some ofthese companies "could not help but employ" someone recommended bya government official or a partner in the company. But "aside fromthe fact that the company cannot refuse to admit such people, its‑21‑

own expectations [that the pe
四・ arrrnight prove usefulJalso play apart." The work results ofpeople employed for nepotistic reasons
reportedly "do not always come 'Up to those of the openly recr
叫 t
ed
̲
wor,K
er
.11

Indonesians also place great value on the family in daily life.
"They think nothing of coming late to work because they ve been
seeing a parent off back to the countrγ." "They use company time
for personal affair、s. For example, they go home because theirparents are coming in from the countrγ.＂ "Many s the time someone
has come saying he has to go to Jakarta because his mother or father。

or little br theror someone is sick．

Sometimes a driverwill

take time off because there is something the matter with one of his
brothers or sisters. They tend to put their、family life before
their work." "They often take time off for a ceremonial occasion
for someone of I don t know what relationship." The informants also
noted that "friends 担 d relations think nothing of coming to thefactorγ." "When we put something on the relatives turn up. If weorganize a bus tour for recreation all the places are filled. This
sort of thing isn t regarded as a problem by the employees." Atcomp田 y‑sponsoredparties for the employees, "friends and families
seem to be included. We ve had about two hundred people turn up
at a party for thirty.

3. Apology、Indonesian employees would
Most informants indicated that theirー22『

never apologize when at fault, but simply make excuses. "Under nocircumstances will they admit their own mistakes." "When someonedr℃ps something he 11 say something like we shouldn t use breakables,or there was nowhere suitable to put it, orwe shouldn t have sucha hard floor." "If someone is doing a job the wrong way, he won t
concede the fact but will claim that was how his predecessor taught
him." One Japanese commented: "I don't know whether they makeexcuses for fear
、ofpunishment orbecause it s a national traitf
an Indonesian comp田 Y president explained it as a legacy fromcolonial times. Some informants thought they would be "satisfied
if the workers acknowedged their errors," while others were田

geredbecause although they "would forgive any mistakes if theworkers offered a word of apology, they don t apologize." Japanese
set great store by apology 工n smoothing human relations; Indonesians
seemingly do not. However, not all informants agreed entirely:Those with a better education are more ready to apologize. As one
goes down the scale they tend less to do so." "If they ar、e toldoff in front of people they wiユ
l make excuses. If I choose theright situation to approach them they will apologize." "I wasquite indoctrinated by people with experience in other joint‑venture
comp田 ies with the notion that the workers won t apologize if they
make a mistake on the job. But I haven t experienced much thatsmacks of excuse‑making."
Some informants also reported that their、workers were becoming
accustomed to Japanese company men. "In the case of a reparation‑23‑

student who had studied in Japan (his wife is Japanese), he would。

come and say he was sorrγright fr rn the start. When they observed
this his subordinates started to do something similar，、 but in theircase they would say they were sorry because something or other had
happened for such‑and‑such a re部 on." "Although they don tapologize in a Japanese fashionる they are star、ting to acknowledge
their mistakes rather than make feeble excuses."V. Way of Lifel
. Islam
Although some of the Indonesi田

employees are Christian,Catholic 田 d Protestant, most are Moslem. Belief in Islam varies
widely from region to region in Indonesia, from fanatical tonominal, and in West Java, in which Jakarta lies, it is reputedly。

str ng, though at least not fanatical. Most of the people moving
into Jakarta are Javanese, and their religious beliefs are often
moderate. Never、theless, the roots of Islam have spread deeply intoI
ndonesian life. In their first contacts with Islam, Japanesesometimes tend to over、estimate the extent to which the religion
influences the behaviour of Indonesians. I
nformants made thefollowing comments: "Of course, I still have much to learn 必 out
Islam,but whenever I'
m conscious of having come up against a walユ
I get the feeling that Islam is at its foundation." "Ideas ofmutual help and equality come from this religion, and it s difficult
to build a company orga
nization from these." "It seems char、acteristic‑2斗ーof Islam that reli田 ce on others is not discouraged.
" "There is theidea that it s only natural to receive something from others.
" On
the other hand, one informant noted: "I don't really know whether
the essential pr
oblem is religion or poverty. I don t know muchabout the religion,but there are many things that can be attributeo
to poverty.
"
Islam is characterized by such religious practices as prayer
five times a day,worship in the mosque on Frida
y,and fasting fromdawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan, which have been assimilated
into the daily lives of its adherents. Daily prayer is not，τhesupervisors pointed out,observed by all emplo
yees. In fact, theproportion of employees reported to follow the practice varied
greatly: "Only one or two of a team of forty go to pra
yer.
" "Evenduring wor
k about thirty percent pra
y for about ten minutes eachtime.
" "About fifty percent go to prayer five times a day.
川＇ Morethan seventy percent go to pra
yer
、
.
1
1

In many instances a place of

prayer had been provided in the factorγor office;many companies
also arranged working hours to allow for Frida
y wor、
ship in themosque. The executive secti
ons of the companies t
ook the stand th,=i‑
it is necessarγto "understand Islam" and be "flexible to therealities.
" The supervisors on the spot,however,tended to agreドwith the comment: "Even if I tell someone not to leave his post
he will go to pray. This puts me in a spot because it's hard fora Japanese to admonish someo
ne about this. Only about twenty or
thirt
y percent actually go to prayer;about fifty percent go コff‑25‑somewhere else on the pretext of going to pray. They think that ae won't say anything about religion." Nevertheless,the
s
e
1
i
Japa
s are becoming more accustomed to the situation: "At、supervisor
first I felt it strange that worship within working hours should
be considered a vested right. Now I don て mind provided it takes" At the same time a change in thences.
place in orderly circumsta
nduct of the Indonesians was indicated: "At first there was acodemand for time to worship. Now only two or three come for" "It gets slacker year
permission 七o go out to pray before noon.
by year."
The proportion of workers observing Ramadan ranges from about
thirty to ninety percent, although comparatively few carry the fastthrough for the whole month. "At the start of Ramadan all theworkers observe the fast, in the middle about half do, but only ay we supply about 300 meals, but" "Normall
few continue to the end.
at the start of Ramadan the number was 50 and at the end 169." Oneinformant observed that "office workers aren t verγfervent about
fasting,but the lower classes tend to be more so." The comment
particular effecで on work" was made chiefly inthat "Ramadan has no.
connection with office affairs; in the factory most informants
indicated that it does influence work. In one case about thirty
percent of workers were fasting and "couldn't concentrate on thejob but sat around resting. Productiv1ty fell by about ten per c enτ • II
" Iて
n another case "efficiency fell by fifteen to twenty percent.
I" "in thewas also pointed out that "the workers can't do overtime,‑26‑

factory eve巧rone sleeps on the night shift," and "more workers become
ill and absenteeism rises."
Like the Bon Festival and New Year s Day in Japan, the end of
Ramadan (Lebaran) is a time when Indonesians return to their native
places. Most companies and factories plan about a week s holiday
at this time. Nevertheless, the informants registered the following
sort of complaint: "Even if we close the factory for five days thesubsequent attendance rate is seventy‑five to eighty percent." "We
included three days of the annual holiday to make a seven‑day holiday,but after the holida
y we still had about twenty percent absenteeism.""We continued to operate at about seventy percent capacity
for about a month after the holiday." It was also pointed out thatworkers "sometimes apply for three days paid holiday and are thenkes alate returningJ and "because of transport conditions it ta
worker a fair number of days to return to his native place.
"2. Personal budgeting
In the view of most Japanese supervisors, their Indonesian
employees generally did not plan their expenditures, those who did
being members of the upper、classes. "Of course, everγbody's
different, but it seems to me that if they have money they spend it.
""They leave everything to chance. I sometimes wonderwhether someof them aren t deranged." "They have no idea of living within theirmeans." Some informants explained that the failure to budget arose"
because "the salary isn t enough to enable them to make any plans,

門
J4

司J

and fthey have little money at their disposal because of therelatives and in‑laws who depend on them." And while "it s hardfor the individual to plan his expenditure, since when he has money
it s soon nibbled away," at the same time "he can always manage
somehow because he can rely on his relatives and in‑laws." Although"a Japanese will stick to his budget and not lend money even when
he has itJ H an Indonesian will lend money to others even though
it puts him out." One informant opined that Indonesians believe"money is something that comes and goes and that it's virtuous togive it to the poor. They have no attachment to money since even
without it they 11 get by somehow. This behaviour is bound up with
Islam."
Informants thought that "anything they want they buy immediately
They soon spend all their salary," with the result that "for aboutfour days before pay day they don't eat or drink anything.
" One
concluded that Tthey seem to have no heart for making sacrifices inorder to save." In the view of the supervisors their workers are
greatly inclined to spend their money：

They spend their money on

clothes. The staff wear something different every day.
" "Even rhe
girls come in fine leather shoes. Iwant them to learn てo live
within their means, but they can t under、stand.＂＇ The men want tobuy watches, sunglasses, clothes and shoes, and the women wantclothes, shoes, earrings and bracelets." "They long for luxury
goods like radios and tape‑recorders." "When they start to gethigher salaries they do things like travel to Surabaya by plane‑28‑

and look for a better house to rent. They have a strong urge toenjoy life now."
visors considered that their employees "had not、
Most superacquired the habit of saving." Reportedly,"only ten or twenty" Mutual financing
percent save up the expenses for childbirth.
associations (arisan) of coworkers are extensive, and private loans
are also generally widespread. "If you become slightly familiar
with someone he may ask you for a loanJns
The main reasons loa

are sought include marriage, children's sickness, childbirth,tenancy contracts, and house repair. One supervisor told of aworker who "borrowed 100,000 rupiah against an income of 20,000
rupiah, and what s more it was for his relatives." To him "this"conduct was the most incomprehensible.

VI. Dealing with the Realities
In the company office or the factory work proceeds through thecooperation of peoples of heterogeneous cultures. In this situation
ぜen ideal is "industrial cultur
the giv"
panese culture.
田 d "Ja

γing
The former includes a rational code of behaviour aimed at carr、these areout production or achieving an obJectiveL 工n the lattered by the Japanese mode of thinking. Although the Indonesians
color
are numerically superior, their culture occupies an inferior
position in the company or factory. This culture can be considered
to be a complex of the "traditional cultures" of the various races" The Japaneseand of a certain kind of "culture of poverty.

‑29‑requently tried to explain the generation of this complex in termsof the influences of climate and natural features, colonialism, andIslam.
The complex of "industrial culture＂ 釦 d "Japanese culture"
constitutes a pattern ofworking to which the Indonesians must
become accustomed if they are to adapt to life in a Japanese company
or factorγ. The problem faced by the Japanese is how to deal withthe coloring of "industrial culture" by singularly Japanese elements.
Basically, three different attitudes can be distinguished: (l)Unnecessary friction should be avoided by stressing internationalawareness and abandoning all practices that arise from Japaneseconceptions (for example, the family principle of administration);(2) unnecessarγfriction should be avoided by under、standing andshowin~ sufficient concern for the indigenous culture,even though
this may entail some sacrifice of efficiency; (3) workers should be
educated so that they appreciate the effectiveness of Japanesemethods in production and voluntarily follow the Japanese system.
In practice, however,these attitudes cannot be completelyseparated; just as an individual s attitude may comprise a combinationof these elements, so may the individuals in an enterprise holddisparate views. The following examples, exerpted from statements
made in interviews, demonstrated the approaches taken by the Japaneseto their current problems,approaches which are based on the above
attitudes.

‑30‑

(l) Job Performance

In some companies workers are "trained sothat they can perform a wide r田 ge of jobsII and the supervisors"strive to give them an overall picture of the company organizationby providing a continuous flow of information.
" In other companies
the supervisors endeavor、to secure the success of an operation by"making clear rules," "subdividing work as far as possible,""repeating instructions in full detail,without listening toemployees opinions," and "continually checking the state ofprogress of the job."(2) Employee StabilityTher are two schools of thought: "Salaryalone keeps the worker in the job, and salary checks should not be
neglectedf and "atmosphere as well as salary is importantJ『

The

Japanese enterprises sometimes have "an arrangement not to take eachothers workers.
" One informant also commented: "Even if a worker
leaves,from a broad educatio
nal point of v工ew we have at least
contributed something to job training.
" In either case, it wasconsidered essential, "given the frequency with which workers move,always to maintain a reserve of personnel.
"
l3) Japanese‑style Administration

Those in favor of Japanese‑style administration thought "certain kinds of family organization
are acceptable to the Indonesians." Opponents considered that"the clumsy introduction of Japanese emotivity is likely to cause
problems.
" Others believed that "something in‑
between should besought."

‑31‑

(
c
4) Dishonesty
四Again there are two schools of thought: "Wegard losses through dishonesty as part of our costs 田 d seldom

follow the matter up＇； and, alter、
natively， if we were indulgent
dishonesty would increase, and therefor、e we follow it up rigorously.＇
In both cases companies were t
r
γ
1
.
n
g to establish systems that are
proof against dishonesty.
(5) Interpersonal Relationships

One informant 閃 ported that

following the example of Westerners, we maintain the superior」

inferior relationships. It's better not to interfere in private
matters." Another、disagreed: "We associate on anequal footing
and make up for our d
e
f
f
1
.
c
1
.
e
n
c
1
.
e
s in the language by our attitude."
One informant stated that "when someone makes a mistake we don tinqui問

into it deeply;" another that "we pursue a matter until

the offender acknowledges his error." One informant said he avoided"reproving a subordinate in front of other、s;" another had his
worker、s "under、stand that scolding and warning are two differ、
entthings." Concerning apology, one informant had "trained the workers
to apologizef another declared, "I don t let a matter end with words
alone, I issue a warning letter."(6) Religion

One informant opined that "whether、ornot they reused, it s better、to set up places ofprayer，、 mosques, and so on."Another's attitude was more open: "I don't think of religion as
taboo, but talk frankly with them about it." One informant stated:"In engaging workers, from the start we have chosen those with atolerant attitude toward religion."‑32‑

(7) Lo田 S

Informants' responses ranged from "we refuse all

personal loansJ and "as a company we grant no loans whatsoever,"＂ we support and foster
＂
γ，
r
a
l
a
to "we will give an advance on s
atives for the employees," and "we have established a loan、
coopersystem."In addition to the above, the attitudes that "the company is
not a social welfare body," and that "although it is important toprovide eπiployment opportunities, it is essential to raise
efficiency by training skilled workers" were in some degree commons possible
to the Japanese enterprises. In the short‑term it ithat these ideas may conflict with the policies of the Indonesian
ests of、government. The pomts of contention center on the interprivate enterprise and the nature of international aid.

Concluding Remarks
In this report I have attempted to present an ordered pictureof the Japanese view of Indonesian emplyees in Japanese and Jap田 ese‑
Indonesian enterprises. Many of the Japanese informants wereselected for overseas service, and most were more highly motivatedthan the average Japanese. Those informants who held preconceived
ideals sometimes expressed their observations of the realities ofs, however,
、
visor
、
Indonesia in harsh terms. A few of the supercompared the actuality with their lowest expectations and gave agenerous appraisal. In sort, I have recorded an image of Indonesian
workers that is colored by Japanese industrial culture.

‑33‑

Clear匂 the observations are partial, and undoubtedly they containmany points which the Indonesians would dispute. At this stage I
will refrain from judging the fairness of the observations. Before
doing so it is important to investigate the lifestyle of theIndonesians themselves and how it is being adapted to the Japanesecompany. These aspects Iwill discuss in a future 四 port.

Footnote1) On the inteηersonal relationships between Japanese wives andtheir Indonesian maids, which constitutes another part of thissurvey, see Reiko Tsubouchi， Japanese wives and Indonesian
maids in Jakarta," Tonan Ajia Kenkyu [Southeast Asian Studies]Vol. 15, No. l (Kyoto University, 1977).
2) Mr. Kiyoshi Mimur、a, Jakarta office director of JETRO, render、edinvaluable assistance in the conduct of this survey, for which
I am grateful. Here I will not name all those who also gave up
their valuable time to cooperate in the survey, but neverthelesswish to express my sincere gratitude to them.
3) U.S. $1 ＝ 斗 15 rupiah.

‑3斗ー