The Accidental Office Lady - by Laura Kriska (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"The nail that sticks up gets hammered down"--or does it?<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><i>A young American businesswoman discovers life inside a Japanese corporation.</i> <p/>Armed with a new degree in Japanese studies, plenty of youthful idealism, and a can-do attitude, a young woman accepts a job as the first American trainee at Honda's headquarters in Tokyo. Her image of Japanese corporate life is dramatically challenged on her first day at work when she is issued a blue polyester uniform--a uniform worn only by women! <p/>With good humor and accessible prose, Laura Kriska relates her journey through the company, from serving tea to executives and cleaning the boss's desk to a stint in public relations and developing training classes for Japanese associates going to America. The reader is rooting for Kriska as she recounts her struggle to adapt to--and ultimately thrive in--the culture of a traditional Japanese company. Shortly before her departure, she comes full circle by introducing a successful campaign to make women's uniforms optional. <p/> Now with a new foreword by the author, <i>The Accidental Office Lady</i> is a vivid and valuable firsthand account not only of corporate Japan and the gender inequality that persists within it, but of an outsider's successful attempt to work within cultural boundaries to affect organizational change. <p/><p/><br></br><p><b> From the Back Cover </b></p></br></br>"The nail that sticks up gets hammered down"&$8212;or does it? <BR>With a newly-minted degree in Japanese studies and plenty of youthful idealism, Laura Kriska accepts a job as the very first American trainee at the headquarters of the Honda Motor Company in Tokyo. Her image of Japanese corporate life is dramatically challenged on her first day at work, however, when she is issued a blue polyester uniform&$8212;one worn only by women! <BR>From menial beginnings serving tea to executives and cleaning the boss's desk, to a stint in public relations, to developing training classes for Japanese associates going to America, Kriska recounts her struggle to adapt to&$8212;and ultimately thrive in&$8212;the culture of a traditional Japanese company. Shortly before her departure, she poignantly travels full circle by introducing a successful campaign to make women's uniforms optional. <BR>Reissued with a new foreword by the author, "The Accidental Office Lady" remains a vivid firsthand account of an outsider's journey to the heart of corporate Japan, and of the problems of gender inequality that persist today in this male-dominated society. It is also an inspiring account of one woman's successful campaign to bring incremental change to a rigid corporate bureaucracy, demonstrating that it is possible to affect change inside a large organization&$8212;even in Japan.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>...<i>THe Accidental Office Lady</i>, is an informative...account of what it was like to be the first American woman ever employed at Honda Motor Co. headquarters. --<b><i>BusinessWeek.com</i></b><br><br>...a revealing portrait of the corporate culture that reflects, and defines, Japan. --<b><i>New York Times On The Web</i></b><br><br>...an entertaining cross-cultural memoir. --<b><i>Publishers Weekly</i></b><br><br><i>The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan</i>, originally published in 1998 and recently rereleased with a new foreword by the author, is her story. The book is a testament to the fact that it is possible to thrive in even the most alien of cultures. --<b><i>Bangkok Post</i></b><br><br>Kriska's account of her two years working in Japan as a trainee for Honda in the late 1980s is particularly good for its perspective on gender in Japanese corporate life. <b>--<i>The Rough Guide to Japan</i></b><br><br>Laura Kriska's lively and invaluable story underlines the simple truth that making the world better starts with a fundamental respect for the way other people live. --<b>Greg Mortenson, author of <i>Three Cups of Tea</i> and <i>Stones Into Schools</i><br><br>This book resonated with me because it largely mirrored the experiences I had working in a Japanese office in the early 1980s. I could completely relate to the author's loneliness and frustration, as well as the way her experiences changed her, helped her grow, and left her with an abiding love of Japan. --<b><i>Goodreads</i></b><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Laura Kriska</b> is a leading Japanese business consultant specializing in communication and teamwork. She is dedicated to creating successful relationships between Japanese and Americans in the workplace. Kriska's writing has appeared in <i>Cosmopolitan, Working Woman, Self, </i> and <i>Mangajin.
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