EPD 413: Japanese for Business and Industry

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EPD 413 - Japanese for Business and Industry

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Catalog Description

413 Japanese for Business and Industry. (Crosslisted with E Asian 413.) II; 3 cr. Business language and commercial practices in contemporary Japanese society. P: E Asian 304 or cons inst. Davis.

Course Prerequisite(s)

E Asian 304 or cons inst.

Prerequisite knowledge and/or skills

Basic understanding of business or economics.
Intermediate level knowledge of Japanese.
Ability to use a kanji dictionary and a Japanese-to-English dictionary.
Proficiency with Japanese word processing software is recommended.

Textbook(s) and/or other required material

1) Recently published Japanese book dealing with the structure of the Japanese economy and the practices of Japanese corporations. Readings vary yearly and are provided by instructor.
2a) The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary; A. N. Nelson; Tuttle; ISBN 0-8048-0408-7
or
2b) The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary; J. H. Haig; Tuttle; ISBN 0-8048-2036-8
3) Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary; I. Kondo and F. Takano; Shogakukan; ISBN 4-09-510252-7

Course objectives

In this course students will:
learn the vocabulary and methods of communication used in Japanese business.
develop an understanding of the structure of Japanese industry.
explore the organization of large Japanese corporations.
become familiar with Japanese business practices.
translate a document or book chapter of their choice.

Topics covered

History of the Japanese economy
capitalism in prewar Japan
industrial groups
rebuilding in postwar Japan
era of high economic growth
development of assembly/processing industries
the rise of high tech industries
Structure and practices in Japanese industry
the role of government ministries
financial institutions
trading companies
corporations
enterprise unions
employment practices
product development strategies
quality management techniques
keiretsu
Current topics in the Japanese economy
deregulation
structural reform
internationalization

Class/laboratory schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 50 minutes per class

Contribution of course to meeting the professional component

This course contributes primarily to the students' general education.

The following statement indicates which of the following considerations are included in this course: economic, environmental, ethical, political, societal, health and safety, manufacturability, sustainability.

This course contributes to the student's ability to understand a different culture through the language, structure of the economy and business practices.

Relationship of course to undergraduate degree program objectives and outcomes

This course serves students in a variety of engineering majors. The information below describes how the course contributes to the college's educational objectives.

This course counts toward the 27-credit Certificate in Japanese Studies for Engineering Majors. The Certificate helps meets industry and government agencies' demands for engineers who function effectively in Japanese. The course supports program objectives by providing instruction in a foreign language that is extremely important in engineering and in business.

Assessment of student progress toward course objectives

Readings and translation assignments are assigned biweekly throughout the semester. All translations are submitted, graded and returned with detailed comments.
Regular assignments and one final translation project assess the following: recognition of specific characters and business terms in Japanese; understanding of Japanese grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions; ability to follow the development of complex concepts through chapter-length readings in Japanese.

Person(s) who prepared this description

James L. Davis

Copyright 2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Date last modified: 03-Aug-2007
Date created: 29-Jul-1999
Content by: custserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu
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