I need to show that, to work as a liaison/market research person in
the US subsidiary of a foreign company, you need to speak, read &
write the language of the parent company. I have a Japanese company
that employs a researcher to gather data in the US to send back to HQ
on possible vendors, market developments, etc. I need to show that the
person in this job must be able to write those reports in Japanese. I
believe that this is a fairly normal job, but can't find other
examples of it.

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Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 14 Jul 2004 12:20 PDT

Hello deedub -

Can you elaborate on "I need to show?"  Wouldn't it depend on the
company itself -- particularly whether or not it's bilingual?

jbf777

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Clarification of Question by deedub-ga on 14 Jul 2004 13:27 PDT

The context is an application to the US Dept. of Labor for "labor
certification" for a foreign worker. DOL is asking why we have said
the job requires an employee who can write reports in Japanese. One of
the types of data we can submit in response is evidence that employees
who do market research/liaison work for foreign companies often need
the ability to prepare reports or do other work using the language
used within the parent company The little US company in this case is
bilingual, but the parent co. is monolingual Japanese. The parent co.
has about 1000 employees; the US co. has 2. Few of the employees in
Japan can do business in English, and the US subsidiary was created to
get info for the various branches in Japan.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 03 Aug 2004 08:51 PDT

deedub-ga,

Would access to a number of job descriptions like these meet your needs?

==========

Conduct market research concerning our cutting tool products in Japan,
US and China. Analyze statistical data on pricing, etc. to forecast
future marketing trends in Japanese community. Survey customers in
various ways using Japanese language. Evaluate findings & make
recommendations to our management. BA/BS in Marketing or Business
Administration plus JAPANESE FLUENCY REQUIRED.



Corel Corporation currently has a full time opening for a Primary
Market Research Analyst in the Market Strategy and Intelligence
group...Strong English communication skills, both written and spoken.
English/French, English/German or English/Japanese bilingualism would
be considered a differentiating asset



Acucorp, Inc. provides modern solutions that extend and enhance legacy
business applications. Our continued growth and success has created an
opening for a Business Development Manager for the Asian Region
to...Provide input on new product or service features to be developed
to meet current and future market needs...Ability to effectively
communicate in English and Japanese is mandatory

==========

Let me know what you think.

pafalafa-ga

Hello,

You have probably already gone through this, but it seems to me that
elaborating the reasons you posted in your first clarification should
be the prove for what the company needs: the parent company is not
bilingual, they won't understand reports written in English.
Otherwise, I think it's quite unlikely that you could find a better
reason out there: Probably most international companies from non
English speaking countries are indeed bilingual, since English has
become what the linguists call "vehicular language", because of the
commercial expansion of England in the XIX century, and US in the XX
century. The reasons, imho, are particular (for this company), not
general. (As long as DOL accept this). Hope this helps.

Guillermo