My opinion of this week(373):

Let children learn netiquette

There was the unbelievable news in this week that an elementary school girl
in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, stabbed her friend  to death with a
cutter knife. She did it for she said she got some consecutive and 
unreasonable slander against her in the homepage of the girl stabbed. 

There are many of such troubles in network society these days for adults
people. I was quite surprised to see that the same kind troubles occurred
for only sixth grade elementary school children. I just remembered my recent
experience myself. My grand children, who is fifth grade of elementary school,
asked me to open his own homepage with my assistance. I gladly made one for
him upon his request. He wanted to have his homepage because his classmate
had one  already and offered starting to exchange some messages each other.
That's fine, I think. 

But I do not agree with several reactions against the accident from some
critics of mass media.  Some critics told about some negative effects of
internet society. Some critics and top officials of Ministry of Education
and Science mentioned that a background for such accident is the lack of
capability on IT of teachers at elementary and secondary school education.
An official of the ministry commented that teachers must be trained more
in that respect, from now on. Some mass media reported it in affirmative 
way.

I had some basic doubt such views when I hear it. Did such serious 
accident happen due to the disadvantage of school curriculums or lack 
of capacity of teachers skills on IT affairs? I don't think so. 

The accident happened not because those children had not enough knowledge
about homepage presentation but because they lacked to have so called
netiquette (net work etiquette). Netiquette is a basic manner to follow
when people exchange e-mails,make homepage presentation,and so on. Those 
etiquette is not anything special, as far as I see. They are just common
and natural basic manner to follow when people exchange communication 
through face to face conversation,  ail exchange, message exchange through
BBS or homepage, and so on. 

Such basic manner is required not to harm other people by invading privacy
and personality, for example. Such basic manner or etiquette does not seem
to be anything special. So I don't agree with the way how such word as 
netiquette is told important in net society.

The manner is to be taught regardless it is in internet society or non
internet society. School teacher must and can teach such basic manners 
whether or not they are versed in IT affairs. All children must be taught
this basic ethics first. And I see there are so many adults who are to be
taught in the same way.

2004/6/5
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(374):

Customer service, customer satisfaction

Several former executives of Mitubishi Motor Co has finally been
arrested due to several serious accidents on their cars  without
taking  necessary measures against safety. I am quite astonished 
with the fact that there still exists such business firms that 
maintain false management concept. Having read about this news, 
I decided to write about the topic today.

Almost everyday, a number of questions are provided at Mailing List
or at chat concerning troubles of PCs,peripherals,software by our 
friends and PC club members. Those troubles are not fortunately 
concerned with safety of our life like as automobile, but are big 
concern themselves for us all PC lovers. Most troubles do not come 
from malfunction of hardware and software but come from the lack
of proper technical knowledge about products. That can't be helped
in many respect. But one important point is that how those users 
were explained on the products at shops where they bought them. 
After service and care provided by the shop is another key point
as how they encounter those troubles.

I would like to write how I select PC shops relating this matter. 
When it comes to PCs and peripherals , and software, I go to Y Electric
Produtct Shop which is very near to my home, or to B Shop which is located
in Tachikawa City, a kind of distant away from my home. Many of supplies, 
low price peripherals and software, contents of which are well known and
quality of which are not quite different each others are usually bought at
Y Shop because of it convenience. 

On the other hand, when purchasing items are expensive, high specification
that involve with many check points, I go to B shop most of time by taking
rather long shopping hours. 

Pricing of those two shops are not quite different each others. Some prices
are even lower at Y Shop than at B Shop. But I usually buy many of those high
priced, high spec products at B rather than Y. Why is this? 

The quality of questions and answers on product lines made at those two
shops are different each others to a great extent. Compared with Y Shop,
the quality of Qs and As at B Shops is much higher in many respects. 
Sales people at B Shop are generally more attentive and polite. They have
fairly good and correct knowledge about products they try to sell.    

Good and correct knowledge is required not only for general electric
products but especially for PC and their peripherals that involves a lot of 
technical matters. Such man like me, who have a special interest on those
product lines, can judge the difference of two shop on the issue very 
specifically.

Top executives of two shops, shipmasters, and sales clerks themselves
of those two firms may not recognize such difference by themselves. But I
can see the fact that while the one is spending a lot of time to train
their sales clerks on product lines, the other is not doing a lot on it.

The outcome of the difference in management style of those two is rather
obvious. While the one shop is always very crowded with people, the 
others is rather empty all the time. The difference mainly drives from the
condition of site, of course. The former is located at very near of 
JR Tachikawa Station. The other is at very local site. So any direct 
comparison on number of visitors does not make sense. 

Nevertheless, I see such a big difference in management philosophy between
those two shops concerning customer service. The difference is customer
satisfaction resulted from the difference in management style. I am sure
that this difference will create a bigger difference in business success
in longer period of time.

2004/6/12
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(375):

Collapsing Word

The editorial of Asahi Newspaper of June 17 was titled "Collapsing
Koizumi Politics". 

The editorial criticized a series of irresponsible, dishonest and a 
kind of sloppy explanation made by Prime Minister Koizumi on various
important issues so far. Those explanation always seems to be very 
simple and straightforward at first glance. 

Asked about his unclear history on National Insurance Premium paying,
he said :" Well, all people have their different life style by 
themselves. All business firms are various in their managing style. 
All employees are different working  style. "

When he was asked why ruling Liberal Democratic Party did not open
the fact how their diet members were paying National Insurance premiums,
he said:" Well, it is because our party is liberal and democratic."

The issue of dispatching Self Defense Force to Iraq was one most 
serious one relating to basic principle of Japanese constitution. 
Koizumi said on this : " Well, you can't say that I am not explaining
to the issue because I am saying a different opinion from others."

His periodical visit to Yasukuni Shrine was judged illegal against 
Japanese constitution at Fukuoka District Court. His comment on this
was quite clear and simple indeed. He said:"It's a kind of strange
judgment, isn't it?"

His recent visit to North Korea to bring five children back to Japan
got a good reputation. He also wanted to bring back children and 
American husband of Hitomi Soga who is a deserter of US army. It was
reported that he persuaded  the man in trouble: " You can come back 
to Japan safely with my guarantee."

All those are series of example of Koizumi's sloppy words explained in
the editorial of Asahi on June 17. Without waiting for them,  a number
of his strange and sloppy words and explanation has been criticized
in many occasions in the past. Those are not logical and reasonable
in any respect. But the fact is that those words and explanation 
have been accepted very well by Japanese people in general. Many people
support Koizumi for his word and explanation on many issues are rather
clear and easy to understand compared with many other politicians in
the past. This is why they continue to support Koizumi Cabinet for
they cannot find any other good leaders both from ruling and opposition
parties.

The reason why Japanese politics is in a trouble right now derives
from this phenomenon far as I see it. By referring so many collapsing 
examples of Koizumi admiministration,the editorial expressed some 
expectation that there were some drastic change in coming House of 
Council election in next month. 

But I have a different  view on this personally. Koizumi's politics is
collapsing and dying. The editorial concluded it and I agreed with it.
But the editorial never explains why Prime Minister Koizumi still
maintains rather high support rate from people. 

It is not the Koizumi Administration which is collapsing. It is the word
which is collapsing and dying. People don't understand the importance
of the logic of the word. Compared with any other advanced countries
of the world, Japanese seems to recognize the importance of it.

Japan learns a lot from such country from UK and US as to introduction
of democracy after the world war II. Many democratic political systems
have been introduced to Japan including parliamentary and cabinet system.
But it seems that we failed to learn one most important thing to realize 
democracy in politics. That is the method of debate and exchange opinions
through root and branch logics of the word. That is the most important
process to realize democracy. 

It seems that we Japanese still lacks this most important capacity to
realize the real democracy in this country.

2004/6/19
Tadashi HAYASE