Read Jeannie Lo’s book Office Ladies, Factory Women and Iwao’s “The Story of Akiko.” As you read Jeannie Lo’s book, think
about the following questions:
1) What are the various similarities and differences between the daily routines of the factory women and the Office Ladies at
Brother?
2) How do these women complicate the “Japan-style management” model of lifetime employment and promotion and pay based on
years of service?
3) What are the ways in which work and marriage are related for the women employees and for the company itself? How and to
what ends is company dormitory life organized? To what extent do the women employees accept the company’s policies and
philosophies?
4) What do you think about women’s work at Brother?
Please select a topic that interested you in these questions and write a reaction paper to that topic.
The name of the book: Jeannie Lo, Office Ladies, Factory Women: Life and Work at a Japanese Company (M.E. Sharpe, 1990)
