Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving day. It is my first time in more than 20 years to experience Thanksgiving day in the United States. In the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), this Thursday and Friday are days off, and there are no classes. Even on Wednesday, many of the classes were canceled because it was a pre-Thanksgiving day. Many of my American friends in HKS are going to their hometowns. Many of the international students who live with their family are traveling to some places such as New York.

Last Sunday, I went to a party named Friendsgiving, which was a gathering with my MPA2 classmates. More than 40 people came to the event. MPA2 program doesn't have any requisite classes, so unless taking the same class, we don't meet with each other very often. In this party, I talked with many of those classmates who I don't usually meet in everyday class, and it was a lot of fun. Everyone was asked to bring his or her own dishes of origin. I made the most use of the fact of being only Japanese in the class and brought nigiri and makimono which I bought in Sakanaya, a excellent fish market in Allston. Those nigiri and makimono were one of the most favorites in this day's dishes.

On Wednesday, I went to Japanese-style hot tubs named East Heaven with my Japanese friends in HKS. It was located 100 miles west from Cambridge. Although it was snowing and very cold, I soaked in the outside Japanese-style bathtub and relieved my fatigue of studying hard every day

Until Sunday, we have a break. But I can't just sit around and do nothing because soon after the break finishes, I have to do a final group paper in the Negotiation class, a final exam of the Energy Policy class, a final take-home report of the U.S. Business-Government Relationship class, and a group paper and a final exam of the Trade Policy class. Thus, I will spend my time until Sunday to prepare for these assignments of each class step by step so as not to panic right before the deadline, while relaxing at my home.

Difficulties of Group Work

Reflecting on my days in Japan, I was not necessarily good at taking a leadership role and facilitating discussions in group work. In college studying urban engineering, and as a graduate school student studying technology management, I encountered many students who wanted to take a leadership role and lead discussions. When I found people who wanted to run the show, I always stepped back and took the role of stating supplementary opinions or taking notes of the discussions. I did not dare push people out of taking a leadership role. The most uncomfortable group work I experienced was the group work which was assigned as one of the evaluation processes in job hunting. I didn't like those group works because every student strove to lead the discussions unnaturally in order to pass the selection under the scrutiny of graders.

In group work in the Kennedy School, I have a tough time contributing to discussions due to my inclination to stepp back and also my English barriers. In Japan, I could contribute to the group discussions by actively taking the role of taking notes. However, in the U.S.,  due to my deficiency in English skills, I often hesitate even to take the role of taking notes. Although I feel my English is getting better, I sometimes still do not understand the group members' English, especially that of Indian classmates. If I gain more confidence in my English listening skills, I feel I will be able to better contribute to group projects in the Kennedy School. 

In addition, students in the Kennedy School are highly confident and assertive. I feel that they tend not to change their opinions easily because they are proud to be Harvard students and seem to think that they are excellent. In particular, I feel that mid-career students, who have at least seven years of work experience and whose average ages are in the late 30s, are especially self-assertive. They are already politicians, military men, or entrepreneurs in their own countries. They have had a lot of successful experiences and are highly confident. I feel that this presence of mid-career students is the distinguishing characteristic of the Kennedy School compared to other professional schools. My classmate, who is a dual-degree student at Wharton Business School at Pennsylvania University, also agrees that self-assertive mid-career students contribute to the aggressive classroom style of the Kennedy School, where every student strongly asserts his/her personal opinion. In Japan, students receive education passively. Sometimes the popcorn nature of the classrooms, where everyone wants to share his or her opinion, can seem self-indulgent. Sometimes, I just want to hear the professor’s perspective and research. Unlike in Japan where I could manage to deal with tasks without difficulties, I sometimes feel frustrated in the U.S. because I have a lot of things I can't do easily here in  the U.S. However, I also feel that I am developing myself day by day, imagining for myself a future where I actively lead groups in which many diverse, self-assertive students share opinions and collaborate.

The Recent Events and Thoughts

I would like to write down several thoughts as follows.

1 Insurance System in Japan and the U.S.
Today, I learned about the U.S. health insurance system in the U.S. Business-Government Relationship class. In the U.S., 15% of the population is still not covered by any health insurance. The reform of the insurance system has been one of the biggest issues in presidential elections, from Clinton and Bush to Obama. In class, I learned that Clinton tried to make every company provide health insurance to its employees, that Bush tried to add prescription drug coverage to the Medicare program, and that Obama is trying to provide insurance to the remaining 15% of the U.S. population. These reform attempts have not been implemented successfully due to strong opposition from various stakeholders. Stakeholders of the insurance system consist of a wide variety of institutions and people, namely big businesses, small businesses, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors, nurses, and labor unions. Japan has a universal health care system, which I have always take it for granted Thus, it is difficult for me to participate in discussions of U.S. health care reform because the underlying assumptions are totally different between the U.S. and Japan. I felt that I had to study more in order to understand and discuss the issue from the general public's point of view.

2 Connecting the Dots
While studying at the Kennedy School, there are many moments where I feel many things I learn in each class and seminar connect with each other. I feel these moments are very exciting. For example, after I learned about whether or not it is rational for governments to implement industry policies in the U.S. Business-Government Relationship class, I examined a case study on how the U.S. subsidy program on solar power generation had failed in the Energy Policy class. After I learned about how the power of governments has been weakened and decentralized while businesses and NGOs have begun to have more influence in the Leadership System class, I learned that businesses, such as Pfizer and IBM, and NGOs like Oxfam have been exercising influence on the WTO negotiation process in the Trade class. In addition, I am applying various concepts such as Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), which I learned in the Negotiation class, to the WTO negotiation simulation in the Trade class.

Looking back on my own experiences, I have studied various topics. I studied urban engineering as an undergraduate, and learned urban policy and architectural design. I majored in technology management, which is called the MBA for scientists, and learned the basics of management and innovation. I also learned economics by myself. Now, I am studying government policies from the macro viewpoint and soft skills like negotiation and leadership. Next semester and thereafter, I plan to learn about new areas of policy, such as democracy, international relations, and geopolitics. I may only have shallow knowledge on broad subjects, but I think this is ultimately a positive thing. Even though it might be difficult to become a specialist in some specific area, my knowledge is valuable because I can appropriately and flexibly utilize this knowledge. Making public policy requires comprehensive understanding of many areas, including economics, politics, international relations, management, psychology, and so on. I would like to cultivate the power of connection and integration of knowledge at the Kennedy School.

3 How to Treat Other Members in a Team
Since I started at the Kennedy School, there have been many opportunities to work in a group in classes or in extracurricular activities. There have been several opportunities where I play a role of a leader, but there are many more opportunities to play a role of a follower because many students at the Kennedy School want to take the lead in a group. I sometimes question the behavior of a leader when I play a role of a follower. Recently, I felt that a leader lacked sensitivity or thoughtfulness when dealing with other group members. For example, when I obeyed the instruction of the leader, completed the work, and reported the result, there was no appreciation for that work from the leader. If he had just said "thank you", he might have made a totally different impression. In addition, in email communication where misunderstandings often happen, some leaders come off as surly and rude just because his/her instructions are too rough. Learning from these experiences, I would like to keep in mind how to treat other members thoughtfully when I have to play a leader role.

Mid-Term Feedback on Negotiation Class

Last week, students gave a mid-term feedback for the Negotiations Classes. This Monday, the contents of the feedback were introduced anonymously. That feedback was interesting.

1 The Professor should manage class discussions more, including managing students who discuss unrelated topics or who digress..

2 I’d like to listen to the Professor’s explanations, not the statements of students.

3 I am always irritated by students who come to class late. I always give these people a cold stare, but they don't seem to notice that at all. Being late for class should be reflected in the class grade.

This feedback made me think about many things. The first thing I considered was the feedback systems of U.S. graduate schools. In the Kennedy School, students give feedback to professors at the end of the semester. It is a five stage assessment, and students evaluate professors’ total performance, including whether they manage class discussions well, whether they respect students’ opinions, whether they are accessible or not, and so on. Last week’s mid-term feedback in negotiations class was voluntarily done by the professor. I think this mid-term feedback is good because it is a sign of the professor's willingness to improve classes. The feedback system in U.S. graduate schools enables universities to remove low-quality professors or lecturers. Japanese universities, at least the university which I graduated from, do not have this kind of system. I think the feedback system is important in maintaining quality of classes because it puts pressure on professors to improve teaching.

The second thing I considered was the students’ views on class participation. I was surprised to learn that other students also thought that particular people were talking too much in class. In many of the classes at the Kennedy School, 20%-40% of the grade is decided by class participation. That is why some students seem to talk in a class; they want just to distinguish themselves and ensure their class participation grade. I am always bored by these statements. But when I started to heed other students’ statements carefully, I noticed that some students made good comments which were enlightening, and helped develop class discussions. In my opinion, it is difficult to have an effective class discussion which involves every student if professors are inexperienced or if the number of students in a class is over 60. I hear that the number of students in the average Harvard Business School (HBS) class is 90, so I am curious about how the professors at HBS manage class discussion.

When I go back to Japan and start to attend international conferences, there will be people who make statements just to distinguish themselves. So I think the class discussions at the Kennedy School are close to the typical business environment. I would like to regard class discussions at the Kennedy School as good training opportunities to make meaningful statements at appropriate times and to make contributions in unfavorable environments.