What is a team work?

R Hannnam (1993) argues that Japan is a collective society. Japanese education system also focus on team work. In school athletic competitions, the accent is on winning team, not individual. At school, all students need to wear uniform. Not only school, but even at office, employees including senior need to wear uniform. In western companies, it is usual that senior have own office rooms. However, in Japanese companies, even you are senior, you will have desks in the same room of other juniors. Some Japanese companies have morning exercise. This is mandatory for all employees. There is no exception for seniors.

This might be true that Japan is a collective society. However, I think, it does not mean that we are good at team work. Because of collective society, we are good at adjusting to others, eliminating our emotions, and not loosing others' faces. But it is not team work. Real team work is to make something, which is impossible for individuals, possible by working together. Team work expects that if five people work together, output will be for more than five. However, Output of Japanese team work can be for five or even less. This is because we are losing the opportunities of growing up together in return of adjusting to others.