Eikoh's purchase of Shane: A beginner's guide

Shane has been bought, and it is in less than sensational circumstances, but will leave its employees in an unstable and confusing situation from now until at least this time next year. So here are some early thoughts on the situation.

THE POSITIVES

• The company did not go down (Nova) and has not gone bankrupt before purchase (Geos).
• For all the rumors, criticisms and scorn, Mr. Shane is not a crook that has been caught (unlike Nova's Saruhashi, who has). Is a "yet" necessary in that last sentence?
  
• No overseas scandal (Geos Australia) led to the sale of Shane.
• Nobody has been laid off (well, since the last time Japanese staff in Shane offices were laid off anyway).
  

THE NEGATIVES

• This sale is not the sale of an innovative start up to a major company like Google. It's one dead end company getting sold to a hardened Japanese education business. The future does not look bright.
• Eikaiwa, as a whole, is on the decline.
• Large scale - and long needed - investment on equipment and facilities for Shane schools is now unlikely.
• An environment of fear, and back stabbing, is likely to come about as teachers and administrative staff learn any bad news over the coming months.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

• Leave. Seriously. If you have the opportunity to do so, leave Eikoh. It isn't the company that Shane was and new hurdles are likely to be much more of a factor in working life than new benefits. (NOTE: Some post-Nova G.Comm teachers are happy in their new company, but most left.)
• Ask for documentation on any changes to take place, ask for documentation on conditions, ask for documentation on what is to stay the same. Ask for those documents to be signed by somebody with legal authority at Eikoh, or stamped.
• Record meetings via a dictaphone, iPhone or a computer program such as Audacity.
• Seek advice from either a Labour Standards Office or the Tokyo General Union.
• Talk with colleagues, Shane-era bosses and on social networking sites. Figure out what is going on as clearly as possible and expect the worst - did G.Comm have students or teachers in mind when it merged Nova and Geos? Why should Eikoh think of you, who it never hired in the first place?

Read a brief translation of Eikoh's statement on its purchase of Shane here.

Eikoh release on the purchase of Shane

This PDF was sent to me earlier today, and so I translated parts of it. Apologies, the translation is not perfect (and therefore not to be quoted) and part 4 is less prose and more a series of financial and legal statements. No help on that from these parts I'm afraid.

Download the original PDF here.

And here are the relevant bits of the doc:

Eikoh became the parent company of Shane on Nov. 19.

1) BACKGROUND: In the field of education, due to the decreasing population, competition has increased. Therefore, the need for children to study has increased. It is also necessary for the modern businessman to maintain his education in order to remain ahead of the pack. This has led to a demand for English language education, and in order to develop our business we are now trying to develop our existing businesses and offer new services.

2) PROCESS: Eikoh has studied processes and entered partnerships to open up its business to new customers such as younger children. We are also entering negotiations with other companies to develop our business and make the company stronger through cooperation with businesses that specializes in areas that will benefit Eikoh. With this in mind, we have bought Shane.

3) REASON: We are looking to increase our market.
In the future, elementary school, English will be compulsory.
High school e¥English classes will be conducted in only English from 2014, which is likely to lead to an increase in demand for English lessons from a young age.
The "Englishization" of Japanese companies is likely to increase demand.
Shane has a 30 year history, 153 schools and 43 franchises with 20,000 customers.
Shane has a good reputation and a number of additional business opportunities. The teachers are also all university graduates and qualified to teach English as a foreign language. In lessons, Shane teachers use original materials that are published by the company.
Eikoh will add to its various operations a business that allows students to study in the same environment from a very young age through to the time when they are adults.
The Eikoh group will also benefit from bringing on board a company with skills not only in teaching but also in developing teaching materials and providing expertise in various teaching methods.

4) [Key points] Not a lot to see here, just company stats. If you have an interest in them, sorry.