One of the biggest challenges for a non-Japanese manager to deal with is when they are parachuted into a situation and are required to take on, train, and motivate a battle hardened crew of veterans - particularly sales, administration, or customer support veterans. This situation most frequently happens when you are part of a merger with a Japanese firm, a joint venture, or you have been appointed to replace an under-performing manager in a foreign-owned business that has been left too long on its own, and whose employees have forgotten who they actually work for.