Local university students still consider foreign-invested companies the best place to work, but Japanese firms are becoming less popular, according to a recent survey.

ChinaHR.com, a popular online job site, surveyed 28,716 students at 10 top universities in Shanghai and Beijing about what companies they would like to work for after graduation.

Only two Japanese companies -- Sony (China) Co, Ltd and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd -- made it onto the list of "Top 50 ideal employers." However, the two companies dropped at least 10 places from a similar list last year.

Sony ranked 26th on this year's list, while Matsushita was ranked number 46.

Honda Motor Co, Ltd, the other of the three Japanese firms that got listed last year, fell off the list this time.

"The unpopularity is mainly caused by the gap between traditional Japanese management concepts and Chinese graduates' expectations, rather than salary or welfare problems," said Jim Yang, the Website's general manager.

Japanese companies tend to have strict management systems that limit employees' creativity, he noted.

"I'm trying to comply with all kinds of Japanese manners all day, not only in work but daily personal behavior as well, including bowing and extreme discretion. It's very tiring," said Liu Yi, who works for the local office of a Japanese bank.

As Japanese people believe in strong dedication and loyalty, frequent job-hopping is also a taboo in Japanese companies. Most Chinese university graduates, however, consider their first job a stepping stone in a long career.

"Due to strict Japanese classification system, it is almost impossible for young Chinese employees to be promoted to the senior management level. That is a major reason that Chinese graduates would turn away," Yang said.

He explained that Japanese companies prefer to send top managers over from Japan to run their local factories and offices instead of promoting domestic employees.

He added that Japanese companies spend little effort building their image in the city, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to other foreign companies that spend a lot of effort recruiting on campus.

Thirty-two of the companies on this year's top-50 list are foreign-invested, with IBM earning the top spot.

Only 18 of the companies listed are domestic enterprises, with Haier Group and Lenovo Group leading the way.

(Shanghai Daily May 11, 2004)