To Hell with Nova

Why is Nova a sub-standard place to work? Why should you make the decision not to work there?

The Primary Cause of all Evils: The Basic Rules of Supply and Demand

When a commodity is in ample supply, it comes cheaply.

Virgin employees are drawn from an overseas supply that in many ways the company views as being inexhaustible. Fresh blood (predominantly in the form of young and naive University graduates) is what keeps the wheels of Nova turning. The absurd work conditions that teachers have to endure can all be linked backed to this one crucial fact.

The harsh reality is that there is no economic incentive to make change or provide normal or mentally healthy work conditions, because the company at all time remains fully aware that there is always another lamb, smiling and standing in the queue, waiting to be slaughtered.

Factually, Nova is all about the lining of pockets, predominantly those of one man (whose own language skills and level of international empathy are alarmingly and classically elementary). Unless there is a monetary reason to make a shift in policy, with the supply of new "machines" with fresh batteries limitless, the simple facts are that policy will not change and Nova will remain an institution that is fundamentally exploitative.

Most companies that call themselves a corporation (which Nova astoundingly does), public or private, also operate on the basis of a bottom line. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money. However, other companies (due mainly to the product that they produce, but also because of government rules and regulations that enforce workers rights, migrant or native), do not have the luxury of an inexhaustible supply of skilled workers, and from the outset, offer work conditions that are primarily focused on the retention and cultivation of staff. Why? Because usually the loss of staff and retraining of new employees has an enormously negative effect on efficiency, output, quality of output, and thus profitability.

It is not the case with Nova, and the absence of such a fundamental obstacle that other businesses must address and overcome, is soullessly and immorally exploited by Nova Corporation, and has made one man incredibly rich.

Our dear founder at Nova is often referred to by indoctrinated Nova employees (until they wake up of course) as being a genius. There is nothing genius about his formula at all. The only thing extra-ordinary about is that a) he actually applies it to begin with, and b) he gets away with it.

It is purely and simply cheaper for Nova to burn old staff out and replace them with fresh faces. This works for four basic reasons:

1. New foreigners, with little exposure to professional teaching environments, workers rights and workers conditions in their own countries, let alone Japan, simply do not know any better. The combination of lack of language skills, and being in an exotic and thus exciting location, means not only will they initially swallow all of the bullshit that is thrown at them, but more importantly, there is X amount of time that will transpire before the worker wakes up and becomes disgruntled and leaves (that time being Nova cash-in time). Bringing them in and letting them go when they are sad and sorry, is cheaper for Nova than bringing them in and retaining them--sad, but true.
2. The Japanese Government does not adequately regulate the quality of foreign teachers allowed to teach in Japan, creating a vast pool of workers that are prepared to initially tolerate sub-standard work conditions (the main one being the now infamous amount of contact hours a Nova teacher must endure, which is fundamentally insufferable in the medium to long term, without considerable psychological impact). This policy is created by the enormous demand for native English Instructors, being managed in the most cost effective manner. The Japanese government has faith that, in the high school system, Japanese students have been successfully taught the necessary grammatical building blocks of the English language, and thus what non-proficient speakers of English in Japan really need is simply practice, rather than lessons with fully qualified and gifted ESL teachers (who are available, at greater cost, and are usually found in Japanese tertiary institutes). The JET program offers comparatively good working hours and salaries, but the Japanese Government's aim there (unlike Nova, who rely more or less purely on the mystique of Japan outside the work environment to retain employees for at least a year) is also very much PR, and each and every year, expired JET teachers return home with glowing reports about their marvelous and care free time in Japan. Are JET teachers qualified ESL teachers or even teachers for that matter? No, they are not, but working in tandem with a Japanese English teacher is still cheaper than hiring a professional. The only good point about Nova that I have ever been able to identify is that, while their instructors real knowledge of English teaching is often too shallow, the lessons are structure based, with the crude basics of what is to be taught at least having been identified in some form of training (albeit a very small amount of training).Surprisingly, there is rhyme and reason behind the Nova teaching methodology. A JET teacher, while enjoying the luxury of a very small work load, usually simply follows directions, without really understanding why.
3. The Japanese Government does not adequately regulate or monitor the work conditions of foreign nationals full-stop.
4. Call them students, call them customers, call them what ever you want, but what is it that the majority of language school addicts actually want? It is really to gain English Language Proficiency, or is it something else? Like them or dislike them, you are in demand by the customer, nine times out of ten, only while you are new, fresh-faced, humorous, and "genki." The Nova machine knows this, is fully aware that your human spirit has a shelf life, and is thus economically driven to create an environment where you will choose to leave after X amount of time. Why? Because they need to replace you with what the customer wants, because without the customer, our fat cat does not get to buy his next new yacht. The better looking you are, the more chance there is that the time before the students become bored with their toy will be extended, and your inevitable grief, from the people you at first fell in love with, will be deferred. Yes, it is not always the case (when individual students are examined). However, the primary root of this phenomena is Japanese culture itself, where people are unable to comparatively emotionally express themselves, and are often chronically fatigued and pent up, craving for stimulation where they are free (in a synthetic and anesthetized setting) to let their hair down. They become addicted to "English" lesson rather like we become addicted to internet chat-rooms (which are widely recognized as unhealthy places to hang out in). What at first you thought was a delightful and child like person (a fully grown adult none the less), often becomes the person who ends up grinding the axe to fall upon your head. You can't solve the puzzle of Japan, and you can't make any serious impact on the dark side of Japanese culture. For sure feel some pity for the 45 year old house wife, or 55 year old burnt out company executive, leaning on you as if they were patients lying on the psychiatrists couch, but rest assured, once your emotional energies are drained and exhausted, and you become less and less animated and comical, the vampire will look for a fresh neck to stick its fangs into. Nova makes it its business to provide what the blood suckers want, because after all, it is Nosferatu who pays the cold hard cash to begin with. What do they want (both the clients and the Company)? Fresh blood in the form of a newly graduated, happy faced nit-wit, with nothing better to do, innocently looking for a worldly adventure.

If you are in Nova cut your losses and get out. If you are thinking about working for them, my advice don't do it. Don't given the arrogant, immoral and soulless prick that runs the show the satisfaction.

-After Dinner Crocodile