Issue:
AS MANY MEMBERS ARE AWARE, DECISIONS BY the current Board of the FCCJ with regard to the Food & Beverage operation of the Club have been controversial and led to negative reactions on the part of many of the Regular as well as Associate members. This is only one of several instances of the untransparent decision making that seems to be characteristic of the present and preceding Boards.
The FCCJ plays a unique and important role in Japan. It has the freedom to present cases and causes that touch everyone without being subjected to the limitations that apply to the Japanese press. However dissatisfaction with the way the Club is run endangers the continued existence of the Club.
These Boards decided fundamentally to alter the character of the FCCJ by outsourcing the services of its restaurant and bar facilities on the basis of faulty logic, and incorrect assessment of the Club’s present finances. Many Associate members wish to see the relationship between staff and members typical of a private and non commercial Club restored. They did not join the Club to be subjected to the commercial treatment they are now getting as a result of outsourcing F&B operations.
Management of an organization like the FCCJ fundamentally requires good financial analytical skills and good business sense, leading to carefully considered decision making that takes into account the interests of all stakeholders, including the Club’s employees. This kind of experience and knowhow are not typically part of the background of a working correspondent. For that reason the FCCJ in the 1990s rewrote the bylaws to establish the post of general manager along with the appropriate delegation of responsibility.
Besides business experience, financial expertise and experience is also extensively available among the Associate membership. Associate members are happy to make their knowledge available to the Club. At the same time many Associate members want to have a bigger voice in the way the Club is run and to be better informed by the Board of its actions. This has now become a matter of urgency and cannot wait till the possible election of Associate members to the board in 2014.
We have formulated suggestions on how to address what we see as shortcomings in the Club’s governance. For more details please see: http:// fccj-needs-reform.com/recommendations/
We are asking for support from the membership.
Thank you,
