Triggered by the subprime crisis that erupted last year, a dark cloud has gradually come over the U.S. financial sector. The Dow Jones average has been in steady decline since the beginning of the year. Then came the event that everyone was expecting to happen. The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September caused a major shockwave in global financial circles. The bankruptcy crisis continued as AIG, Washington Mutual and Wachovia Bank fell like dominoes.

"I've already lost $20,000 in the stock market."
"The share price fell by 60%."
"Who is going to fail next? Citibank? Maybe I should close my account and withdraw all my savings."
"This is a very rare opportunity to buy bank shares. They will never go this low again."
All of Manhattan is talking about "money."

The first and worst to be hit by this economic slump have been the retail shops and restaurants. Even Americans, who are said to not have the habit of saving, are beginning to cut spending. That reminds me of the tax rebate of up to $600 for every tax payer in the U.S. that President Bush signed into a law in early May in order to encourage consumption. Did it mean anything at all in the end? (When ordinary citizens are losing tens of thousands of dollars in the stock market, it is hard to believe that a mere $600 payout will make any difference.) 

Although it is said that real estate values have been falling throughout the U.S. since the subprime crisis, it doesn't look that way in New York. Both residential and commercial rents remain as high as ever. In Manhattan and in Hoboken on the other side of the Hudson River, as well as in Brooklyn Heights across the East River, a studio apartment still costs at least $1,500 or $2,000 a month. 

Conditions are the same for commercial rents. Some companies have relocated to other buildings with lower rents after being unable to cope with the high rents being demanded at the time of contract renewal. I have heard that some companies are discussing plans to sublet spare space to subsidiaries after reducing the amount of space that they are using. There is some speculation, however, that office rents may drop when the bankrupt Lehman Brothers sells off the considerable number of properties they own in Manhattan.  

Still, New York is a gigantic city, one that the whole world focuses on. The long and narrow strips of land in the city hold thousands of commercial, residential and office buildings and you will always encounter the construction of high-rise buildings and condominiums being packed into the tight space of the city.

A scenario such as New York becoming desolate due to an economic slump is not likely for now. A majority stake in the Chrysler building being purchased by Arab money is still fresh in people's memory. Although the racial and ethnic makeup of the city may change in the future, its position as a global financial center will remain steady at least for the next few decades. In 2009, the eyes of the world will be glued to trends in the U.S., where the capability of the new president, Barack Obama will be put to the test.

When I travel overseas from the United States, I am amazed at how few policemen I see. To put it another way, The U.S. - especially New York - seems full of police presence.

It's common to be unable to cross a street, even on a green light, because ten or twenty police cars are speeding through with their sirens blaring. A cacophony of police, fire, and ambulance sirens continues 24 hours a day, regardless of the hour. One might imagine that this situation leaves New Yorkers stressed out, and they'd be exactly right, as many New Yorkers seek some kind of healing in their lives, such as pets or yoga.

Office building security has also gotten very strict since September 11, 2001. At one time, a person could go straight up to the floor of the party they were visiting, whereas now, large buildings have adopted a registration system. There, a person's name has to be previously registered; otherwise they can't enter the building and ride the elevator.

This is terribly annoying to a salesman. Even if they have something to deliver, they have to get the recipient to register their name. Then when they finally get to the front of the inevitably long line, even frustrating situation disappoints them:

"Your name is not on here - have the person you are visiting register your name again. The phone's over there."
"I'm sorry, I am downstairs, and they're saying my name isn't on the list."
"That's weird, I told my secretary to register it..."

This is both a pain and a massive waste of time.

There are buildings with better arrangements, wherein one can enter by simply showing identification, and still others where they only need to face a video camera and say their name along with that of the party they are visiting (though this is a bit embarrassing).

There are also buildings where a visitor's own ID is created before entering the building, with a simple picture of their face printed on a name card. The quality of these cameras is pretty bad, though. In one building, my picture is always stretched out sideways (this one is terrible!), while at another, my eyes, nose, and mouth are all only faintly visible, sort of like a ghost photo. Can this actually identify me? Am I the only one that thinks this is a meaningless waste of money?

Security was originally intended to prevent entry by suspicious persons. Yet there are some buildings where we salesmen can't get in without an appointment (for cold sales), but messengers who have gotten to know the security, get waved past without any trouble.

Even if we feel this system is unreasonable, there is little chance the security will loosen up anytime soon. Indeed, the trouble a businessman encounters simply to get to another's office looks to continue for the near future.

Due to the subprime crisis and soaring fuel prices, the outlook for the U.S. economy remains uncertain. Japanese corporations based in the U.S. are obliged to reduce their business or undergo restructuring because of the sluggish economy. Unfortunately, the world economy does not necessarily revolve around the U.S. and the focus seems to be shifting toward so-called emerging countries such as China, Russia, India and Brazil. 

An additional blow to the suffering U.S. economy is the problem of transport. To move around the U.S., with its large land area, commercial jets are indispensable. Still, delays and cancellations of flights are increasing every year, constantly causing problems for sales representatives.  

Even slight delays can prevent people from attending meetings. Appointments with clients have to be rescheduled and sometimes even routes have to be changed. Once there is a delay, check-in gates are flooded with long queues of passengers. It is not uncommon to see passengers getting into shouting matches with airline staff over alternative flights.

The other day, I made a reservation on a flight bound for Louisville, Kentucky. I received a boarding pass through self check-in. As of an hour before the flight, the departure was on time. Great. But when I got to the gate a half an hour before the flight, it had been cancelled!

The next flight was a connecting one, and not only that, it was five hours from then!
"You've got to be kidding!" I thought.
A beginner might back down at this point, but I couldn't do that as a travel agent.

"I have an appointment at 11:00. There's nothing else? What about other companies? Well, if there's no flight for Louisville, what about other nearby airports? Yes, how is Indianapolis?"
If I changed my route, I could get to a nearby city.

At the counter, everything was a negotiation. Even if I could make a route change, I would have to change where I made my rental car pickup, as well as my appointment time with the customer. A mobile phone is convenient at these times. Going through everything this way, I am somehow able to get through each single day.

Even when people board on time, they are frequently made to wait extensively inside the plane for things like thunderstorms or runway congestion. I asked a Japanese person living in the U.S. who had such an experience, "Didn't somebody get panicked, to be shut in the plane for two hours that way?"
"No one panicked, but the person next to me began to anxiously tear up their in-flight magazine. It was a little scary when they got through their second copy!"

Hating this sort of flight delay, there are many people who use the special express Acela train, or who even charter private jets, when traveling from New York to Boston or Washington D.C. on business trips. In fact, some companies are apparently even beginning to make rules saying that one must use a car instead of an airplane for trips that require an approximate eight hour drive or less.

This sort of thing seems to indicate that the American economy will continue its stagnation for the near future.

"Can we talk? This company has a dress code, and your skirt is a bit short, dear. After all, this company does run factories, and since there are a lot of male laborers, sexual harassment is certainly possible. Only up to two inches above the knee, okay? You understand, right?"

This is what I was told when I had been called to the HR office of a certain Texas company where I worked several years ago. Sure enough, the company dress code rules stated that clothing must appear business-like, and skirt length should be commensurately appropriate (though the two inch rule wasn't written). However, what I had been wearing was a business suit I had purchased in Japan. I had never been told that its length was too short.

"If those are the rules, are long dresses with a generous amount of cleavage showing, such as many women wear, businesslike? Don't they invite sexual harassment?" Though I felt somewhat humiliated, I couldn't bring myself to argue the point.

On a later day, I was told by my American boss to go home and change out of my sandals, which were a dress code violation. In Japan, this would have been unthinkable. I looked frantically about. "Michelle has sandals on too. Why isn't she being warned?" But when I looked closely, even her gruff sandals - the kind a housewife would throw on to go to the store - covered her toes, apparently making them okay. Why were sandals that didn't cover the toes against the rules?

One Japanese management consultant said "Perhaps showing one's toes has been considered to be in bad taste in America since long ago." I have a Japanese co-worker who has been told to go home and change out of her culotte skirt, it also being forbidden. It is certainly said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans", but one can't help but question why things are a certain way.

Things happen all the time in American workplaces which would be unimaginable in Japan, but they cannot simply be chalked up to cultural differences. Sexual harassment cases occur far more often when compared with Japan, and I have heard of Japanese working in America who have been accused and had to face being immediately sent back to Japan.

At American workplaces, where varying cultures are mixed together, there is a fear that comes with not knowing what one might encounter until one experiences it. However, we should try to show an effort in learning more each day about how things are done locally, then complying with whatever it might be. On the other hand, though, when something happens that we simply can't accept, it might be ideal to talk things through, taking the necessary time until both sides can gain an understanding and a solution.

*(photos) Sizzling New York. Though tourists might be clad in casual clothes, New York businesspeople maintain their neckties and long-sleeve shirts. It might be hot, but there's nothing a businessman can do but tough it out!