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Culture in the business world is not the same as general culture. Even native speakers of the language learn business manners and practices, and cooperative culture when they actually engage in a real life setting. The purpose of this report is to study how culture norms affect business practices in Japan to the aspects of religion, language, non-verbal communication, contrasting cultural values and negotiation techniques within a business context.
Religion
Japanese religion is not directly involved in business aside from annual holidays and corporate gift giving. Yet indirectly, religion plays a major role in business in a number of aspects. Japanese religion is unique in that many Japanese hold to more than one religion simultaneously. This differs from the approach most others take toward religions as being absolute. Thus in the United States, for example, it is not customary that a person could at the same time be a Jew, a Roman Catholic and a Moslem; in Japan, such a combination would be more conceivable. At the very least, Japanese religion is mixture of multiple theological influences. To some extent, one can argue that this has helped create the Japanese business tendency to be at least temporarily comfortable with multiple interpretations of a situation (as opposed to the European and American tendencies to demand resolution of conflicting views as they occur). Japan's indigenous religion, Shintoism, is limited to Japan and focuses on the spiritual forces of nature and of specific mountains, trees, bodies of water, streams, and other geographic spots imbued with religious significance. This has led to, among other practices, sangaku shinko (worship of mountains), and chinju no kami (local tutelary deities). Perhaps more significantly for business, HBI216N COMPARATIVE REGIONAL BUSINESS 1
Shintoism leads most Japanese to respect for nature in its own right, where both humans and kami (spirits) coexist and must find their proper place. This contrasts with the North American and north European view that people control nature to their own profit. Finally, the Shinto belief that stating negative outcomes may encourage their realization has limited the "what if problemsolving technique so widespread in American and European brainstorming strategies. Missionaries from the Asian mainland brought Mahayana Buddhism to Japan in the Middle Ages. The religion evolved during the centuries of Japanese isolation into peculiarly Japanese formulations, such as Zen, with its belief in sudden enlightenment and Shingon Buddhism, with its belief in sokushin jobutsu (literally "Buddhahood in this very body"), a sort of organic pantheism stressing enlightenment as both a bodily and spiritual process. This philosophy may influence the way business is conducted in Japan, as expressed through a greater acceptance of intuitive decision-making as one legitimate criterion for action.
Language
The countrys official language is Japanese. Most local businesspersons, even younger ones, do not speak and understand English well. The understanding of written text is better than that of spoken English, so it is always a good idea to bring written proposals and confirm key points of oral communications in writing. Make frequent pauses and give the Japanese side time for translation and discussion. Verify through diplomatic questions whether your counterparts understood you. Since saving face is so important, people will not openly admit it in front of others if they do not understand what you are saying. If in doubt, try writing down key points on paper or on a white board. In some cases, it is necessary to have an interpreter. Politely inquire beforehand whether an interpreter should be present at a meeting. However, keep in mind that even interpreters may not always speak and understand English at a fully 2 HBI216N COMPARATIVE REGIONAL BUSINESS
proficient level. Also, realize that in this strongly relationship-oriented culture, an independent interpreter hired by you for a meeting is viewed an as out- sider by the Japanese side, so your counterparts may be reluctant to speak openly. At the same time, interpreters may feel no allegiance with you, so they may be telling you what they think you want to hear rather than what the other side said. It is highly recommended to use someone from within your company as a negotiation team member who can translate, or correct the translator on missed key points. If that is not an option, it is better to ask the Japanese side whether they can provide someone within their team to handle translations. When communicating in English, speak in short, simple sentences free of jargon and slang. Pausing as often as you can gives people a better chance to translate and understand what you said. Also, allow for frequent side discussions in Japanese. Because the concept of face is pivotal in this culture, communication is generally extremely indirect, even more so than in other Asian countries. When responding to a direct question, the Japanese may answer yes only to signal that they heard what you said, not that they agree with it. Responding to a question or request with a direct no is rarely an option in Japan. The strongest expression you may hear is that may be very difficult, which is a clear-cut no. Alternatively, they may give seemingly ambiguous answers such as I am not sure, we will think about it, or this will require further investigation. Each of these indicates serious problems that need to be resolved.
Non-verbal communication
Gestures are usually very subtle in Japan. It is strongly advisable to restrict your body language. Non-verbal communication is very important, though, and you should carefully watch for others small hints, just as they will be watching you. Do not make physical contact with other people except for handshakes. Do not use your hands when speaking since it may distract the Japanese. The American OK sign, with thumb and index finger forming a circle, means money in Japan. Pointing at people or objects is very impolite. Instead, wave your open hand HBI216N COMPARATIVE REGIONAL BUSINESS 3
toward the object. When referring to themselves, people put an index finger on their nose rather than pointing at their chest as Westerners do. Sucking in air through the teeth indicates that there is a serious problem. If the person puts a hand on the back of the neck at the same time, it signals, This is impossible. Scratching the back of ones head, frowning, or scratching the eyebrow indicate apprehension or rejection. Moving the open hand in front of the face in a fanning motion, with the palm facing left again signals a negative response. Do not blow your nose in public since people find this repelling. Unless strong personal relationships exist with a person, eye contact should be infrequent. Lowering ones eyes is a sign of respect. However, there may be intensive eye contact between friends or long-term business partners. If someone closes his or her eyes during a discussion, presentation, or speech, the Japanese assume that the person is listening attentively, while Westerners may erroneously assume that he or she is taking a nap. Smiles and laughter do not always indicate friendliness, amusement, or approval. They may mask a lack of understanding, embarrassment, disapproval, and other feelings of distress. Accordingly, Westerners may sometimes observe Japanese people smiling or laughing at what they might consider inappropriate moments.
Action
Space
Power
Equality emphasis
Hierarchy emphasis
Individualism
High individualism
Low individualism
Competitiveness
Competitive
Cooperative
Structure
Low structure
High structure
Formality
Informal
Formal
The Japanese put their highest social priority on harmony because 1) Japans geographical characteristicsa country surrounded by an oceanemphasizes its isolation; 2) Japan has the densest population per square foot of any country in the world, which creates an unavoidable close proximity of persons to each other; and 3) Japan is a homogeneous society. Fulfilling ones position in a harmonious way, or in other words, not destroying the harmony of the society by taking an in- appropriate position in relation to others, is important for Japanese people. The Japanese try to avoid conflict between parties in order to keep harmony. Also, Japanese society is described as a strong vertical society. SempaiKohai [senior- junior] relationships determine the role of a person in most situations, and this hierarchical system controls Japanese social life and individual activity. Equality, a horizontal relationship, is strongly valued in the United States but it is less important in Japan. Americans emphasize equality of power, therefore there HBI216N COMPARATIVE REGIONAL BUSINESS 5
are fewer adherences to hierarchy, and rank levels may be bypassed to get the work done more effectively or efficiently. On the other hand, the Japanese see power in the context of hierarchy. When the Japanese conduct a business negotiation, the first thing that they do is to find out their position. They want to know who has the higher social status and where they themselves need to fit in among the people involved in the negotiation. The relative power relationship is first determined by the size of the companies. If the companies have a similar status, they move on to see who has the higher title, and they want to know who is older. There are clear lines drawn among social levels in Japanese culture. The Japanese do not feel comfortable until they find out where they stand in terms of relative power, therefore they have a hard time accepting the concept of equal power between the parties in the business scene. The concept of time also varies from culture to culture. For instance, Americans think in a time frame that emphasizes the present and the short-term future, while the Japanese think in a long-term range. These conceptual differences cause different perspectives between CEOs in the United States and in Japan. American CEOs try to improve and maximize their companies profits in their limited time frame of contract terms with a company rather than considering long-term cooperation as success. On the other hand, Japanese CEOs see companies as eternal structures, and consider themselves as history-makers for companies. They even imagine how companies will be in a hundred years. This does not mean that the Japanese do not care about making immediate or shortterm time profits. However, they see current profits as a long-term benefit rather than in a one-time-only benefit. Fundamental social structures make the Japanese language an other- controlled and other-controlling language. Japanese is often cited as an indirect language, unlike English, which is a self-controlled language. Indirectness is not only important, but in fact critical for Japanese people in order to maintain harmony and/or save face. Even though the Japanese have strong opinions, views, and issues on a topic, they usually avoid stating them directly, preferring to use roundabout phrases and softened statements. By leaving room for the other side to disagree with issues and to take those disagreements into account in making 6 HBI216N COMPARATIVE REGIONAL BUSINESS
their own statements, the Japanese avoid offense. Americans think that the Japanese spend more than enough time exchanging information, as mentioned before. For Americans, standards of cooperation and assertiveness are not the same as for the Japanese. In other words, the Japanese do not think that an Americans maximum cooperative effort is sufficient when compared to their own acceptable level of cooperation. The term collaboration may also be interpreted and handled in different ways between the two cultures even though both American and Japanese negotiators like to use a collaborative style. It is also true that the Japanese interpret American assertiveness as aggressiveness, since an Americans standard of assertiveness is stronger than what the Japanese consider reasonable.
or other places.