Intercultural Management-Japan

Justina Sumathi

Power Distance
At a score of 54, Japan is a mildly hierarchical society Japanese are always conscious of their hierarchical position in any social setting and act accordingly Slow decision making process shows that in Japanese society there is no one top guy who can take decision like in more hierarchical societies. Another example of not so high power distance is that Japan has always been a meritocratic society. There is a strong belief in the Japanese education system that everybody is born equal and anyone can get ahead and become anything if he (yes, it is still he) works hard enough

Individualism
Japan scores 46 on the Individualism dimension Harmony of group is above the expression of individual opinions People have a strong sense of shame for losing face. it is not as collectivistic as most of her Asian neighbours.(Japanese society does not have extended family system which forms a base of more collectivistic societies such as China and Korea)

Individualism
It is a paternalistic society and the family name and asset is inherited from father to the eldest son. They are loyal to their company by choice The Japanese in-group is situational. They are more private and reserved than most other Asians.

Masculinity/Femininity
At 95, Japan is one of the most masculine societies in the world No competitive assertive individual behaviour but fierce competition within groups Employees are most motivated when they are fighting in a winning team against their competitors There is the drive for excellence and perfection in their material production (monodukuri) and in material services (hotels and restaurants) and presentation (gift wrapping and food presentation) in every aspect of life. It is still hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their masculine norm of hard and long working hours.

Uncertainty Avoidance
At 92 Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries From cradle to grave, life is highly ritualized and you have a lot of ceremonies. A lot of time and effort is put into feasibility studies and all the risk factors must be worked out before any project can start. Managers ask for all the detailed facts and figures before taking any decision. Change is very difficult

Long-term Orientation
At 80 Japan scores as one of the long term oriented societies High rate of investment in R&D , equipment, human resources even in economically difficult times, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit Companies are not here to make money every quarter for the share holders, but to serve the stake holders and society at large for many generations to come

Business strategies
The distinctive characteristics of the strategies that most of the Japanese companies adopt are : Investment in equipment and human resources development for long-term profit, Quality or customer oriented decision, Bottom-up problem solving rather than top-down command, Continuously improving products rather than developing innovative new products, Improving market share for long term profit, and Providing importance to process rather than results.

"Ringi System: and Decision Making:

Japanese companies employ a method of group-oriented and participatory decision making called: Ringi" system. A proposal is confirmed through the "Ringi" process. The "RingiSho" is a proposal document prepared by a staff member. This paper is circulated among various managers before it goes to top management for formal approval.

Ringi
The document, which is usually initialled by those involved in or affected by the decision, elicits cooperation and participation of many people This assures that the problem or the decision is examined from different perspectives. This decision making process is time-consuming but after a consensus is reached, the implementation of the plan is quick The sharing of the decision power and responsibilities can also result in a problem so that no one feels individually responsible for the decision

Communication
Regular morning meeting of top, middle level managers and other employees. Open working office area where all level of employees work together with managers. The layout is very conducive for good communication among employees

Communication
Parallel decision-making, with an emphasis on bottom-up communication. Communication is initiated much more often at lower levels This communication pattern is also promoted by Japanese managers, who take a great deal of time communicating with their subordinates This puts the emphasis on face-to-face contact rather than memos

Planning
Long-term orientation Collective decision-making (ring) with consensus Involvement of many people in preparing and making the decision Decision flow from bottom-to-top and back Slow decision-making; fast implementation of the decision

Organising
Collective responsibility and accountability Ambiguity of decision responsibility Informal organization structure Well-known common organization culture and philosophy; competitive spirit toward other enterprises

Staffing
Young people hired out of school; hardly any mobility of people among companies Slow promotion through the ranks Loyalty to the company Very infrequent formal performance evaluations for new (young) employees Appraisal of long-term performance Training and development considered a long term investment Lifetime employment common in large companies

Leading
Leader acting as social facilitator and group member Paternalistic style Common values facilitating cooperation Avoidance of confrontation, sometimes leading to ambiguities; emphasis on harmony Bottom-up communication

Controlling
Control by peers Control focus on group performance Saving face Extensive use of quality control circles