Select a country where you are interested in working someday or a country from w

Question

Select a country where you are interested in working someday or a country from which some of your current co-workers live. Your task is to research cultural differences and strategies for effective business communication with this country's culture. Consider both verbal and non-verbal communication. Focus particularly on some of the intercultural differences raised by Edward Hall and Geert Hofstede and discussed in your text: High Context vs. Low Context; Individualsim vs. Collectivism; Power Distance; Uncertainty Avoidance; and Time Orientation.

                1. What cultural differences and values of this country influence business communication?

                2. If you were setting up a meeting or forming a group with people from this country, what factors would you want to consider and why?

At the end In your thread, offer an annotation of the article:

Explanation / Answer

1. Chosen Country – Japan

Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Japan is a nation characterized by moderate power distance, moderate individualism, highly masculine society, high uncertainty avoidance and high long-term orientation.

Let’s elaborate on each dimension and its impact on the Japanese way of doing business and other issues like lifetime employment, quality control and decision making:

This dimension basically states equality in society. Higher the power distance, higher will be the hierarchical nature of society.

Japan, with an intermediate score of 54, is somewhat a hierarchical society. The Japanese people are aware of power play and social positions and they employ the same at the last resort. Any decision in Japanese business needs to be approved by each hierarchical layer before reaching to the whims of the top management. This is the reason why Japanese people are extremely slow decision makers.

Japan is more group-oriented with an intermediary score of 46 in the dimension of individualism. Japanese people, though need to know their worth and rank in society, will always be conscious so as not to hurt group harmony. Most of the criticisms by Japanese people will come in an indirect way as they try to avoid conflicting situations in group. So talking about quality control, a Japanese takes time and evaluates too much before highlighting a fault in the quality of product.

Japanese culture is one of the most masculine culture in the world. They are very competitive, almost everyone strives for achievement and success. One of the most motivating scenario for Japanese employees is when they are competing in a winning team against their competitors. Japanese like to win always. They don’t like when someone points out at their weak point and that’s the reason behind stringent quality checks in the past.

Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding country in the world. Japanese people are reluctant to change, are timid risk-takers and try to be predictable in any and every situation. This is the main reason why Japanese prefer the safety of lifetime employment as they prefer stability and security.

Based on the above-mentioned cultural dimensions, let's discuss some chief characteristics of Japanese in business and personal life:

Hierarchy and decision-making processes: Japanese business culture is characterized by distinct hierarchies. Japanese are firm believers of the notion that one should portray his actions based on the status and power one has. One should never go beyond the scope of his power and status. The hierarchy is based on the consensus and cooperation of team as a whole. Decision making process is a top-down process where the major responsibility of decision-making is on the top management. The decision flows from layer to layer, requiring affirmation from each layer and hence, decision making is a cumbersome and time-consuming process in Japan.

Types of conflicts that may be encountered: Japanese try to keep their personal feelings aside and try to have composure at work. Japanese never tend to show their emotions at a public place or work. If they are angry or in times of a conflict, they will humbly fall silent. Conflicts within groups are resolved through hierarchy. The Japanese are very loyal to their group. An enemy of the group becomes their own enemy.

Preferred managerial qualities: Japanese work in a collaborative work environment. A Japanese manager often wants to discuss the performance of his subordinates. He likes to give frequent feedbacks. Decision is taken by a consensus and hence, is a long time-consuming process.

Privileges and/or favoritism as it relate to sex, religion, class, or status: Japanese rarely show favoritism at work based on person preference as the Japanese like to keep their personal life and personal preferences aside. Workplace is thoroughly professional. Favoritism and giving preferences is considered unfair and unjust.

Ethnicity and gender issues: Japan is a highly masculine society. So the power is mostly in the hands of Japanese males. Gender equality is a problem area in Japan as the women there have to strive beneath the glass ceiling. In Japan, most of the people are Japanese. People from other ethnicity are usually the labor class who had migrated to Japan for work.

Customs that may have an impact on the organization’s way of doing business: Japanese are very traditional people. They are high risk avoiders so do not like any change. The age-long customs and traditions are highly valued and no reforms have been attempted on the same.

2. If forming a group or alliance with the Japanese people, following business etiquettes must be followed:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2017.1370994

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/japan,the-usa/

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.514.5184&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/japan-guide

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