BUS-363 Cross Cultureal management

BUS-363

Cross-Cultural Management

Japanese Cultural Perspective

山本創造S. YAMAMOTO

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1. OUTLINE OF JAPAN

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Administrative Map of Japan

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Population

Source : Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

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Population

Source : Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

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Religion

• The history of religion in Japan is a long process of mutual influence between religious tradition.

• The indigenous religion SHINTO has continued as a part of the lives of the people from the earliest days of an organized Japanese state up to modern times.

• When Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century, Shinto and Buddhist beliefs began to interact. This is the defining characteristic of Japanese religion.

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Religion

• The most striking example of this interaction is the theory of “Honji suijaku （本地垂迹）” in which Shinto kami were seen as the incarnations of Buddhist deities.

• Confucianism （儒教） and Taoism （道教） are two other religious “imports” that have played important roles in Japanese society over period of more than 1,000 years

• Confucian precepts had a major influence on Japanese ethical and political philosophy in the formative period of th Japanese state (the 6th to 9th century)

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Religion – Life of Japanese

• Hatsu Miya mairi （初宮参り） : the first shine visit of a newborn baby• The Shichi-Go-San Festival （七五三） : the shrine visit of three- and five-year-old

boys and seven-year-old girls• Shinto Wedding ceremony （結婚式）• Buddhist funeral （葬式）

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Education

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Industry / Employment

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Monthly cash earnings by sex and Industry

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Monthly cash earnings by sex and age group

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Foreign Trade

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Government system

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Politics

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2. CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF JAPANESE COMMUNICATION STYLE

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2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style

a) Group Orientation – グループ志向

“Nagai mono niwa makarero” 「長いものには巻かれろ」

　　　　 “ｰ If you can’t beat them, join them”

“Honne and Tatemae” 　「本音と建前」　　　・ Honne : what you really think or literally ‘the truth’.

・ Tatemae : what you actually show or literally ‘façade.’

→ Don’t interpret the use of Tatemae as “two-faced”!!

It is simply use to maintain harmony…

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b) Hierarchy – 階層制度

The Roots of Hierarchy

　　 - The importance of hierarchy in Japanese culture is based

in the social ethics of “Confucianism”

→ Vertical or Hierarchical relationships / EX. Customer > Vendor

Hierarchical Relationships in Business

- Customer > Vendor

- Parent company > Subsidiary company

- Head office > Branch office

- Manager > Subordinate

- Senior (a person who joined the company) > Junior

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Example of Hierarchy

- Exchange of business cards

・ Higher level people exchange cards first

Ex. Director– Manager – section chief…

・ Lower level people show cards first to higher level one

- Seating arrangements

- Order of speaking

・ Highest ranking person speaks last

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c) Situational Behavior – 状況に応じた振るまい

Example of Behavior

- Exchange of business cards

・ Higher level people exchange cards first

Ex. Director– Manager – section chief…

・ Lower level people show cards first to higher level one

- Seating arrangements

- Order of speaking

・ Highest ranking person speaks last

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d) High Context Communication – 場を読む

High Context Culture

- The Japanese people

・ relatively homogeneous

・ sharing a long history of common values

・ strong family ties

・ standardized educational system

　　　　　 → Not necessary to verbalize everything explicitly

- “Hear one, understand ten” 「一を聞いて十を知る」 Ex. When the French want to say 100 things, they will verbalize

150 things. When Japanese say 70 things, they are trying to get the other person to understand 100

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3. COMMUNICATION GAPS CAUSED BY LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES

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a) Indirect or Ambiguous Expression 曖昧ｰ（あいまい）

　 - The Japanese desire to maintain relationships by avoiding confrontation often leads them to give ambiguous responses which are misinterpreted by foreigners, causing misunderstandings and sometimes bad feelings…

“Yes”

　　　（ × ）” Agree with you”

（○）” I’m listening to you” or “I understand what you’re saying”

“I understand” 　　（ × ） “ I accept” or “I agree”

（○） “ I have listened to what you have to [want to] say”

“We will consider it”

This type of response is sometimes used as tactful way of ending a discussion while avoiding a direct negative response… If there is no follow-up action after this discussion, then taken together, the Japanese response may be interpreted to mean “NO”.

3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences

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b) Japanese English

　 - The Japanese have made foreign words their own, incorporating “Loan words” from other languages such as French or German, giving certain English words unique meanings that are not recognized by people from other English-speaking countries, and creating catchy buzzwords from abbreviations of English terms.

[ Loan words]

“Do you return the an-keito?”

　　　 ” An-keito” (← enquête / French word) → “questionnaire”

“He took a arubaito to help with expenses.” 　　 ”Arubaito” (← arbeit / German word meaning “work”) → “part-time job”

“What is the tei-ma of your presentation?”

“Tei-ma” (← das thema / German word) → “topic”


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[ Unique meanings]

“She is very smart.”

　　　 Rather than meaning intelligent, or fashionable (as in “smartly dressed”), the Japanese often use the word “su-mah-to” to mean “slim” or “thin”, referring to a person’s physique.

“This is service.” 　　 ”Sah-bi-su” is used to mean “free” or “complimentary”.

“We must appeal our product’s quality.”

“a-pee-ru” is used to mean “emphasize” or “promote”


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[ Abbreviations]

“He is waiting at the front.”

　　　 “ Fu-ron-to” is short for “front desk”. Foreigner sometimes misunderstand the above statement to mean “in front of the hotel (i.e., outside)”.

“They are concerned about sekuhara.” 　　 ”Se-ku-ha-ra” has been created by abbreviating a long English phrase,

“sexual harrassment”.

“How about your new pasokon?”

“Pa-so-kon” is used to mean “personal computer”.

The Japanese often ask, “How about X ?” to mean “How do you like X ?”

→ “How do you like your new P.C.?”


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[ Direct translation]

“You must work harder.”

　　　 The Japanese is mistranslating the expression, “Gambette kudasai”, which is an empathetic phrase meant to encourage another person, and means something like, “Hang in there!”

“Please take care of me.” 　　 The Japanese intends to say is “Yoroshiku onegai shimasu” which is

common phrase used in Japan when meeting someone for the first time.

“Yoroshiku onegai shimasu” expresses the wish for good future relationship. In the West, an equivalent expression would be, “Nice to meet you” or “Looking forward to working with you.”


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c) Nonverbal Communication Choosing Nonverbal Communication over Verbal

Communication 　　　 - People from high context culture will sometimes choose implicit, nonverbal

communication over explicit, verbal communication. They may feel that verbal communication is too blunt or unnecessarily obvious, whereas expressing yourself nonverbally is more subtle and considerate.

- 『目は口ほどにものを言う (Me wa kuchi hodo ni mono wo iu) 』

→ “The eyes are as eloquent as the tongue.” Laughter “Aisoo-warai （愛想笑い）”　　　→ “ Polite laughter”, “Diplomatic laughter” or even “Fake

laughter” - Meaning of the “Aisoo-warai” is that

1) the person does not understand the English being spoken, therefore the laugh may indicate confusion or embarrassment, and even a hope that the speaker will clarify.

2) the reluctance of the Japanese to give a direct negative response to what the speaker said.


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Drawing in air through the teeth 　（ため息）　　　 - When a Japanese businessperson draws in air through his/her teeth, it

indicates complete disagreement or an immovable “No”. It can be better interpreted as partial disagreement or an “I cannot say yes.” In other words, there is something that the Japanese doesn’t agree with, or there is some reason he or she cannot say yes.

Silence （沈黙）” -

- Japanese silence is often interpreted negatively. For example, it could be thought to indicate lack of interest, inattention, day dreaming, confusion, lack of confidence or lack of intelligence. But silence may be a more neutral or positive message.

・ I’m translation or processing the English which I’ve heard. (Please wait!)

・ I’m thinking about how to respond to what you said. (Please wait!!)

・ I really don’t know. (Please suggest a course of action and save my face…)

・ I trust you, and we don’t need to say anything else right now. (Please remain silent.)

・ I partially disagree with you but want to avoid direct confrontation.

(Please consider my position and reconsider your position…)


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c) Nonverbal Communication Drawing in air through the teeth 　（ため息）　　　 - When a Japanese businessperson draws in air through his/her teeth, it

indicates complete disagreement or an immovable “No”. It can be better interpreted as partial disagreement or an “I cannot say yes.” In other words, there is something that the Japanese doesn’t agree with, or there is some reason he or she cannot say yes.

Silence （沈黙）” -

- Japanese silence is often interpreted negatively. For example, it could be thought to indicate lack of interest, inattention, day dreaming, confusion, lack of confidence or lack of intelligence. But silence may be a more neutral or positive message.

・ I’m translation or processing the English which I’ve heard. (Please wait!)

・ I’m thinking about how to respond to what you said. (Please wait!!)

・ I really don’t know. (Please suggest a course of action and save my face…)

・ I trust you, and we don’t need to say anything else right now. (Please remain silent.)


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[For Reference]Common errors which should be avoided when exchanging cards

• Do not stuff the card into your pocket like a Kleenex. That would be considered extremely rude. Take your time to read it and then put it into a business card holder.

• Do not make notes in blank areas of the card• Do not bend or damage the business card in front of its

owner. This is considered a direct insult.• The card should not be cribbed to reconfirm the owner's

name. This is considered extremely poor etiquette.• There is no excuse for running out of business cards on a trip

to Japan. Keep in mind that you may have to hand out as many as 40 or 50 cards at a larger meeting - and you may also have to give your card twice to the same person - for the sake of etiquette.

• Do not carry your cards loosely in a pocket. Carry them in a distinctive business card case.

Entrance

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[For Reference] The seating protocol - Meeting Room / Restaurant/ Car

Driver

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[For Reference] The seating protocol – Train / Bus / Elevator

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BUS-363 Cross Cultureal management

Education

Transcript of BUS-363 Cross Cultureal management