Doing business in Japan Essay

Submitted By Yinfei-Lin
Words: 469
Pages: 2

When you are doing business with a Japanese company, there are some things that you need know and you need to do them. It is also important to understand that observance of cultural norms varies from individual to individual within a culture. Communication takes place between one human being and another, and not, of course, between one culture and another. So, when we consider matters of cultural etiquette, it is prudent to approach these as guidelines rather than gospel.
I will talk about five of them that I thought is important in business culture. First of all, in a business setting, silence is valued over an overabundance of talking. A more introverted, formal approach, especially at the beginning of a business relationship, is likely to be better received when doing business in Japan. Second, it is widely known that Japan is a group-oriented culture – group solidarity is valued over individualism. I thought each person cannot do a thing very well, but when some people work together, each person has different opinion in an aspect, and each person could responsible for a part. Always remember that the team concept is very important for the Japanese and strive to give public credit to the entire group. Third, Japanese people are notoriously private and reserved. Privacy is important in Japan. People can have their names removed from phone books if they want. Windows are designed so people cannot look in. So, it is important to asking a lot of personal questions at the begging of the relationship – which to us is a way of building rapport – may be regarded as pushy or rude. Fourth, when you serve yourself from shared dishes, if there are no utensils for serving yourself, use the opposite end of your chopsticks to pick up