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  • Essay / Doing business in Japan

    There is a certain business etiquette that must be followed when doing business with the Japanese, particularly regarding politeness and good manners, which are more formal than in South Korea. For example, exchanging business cards is an essential ritual after someone has been introduced and greeted in front of the Japanese. In the service industry, they are already setting the global standard for their excellent service (Kwintessential, 2018). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In a business meeting, seating position is determined by status, the highest ranking person will sit at the head of the table and subordinates will sit on both sides of the table. It is important not to take the lead in the meeting when it comes to sitting, drinking or eating, to wait for others to initiate and then follow their lead. Emotions, especially negative ones, are not expressed openly. Japan has an appropriate way to discuss and resolve disputes indirectly, such as in the case of private matters that are not involved in public debate. In the Japanese culture of collective relations, respecting and maintaining hierarchical relationships is very important in society and business. The importance of hierarchy in Japanese culture is based on the social ethics of Confucianism, in which people are classified according to vertical, hierarchical relationships, for example customer (superior) and seller (lower). A stable society depends on the proper maintenance of these hierarchical relationships. There are many hierarchical relationships in Japanese business culture, such as the relationship between customer and supplier, parent company and subsidiary, head office and branch, manager and subordinate, senior (a person who joined the company earlier) and junior. Everyone has different expectations from others in these relationships. (Ruth Sasaki, 1999). Edward Hall, in his book Silent Language, speaks of “high context culture”. The Japanese people are relatively homogenous and share a long history of common values, a highly standardized education system, and strong families that instill 8 assumptions. Because there is the same context, communicating with each other does not need to express everything explicitly. And feelings can be expressed in a few words or through subtle nonverbal cues. There is a Japanese saying: “Hear one, understand ten.” Silence can also have great meaning. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay If Japanese communicate with people from other cultures, without similar backgrounds, Japanese tend to assume a low level of understanding, and communicate in a way that seems vague or ambiguous to foreigners, and demonstrate a high need contextual information in order to build this shared context.