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Globalization and the
expansion of industry lead to forming new business contacts between the United
States and Japan. Although the business decisions between the two countries are
made mostly on the mutual trust and development of profitable business plans,
intercultural communication plays a vital role in the business amelioration,
because the success of business negotiations between the representatives of
both of the countries depends on the mutual understanding of verbal and
nonverbal communication as manifested by the standards of the Japanese and
American cultures. The understanding of cultural differences helps develop and
maintain successful intercultural business relationships.
The way the Japanese businessmen communicate with the potential business partners from the United States is strongly related to the specific details of the Japanese culture that includes verbal and nonverbal communication. According to Alan Goldman, the author of Doing Business with the Japanese: A Guide to Successful Communication, Management and Diplomacy (cited in Sobel, 1995), the Japanese business culture also has its special traditions and values that an American businessman has to understand and respect in order to develop a successful business relationship between the two countries. The article by Robert Sobel (1995), dedicated to the review of the book, discusses how the cultural barriers that exist between the American and the Japanese ways of negotiating the business can be breached by explaining the differences of business negotiations in Japan and in the United States. The article discusses such differences between the two cultures as time perception, nonverbal communication, and handling of the business cards, among other differences.
In Japan, time perception is different
from that in the United States. According to Goldman (cited in Sobel, 1995),
the Japanese business owners “open discussions slowly, wanting to know more
about their counterparts’ concepts of honor, tradition, family, . . . before
entering into serious negotiations.” The
author later notices that the Americans businessmen are impatient, in
comparison to the Japanese, they intend “to get down to brass tacks as soon as
possible” (Sobel, 1995). Therefore, as Hybels and Weaver (2007) correctly
notice, that in order to communicate effectively in an intercultural
environment one has to “simply assume that their sense of time is different
from yours” (p. 147). It is important, thus, to follow another party’s verbal
and nonverbal clues to know when to proceed with the business negotiations.
The next important difference lies in
the “high context” (Hybels & Weaver, 2007, p. 65) of the Japanese culture. According to Goldman (cited in Sobel, 1995), “Japanese
use of nonverbal communication is viewed as more sophisticated than verbal
utterings because the subtle, indirect messages of the face, eyes, body, voice,
special arrangements and silence depend on an unspoken empathy and intuitiveness
between sender and receiver.” Hybels and Weaver (2007) explain this nonverbal
communication as being more effective because “most of the meaning of a message
is either implied by the physical setting or is presumed to be part of the
individual’s beliefs, values, and norms” (p. 65). In countries where “high
context messages” (Hybels & Weaver, 2007, p. 65) are implied rather than
stated by the speakers, people need fewer words for explanations and
definitions, because the implied messages are easily understood by the people
within the same culture.
Third, there is a difference between how
a Japanese and an American receives and stores business cards. According to
Goldman (cited in Sobel, 1995), “the Japanese place the cards carefully on the
desk and refer to them during pauses, [while] Americans place the cards in
their wallets.” This statement confirms what Hybels and Weaver (2007) write in Communicating Effectively explaining
that “[the Japanese] view [business
cards] as an extension of the person” (p. 20). Thus, according to Hybels and
Weaver (2007) when Americans hide the business card quickly away in the wallets
or pockets results in “behavior insulting to the Japanese” (p. 20), which, in
its turn, may negatively impact the business relationship. After the exchange
of the business card it would be more appropriate to treat the business card of
the possible future business ally in the same way as he or she does, instead of
putting it away.
Intercultural business relationships are
important in this fast developing world. The more one knows about the Japanese
culture and traditions, the more successful she or he will be in establishing
long lasting professional relationship with a Japanese business company.
Therefore, the understanding of time perception, nonverbal communication and
how to properly handle a business card may add to forming a successful business
relationship. In his book Doing Business
with the Japanese: A Guide to Successful Communication, Management and
Diplomacy, Alan Goldman (cited in Sobel, 1995) states: “There are many
pressure points and tensions surrounding joint ventures and it is up to our
U.S. representatives to learn how to diffuse and sidestep our differences, and
more effectively operate with the Japanese culture.” The more a U.S. business
owner is familiar with the Japanese culture, the more effective, stronger and
pleasurable the business partnership will be with the Japanese.
References:
Hybels, S.,
& Weaver, R. L. (2007). Communicating
Effectively. (8th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-
Hill Publishing.
Sobel, R.
(1995). Books in Review- Doing Business with the Japanese: A Guide to
Successful Communication, Management and
Diplomacy by Alan Goldman. Electronic
News, 41 (2066),
p. 38. Retrieved January 30, 2011, from ProQuest student database.
