Japanese business keywords

Overcome kishotenketsu to improve your communication with Americans

Articles, Cross-cultural communication, Japanese business keywords by Rochelle Kopp

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For Americans who are used to a more straightforward style, kishotenketsu can be very confusing…It can be hard to follow what Japanese have to say as they go on and...

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Ho-ren-so: “managing up” Japanese style

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Working with Japanese by Rochelle Kopp

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Ho-ren-so is quite different from this typical American working style. The initial instruction given to the subordinate tends to be vaguer and more general, particularly if the subordinate is...

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Employee categories at companies in Japan — seishain, shokutaku, jimushoku, sogoshoku

Articles, HR management, Japanese business keywords by Rochelle Kopp

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Human resource management practices in Japan seem to place great emphasis on putting employees into categories. From an American perspective, the strict distinction between different categories is difficult to...

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Kei-haku-tan-sho – Japanese opposite of “supersizing”

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Marketing by Rochelle Kopp

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The typical Japanese urban denizen takes trains nearly everywhere, and may not even own a car. This means that anything they carry around with them needs to be light...

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Nommunication – The Japanese truth serum

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Japanese workstyle by Rochelle Kopp

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Traditionally, the consumption of alcohol has been the Japanese cultural signal that it’s ok to be frank and open. After-work bonding over alcohol thus creates the perfect atmosphere for...

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Saihatsu Boshi – Key to Japanese problem-solving

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Japanese workstyle by Rochelle Kopp

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Making sure problems don't happen again is a good thing, and the Japanese have developed a structured process for doing this. Many non-Japanese are not comfortable being forthright about...

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Effective selling techniques in Japan

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Marketing by Rochelle Kopp

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An ideal salesperson drops everything and rushes to be at the customer’s side no matter what time it is or where they are. An ideal salesperson exceeds customer expectations,...

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Hyojunka – The standard procedure in Japan

Articles, Japanese business, Japanese business keywords by Rochelle Kopp

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Gijutsu wo nusumu – Japanese workers “stealing knowledge” to get ahead

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Working with Japanese by Rochelle Kopp

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It’s the job of the company to provide the employee with all skills and explanations and information that they need to do their jobs well. So why should anyone...

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Genin tsuikyu – Japanese business gets to the root of the matter

Articles, Japanese business keywords, Japanese workstyle by Rochelle Kopp

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Looking at the root causes of a problem is a typical Japanese approach to business. However, in other cultures the work environment may not necessarily be conducive to open...

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