Japanese business

Yokonarabi – Keeping up with the corporate Joneses

…There was no business strategy reason, or other explanation. Just doing it because all our competitors were, and we didn't want to be the only one not doing it.”...

A3 reports – secret to Japanese productivity

Once one has become familiar with reading and writing A3 reports, they can certainly increase efficiency…any employee can pick up a report from anywhere else in the company and immediately...

Americans paint a picture with words…Japanese tell the story with pictures

Many Americans discover that using more graphics is effective when working with Japanese. Do Americans find this approach more convincing? Or do they accept the need to use...

Saihatsu boshi – “Those who forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them”

Japanese are often mystified as to why many Americans seem to not be interested in learning from past problems to prevent future ones…quite a contrast from the way many Japanese...

Mi ni tsukeru –Easier done than said in Japan

When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task; eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort…...

Madoguchi – Your Japanese “go to” person

In Japanese firms, for any project there is always a designated person that people are asked to deal with, and that person is referred to as the madoguchi, which literally...

Hyojunka – The standard procedure in Japan

Liens de loyauté selon le système sempai/kohai

La dynamique sempai/kohai (senior/junior) affecte profondément le fonctionnement des entreprises japonaises...