American expressions that the Japanese have difficulty with
When Japanese are asked “Can you do it?”, unless they are 100% certain that they can, they would not answer “Yes we can.”… Americans, on the other hand, sometimes say...
North America
Setting goals for U.S. and Japanese companies
When it comes to goals set by their organizations, Americans’ sense of practicality tends to take over. In Japan, goals are used to show employees a lofty vision, something...
Turnover in Japanese firms
American employees of Japanese firms tend to measure their career progress against their peers in American firms and thus expect more rapid advancement. An adjustment Japanese firms will need...
Career planning in the U.S. and Japan
Japanese employees have little control over where they are assigned in their companies… Americans will take career planning into their own hands, deciding what they like to do and what...
Checklist for planning sexual harassment prevention training programs for Japanese participants
Various issues should be considered when planning sexual harassment prevention training programs for Japanese. Addressing these items will help you ensure that your programs are effective and your company...
The decision making process in Japan
Japanese companies have mixed feelings about their decision-making processes. Employees will admit that the process is quite frustrating at times, and it seems that some Japanese businesspeople regard how...
Are Americans bad at organizing data?
Japanese executives often complain that their American colleagues are “bad at organizing data.” According to one Japanese manager who is a key decision-maker in his company’s operations in Japan,...
What do American engineers want?
High turnover among the engineering staff is becoming a headache. Other than just money, it seems that American engineers want something else that their Japanese employers may not be...
Are Americans always making excuses?
Japanese take very seriously the concept of personal responsibility. When westerners refuse to apologize and instead dwell on all the extenuating circumstances that caused the problem, Japanese view this...