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...
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…...
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...
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...
You ascertain the needs of people by paying careful attention to them, and understand their desires before they even need to voice them…to comport yourself in such a way that...
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...
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...
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...
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...
No Japanese companies operate exactly the same and every company has its own way of saving precious resources and avoiding waste. The purpose of a Japanese cross-company initiative is...