Stay away from irony with the Japanese
The Japanese excel at indirect communication, they do it though extreme tact and understatement, rather than irony. When they listen to Americans, the Japanese tend to believe our words and...
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Orienting the new Japanese manager
American managers in the same situation would likely call a meeting to introduce themselves, Japanese often prefer to keep a low profile and get to know the organization more organically....
How Wiggle wiggled its way to success in Japan
Wiggle, a UK based online cycling accessories retailer, has been highly successful thanks to sales both to Japanese and British customers, but listening to a recent presentation by one...
Creating a strong finish — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 24
One of the ways to make sure that your meeting has been an effective one is to end with a clear conclusion. A good way to tie up the...
Japanese expatriates may experience some negative side effects by choosing tanshin funin
A call that we frequently receive from HR managers regard Japanese expatriates who do not get along with the American staff. Often the behaviors are ones that would not...
Gijutsu wo nusumu – Japanese workers “stealing knowledge” to get ahead
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...
Genin tsuikyu – Japanese business gets to the root of the matter
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...
“Hear one understand ten” sums up Japanese communication style
This style difference between Americans and Japanese often causes Americans to have difficulty determining what Japanese want to say…The Japanese assume that there is shared background information that put both...
Over worked and underpaid Japanese employees feel the burden of sabisu zangyo
All I heard from my Japanese friends were tales of long hours. An officemate so overwhelmed by long hours that she had to get medication for depression…it just seemed...