preview

Outlining The Uniqueness Of Japanese Culture And Uniqueness In Japan

Decent Essays

Introduction
Doing business across continents requires cultural awareness. Cultural awareness involves understanding, appreciating and learning about different cultures where one does business (Ogasawara, 2010). This blog focuses on doing business in Japan, with the aim of outlining the uniqueness of Japanese culture. The areas of focus are greetings and communication style, the concept of time, and personal space and/or eye contact. People often mistake Japanese culture as difficult to understand and an obstacle in doing international business. However, below is an understanding of this culture when it comes to international business.
Communication Style & Greetings
Japanese culture is characterized by communication difficulties. There is always a difference between what one says and what one publicly states. This may as well be different from what one thinks. In their language, this means that there is a difference between the expressed tatemae and the felt hone (Ogwasara, 2010 & Khan, 2010). Sometimes they contradict. Once Japanese feels comfortable to reveal the honne, the business will progress positively.
Therefore, a successful businessperson in Japan must learn to unravel the underlying truth behind the spoken rhetoric (Ogwasara, 2010 & Khan, 2010). This is because a non-Japanese cannot easily navigate through the confusing paradoxes. In ability to speak Japanese also hinders business development between two parties. This is much profound because the levels of

Get Access