The Importance Of Collectivism In Japanese Culture

Japan has a very rich and unique culture, unlike any other culture in the world. The Japanese are close and united, and willing to help each other, to the point that they would even risk their lives for one another. Their culture has certain aspects of it that every nation should have. In his book, John Hersey explores the effects that culture and environment have on an individual’s views and belief through analyzing a stereotypical Japanese man, an Americanized Japanese priest, and a widowed Japanese woman and how they react similarly to the bombing of Hiroshima. The influence of Japanese culture has an astounding impact on the reactions of Hersey’s characters.

Communication is everywhere. We, as interactive human beings, spend the majority of our time corresponding with others to satisfy our physical, identity, social, and practical needs (Adler, Rodman, & Sevigny, 2011). Often, this is consciously done; we search our minds for the accurate linguistic means to express our experiences, and use them to communicate with those around us. However, communication is not as straightforward and effortless as we may believe. It is, in fact, often unintentional, with 65% of it occurring as a result of non-verbal cues (Matsumoto, Shibata, Seiji, Mori, & Shioe, 2010). As mentioned by Marta Dynel (2011) in a study done on nonverbal communication, “Non verbal signs and signals ... are prevalent practically in

Collectivism is doing something not just for yourself but for the good of everyone involved. It has nothing to do with the individual and everything to do with the overall group’s success. This is what the Japanese value highly. They always reinforce this throughout the movie about how they will do whatever it takes for the company to do good. One of many examples of this is when the Japanese show up to play the softball game. Before the game starts you see the Japanese team working together and participating in a team warm up. The Americans make fun of this and think of it as something that makes them weaker. When the game starts you are able to see exactly how this hurts the Americans. The Japanese play a “small ball” game and worry about getting runners on base and relying on everyone working together to get runs on the board. The Americans, who are less team oriented, try to do everything themselves and try to hit the ball as far and hard as they can every time they come up to bat.

I am originally from Puerto Rico, which is a country in which communication is an integral part of society. The cultural norm of the Puerto Rican culture is to speak up when necessary and communicate clearly if we want things to be done. At the same time, I believe that in order to produce results, the manner in which communicating takes place, is an extremely important component. My culture also showed me how the emotions used when communicating, such as the use of the hands and body language, will dictate the tone and flow of the communication. The literature suggests that the majority (as much as 76%) of the message we gibe to another person during conversations is carried by non-verbal or para-verbal communication. Thus, we must be very careful and strategic in our use o non-verbal communication (Van Acker, 1997).

People no longer use the term “Japanese American” in today's society. Instead, they are no longer thought as a separate group and are incorrectly categorized as “Asian American”, along with Vietnamese American, Chinese American, etc. Japanese Americans have an extremely unique background in terms of their origins, history, and struggle with racialization. Like many ethnic groups, Japanese Americans have been subjected to many different portrayals throughout American history. Even though cultural separation and suspicion are deemed as immoral, such practices toward them were thought to be necessary by the American Government. For a good amount of time, they suffered from racial hostility and violence. Now, in an age where cultural diversity

In the Japanese community there are body language and facial expressions particularly directed towards family and social orientated interaction. These interactions concentrate on how nonverbal communication occurs through gestures during speech and the effect visuals have on an individual. These elements of the communication style are what construct Japan as the country it is today, one still positioned (“Japan Nonverbal Communication”, 2001, para.1) around a high context

1. What does your word choice say about you? What if you did not say anything? These are some of the questions that I can help you answer by the end of your reading. In this paper, I will cover how Americans communicate verbally, nonverbally, and whether we use direct or indirect communication in our American culture. While understanding the topics that we will go over in this paper, it is imperative that we begin with the most familiar methods that we as Americans use daily, verbal and nonverbal communications.

Although, the Japanese business culture involves a more democratic and participative approach to the decision making process by seeking consensus based on who’s allowed at the table. There is a strong seniority system, stresses in rank, and the upper level management is tasked with looking after employees, which influence relationships dynamics. Moreover, the person with the highest status usually speaks first and has more influence. (Deresky, 2014) While in Mexico, the authoritative hierarchical decision making process where lower level employees are not involved and it would be seen as inappropriate. Moreover, the employees have confidence in the credibility of the manager and therefore their decisions. (Commisceo Global, 2017)

Unlike the United States, Japan is known as a collective culture, or group society. In Japan, “self” is not emphasized, but rather personal accountability and working together for universal good over individual good (Commisceo, 2016). These types of cultural behaviors are passed down through ancient traditions and rituals. This is seen in the two vastly different decision-making processes. In American business culture, it is acceptable for one person to make a “final” decision. Whereas in Japan, no one person can decide for the entire group. The Japanese use a collective decision making process, which goes up the leadership ladder, is the standard way to conduct business in Japan, according to Hofstede

Here in the United States we are all so accustomed to the everyday hustle and bustle. This fast-paced lifestyle has become the norm in our everyday lives whether at work or at home. Our “norm” is vastly different than that of the norm for the Japanese. In addition to that, when comparing the leadership styles in the workplace of Americans and Japanese, I realize that this too is very different than what I am used to.

In American culture the word, conformity, seems to have a negative connotation, but in countries like Japan, conformity seems to be a way of life. Why are the Japanese so willing to conform? Why are they so willing to be just like everyone else? The following will summarize a short video about Japanese conformity, as well as provide my own analysis of the video, and my own views on Japanese conformity.

Have you ever wanted to view the world through another person’s eyes? Well, recently I received the chance to do just that. I was able to take a quick glimpse into the Asian culture and see their view on family, culture and life in general. Truth be told, my views and thoughts on their culture was way off. In this study, I was able to interview sung (sun) on his view of the Asian culture. After applying the communication concepts of verbal and non-verbal communication, I found that Asians are more of a formal and direct culture than mine and a few others as well.

In today’s modern, fast-paced, technology driven world it is all too easy to misinterpret and misunderstand situations, both personal and professional, that could easily be solved by taking a look into the cultural concepts and norms of a group or society. In cultures with a long history of social customs, it would be beneficial for those involved to examine the special features and norms that make up this culture in an effort to better the communication and understanding of personal and professional relationships. This area can be especially favorable in working with those of the Japanese decent as this culture is deeply intricate with many traditions and standards that have been passed on from generation to generation. Some of theses cultural

While many of the world’s economic powers seem similar, there is no doubt there are some very key differences. Many of these differences can be attributed to cultural differences within each of the countries. While many of these countries work together in global business efforts, cultural differences would certainly have a significant impact on management style, leadership and even work ethic of the employees. The United States and Japan are both strong economic powers that hold to a capitalistic economic system. Their management styles, however, are very different. This can often be explained through the differences in culture and management or leadership styles. Over the years, the two

In many ways, Japan has been looked upon as a strangely homogeneous society for much of its modern history. And for some, it stands as one of the most homogeneous nation in the world. However, when looking at Japan as a whole, and considering whether or not it homogeneity is a problem, or just another cultural phenomenon, one must look towards the root cause of homogeneism in Japan. In Japan’s past, it has has been questioned, as well as assumed, that the growth of Japans homogeneous viewpoint was put forward by the government of Japan, and was done so by circulating false accusations of its lineage. Which these false stories of lineage, Japan has grown in its ethnocentric views and ways. Ethnocentrism, or