Meetings and Negotiations

8/8/2019 Meetings and Negotiations

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JAPAN PROFILE

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between

the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of

Japan/East Sea, east of the Korean Peninsula.

Capital: Tokyo Population: 127,333,002 (July 2004 est.)

Ethnic Make-up: Japanese 99%, others 1%

(Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian

182,232, Filipino

89,851, other

237,914)

Religions: observe

both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16%

(including Christian 0.7%)


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JAPANESE NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

. Since the Japanese

strive for harmony and

are group dependent,

they rely on facialexpression, tone of voice

and posture to tell them

what someone feels.

. They often trust non-

verbal messages morethan the spoken word as

words can have several

meanings.


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HARMONY IN JAPANESE SOCIETY

Harmony is the key value in Japanese society.

Harmony is the guiding philosophy for the

Japanese

Japanese children are taught to act harmoniouslyand cooperatively with others from the time they

go to pre-school


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They place great emphasis on- politeness,

- personal responsibility and

- working together for theuniversal, rather than individual


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Cultural Values Expressed The Japanese culture

Thinking Orientation Tends to take context and the specific situation into account in rule

interpretation

The Individual COLLECTIVISTIC - Group duty preservation of harmony

Nature of the BusinessRelationship Most important business cannot occur until relationship if sound, writtenagreement secondary to it, hard to form, long lasting.

Conflict Resolution More mediation though trusted third parties

Time Sense During

Meetings

Appointments less driven by exact start and end times

Conflict results Win-Win / To lose is to win / Lose in order to win


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MEETINGS AND NEGOTIATIONS

Team as opposed to an

individual.Meetings usually take place

for only one of three reasons-

y To build rapport

y To exchange information

y To confirm previously made

decisions. Decisions are rarely

made in a meeting.

Group consensus is important.


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BEHAVIOUR

Very detail orientated.

Like dealing with quiet, sincere and

compromising individuals.

Extroverts seen as brash and arrogant. Silence is considered a virtue.

Every meeting ends with food

Teamwork

Family comes first

Anti-confrontational

Tradition is important

Not as environmentally conscious


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ETIQUETTE & CUSTOMS IN JAPAN

Understanding of Foreign Ways

. Japanese understand that it is very difficult for

foreigners to work in Japan.

. They will not expect you to speak or readJapanese, or be conversant with their strict

cultural nuances and protocol.

. Mistakes are allowed as long as genuine respect

is shown at all times.

. They will usually try to help you but often feelembarrassment at their own lack of

understanding or English language ability


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BUSINESS NEGOTIATION

. The Japanese are non-confrontational.. They have a difficult time saying 'no', so youmust be vigilant at observing their non-verbalcommunication.

. It is best to phrase questions so that they cananswer yes. For example, do you disagree withthis? Group decision-making and consensus areimportant.. Written contracts are required.

. The Japanese often remain silent for longperiods of time. Be patient and try to work out ifyour Japanese colleagues have understood whatwas said.


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RELATIONSHIPS &COMMUNICATION

. The Japanese prefer to do business on the basis

of personal relationships.

. One way to build and maintain relationships is

with greetings / seasonal cards.


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. The Japanese seldom grantconcession. They expect bothparties to come to the table withtheir best offer.

. The Japanese do not seecontracts as final agreements sothey can be renegotiated

. Japanese prefer broadagreements and mutualunderstanding so that whenproblems arise they can behandled flexibly.. .

Documents

Meetings and Negotiations