Companies Prefer Starting Business In Japan-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Why Do Not Companies Prefer Starting A Business In Japan? Answer: Introducation It is often seen that many foreign companies do not prefer starting a business in Japan, considering the misconception that adjusting with the business culture of Japan involves high risk. However, Japanese business culture is not an impenetrable barrier to the entry and business success of the foreign companies that has been proved by the significant Japanese market share of BMW, Chanel, Mercedes-Benz and Yahoo! etc. In fact, certain aspects of the business culture of Japan like long term relationship resulting from the Japanese culture of maintaining loyalty to the trusted partners can be very advantageous for the international firms (Friedman, 2014). The main thing that the foreign companies need to learn is the Japanese business etiquette. This essay sheds light on Japanese business etiquette based on which Emily is suggested the way she should communicate with Mr. Hamasaki with whom she wants to establish business partnership for expanding her The Aromatic Condiment Shop. This e ssay also indicates the way Emily should communicate with him keeping in mind the cultural differences between Japan and Australia. Exchanging business cards is an integral part of the Japanese business culture, irrespective of the occasion. Thus, it would be essential for Emily to have business card, which is known as meishi in Japan that need to be exchanged as a gesture of introducing her business to Mr. Hamasaki. While meeting with Mr. Hamasaki, Emily needs to ensure that she is dressed formally as casual business dress is not always acceptable in the Japanese business etiquette. On the other hand, wearing business casuals in meetings in Australia is acceptable (Fox, 2011). As this would be the first meeting between Emily and her Japanese host, showing honour to the Japanese culture would help her to develop trust to a certain extent. This is because Mr. Hamasaki would understand that as Emily has the knowledge of the Japanese culture, her products and services would be suitable for the local demands and tastes and thereby, elevating the chances of fetching maximum return on investments. At first, Emily should bow her head and wait to see if her Japanese host initiates a handshake. Although it is expected that he will offer a handshake, Emily needs to understand that it is not as natural for Japanese professionals as bowing head. Thus, restricting own self from taking this initiative would eliminate the chances of humiliation for Mr. Hamasaki. Seating arrangement during a business meeting is very specific and structured in Japan. Generally the one at the top most hierarchy takes the head of the table and the highest ranking executives would sit closest to him/her and the rank of the executives would decrease as the one reaches to the opposite side of the table (Asefeso, 2012). Although Emily would be visiting Japan for a face-to-face meeting with her Japanese counterpart, it is not certain that there would be no other executive during the meeting. As this would be her first meeting with Mr. Hamasaki, it is expected that she would have no idea about the rank of other executives. So, to demonstrate an understanding of the Japanese business culture and etiquette, Emily should wait for direction on the place to sit. However, it is not necessary to wait for instruction to sit down. On the other hand, it is essential to remember that if none of the executives including Mr. Hamasaki is sitting, Emily should not make the first attempt (Lee Peterson, 2000). The same rule should be applied in almost every action that takes place during the meeting like speaking, eating and drinking etc. Taking notes and/or repeating an idea for clarity wou ld ensure Emilys interest in the meeting and acknowledge to the input(s) of Mr. Hamsaki. This, in turn, would ensure him that she is serious about establishing a strong foothold in the Japanese food sector. Presenting gifts is a part of the Japanese business protocol, but not mandatory. Thus, in case Emily is offered any gift, it would be essential for her to show appreciation and thank Mr. Hamasaki and others (if any) involved in the presentation. However, the gift should be opened in private. Emily needs to know this prior to the meeting that it is often difficult to view the thoughts, priorities and motivations of the Japanese professionals. They are more likely to depend on the non-verbal clue and the area of what they speak rather than the literal meaning of the words used by them to say it. This is completely contradictory to the Australian business culture, where it might result in conflict or miscommunication (Friedman, 2014). This indicates that effective communication in Japan generally takes place in indirect way. On contrary, Australians are very straight forward in nature especially in the business context and thus, they often do not require developing long term relationship before starting a business with someone (Offord et al., 2015). This major difference between the business etiquette of Japan and Australia needs to be considered by Emily during the meeting with her Japanese counterpart. Emily needs to remember that in Japan, meetings are held to acquire in formation rather than sharing own ideas or information. Sharing and discussing ideas go through quite a long process before making a final decision. Thus, Emily should not hurry in front of Mr. Hamasaki for entering contract to establish her business in Japan otherwise it would give a wrong impression of her. It is expected that Emily would deal with this situation efficiently as patience is highly appreciated in Japanese business culture especially at the time of decision making. However, she might face difficulty is showing her unwillingness to accept a concept as Australian professionals are comfortable in saying no directly, whereas Japanese professionals prefer using various statements and gestures to show their disapproval (He Llu, 2010). Therefore, Emily would be required to use proper gestures and language to indicate her unwillingness to accept any idea while ensuring it does not hurt the self-esteem of Mr. Hamasaki rather than saying no straight away. Before attending the meeting with Mr. Hamasaki, Emily needs to consider the cultural differences between Japan and Australia. This is because the cultural differences influence the communication process and thus, there are high chances of miscommunication in case such differences are not addressed properly. High context and low context communication need to be considered in this context. Although cultures are difficult to be classified under high context or low context, some are often towards the higher end and some at the lower end. In accordance with the Hofstede framework, unlike Australia, Japan is high power distance country (Richardson Smith, 2007). As a result, the dependency level of the superiors on the subordinates is low in Japan. The country has low context culture, where they do not engage too much with each other and often avoid using words with direct/potential meaning. On the other hand, Australia has high context culture, where employees frequently communicate and e ngage with each other (Evans, 2003). Thus, indirect communication needs to be used by Emily in the meeting to avoid the chances of any miscommunication. Thus, it can be argued that cultural differences indicate the type of communication preferred by the professionals and thus, any mismatch in this context leads to miscommunication. Japan scores lower than Australia in the individualism parameter. This indicates that Japan has individualistic society and Australia has collectivist society. Unlike collectivist, in individualistic society people think about themselves and their immediate family (Hofstede, 1984). Therefore, Emily should communicate the benefits of the partnership contract for Mr. Hamasaki and his current business rather than for both of them. This would help in developing interest in her Japanese counterpart in doing business with her. Thus, it can be argued that varying interest areas of the professionals belonging to a different culture is a potential area of miscommunication. Interest area also indicates whether the managers are more interested in facts or discussions/suggestions. Japan has highly masculine society, whereas Australia has feminine society (Hamamura, 2012). Managers in Masculine society are more assertive decision makers as compared to those in feminine society (Hofstede, 1980). T hus, talking about the way the partnership between Mr. Hamasaki and Emily can be enhanced might not be effective. Therefore, Emily needs to focus more on the facts and figures related to their prospective business partnership like percentage rise or decline in demand for the types of food products manufactured by Emily in Japan, common tastes of Japanese people etc. On the basis of facts and evidences, Emily would be required to ensure Mr. Hamasaki that it is certain that the partnership business would give positive returns of investments. This is because, Japan scores very high on uncertainty avoidance parameter that shows Japanese professionals are not willing to take risks and want to be certain about their future (Triandis, 1982). Inability to communicate the future prospect with respect to the partnership is certain might lead to miscommunication. Thus, it can be concluded that good amount of differences between Japan and Australia exist with respect to their culture and business etiquette. However, there is a scope for Emily to successfully expand her business in Japan, provided she ensures her understanding of the Japanese business culture References Asefeso, A., 2012. CEO Guide to Doing Business in Japan. UK: AA Global Sourcing Ltd. Evans, N., 2003. Context, culture, and structuration in the languages of Australia.. Annual review of anthropology, 32(1), pp.13-40. Fox, S., 2011. Business Etiquette For Dummies. USA: John Wiley Sons. Friedman, S., 2014. 6 Things You Need To Know About Doing Business In Japan. 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