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AUTHORITATIVE REPORT

MBA 501
HANH NGUYEN


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The wave of globalization is bringing the world closer. Human beings from different
countries are now increasingly interconnected, creating a diverse environment of
various races, languages, religions and cultures. In such context, international
business is becoming an indispensible part of any corporation. At the same time the
question of how businesspeople from different cultures can understand and adapt
to each other is raised. The foundation of any successful international business lies
in the ability to anticipate and absorb differences in culture, and especially in the
way people communicate.
Acknowledging the importance of such issue, this report conducts research into
intercultural business communication in the case of Intracom Telecommunication
Equip and Systems Company, an American firm that has decided to expand its
projects management department to Japan. Realizing a great deal of remarkable
differences in American and Japanese cultural communication, Intracoms board of
directors issues authoritative key rules and guidelines for the effective intercultural
communication competence of the team.
Verbal communication
Expansion to Japan means that the company must deal in two linguistic markets:
American and Japanese. The company decides to use ethnocentric staffing for the
new international business projects management team, which requires all
managerial positions in Japan will be filled with Americans whereas the other
employees can be Japanese. With that staffing pattern, English is chosen to be
official company language, both in the US and Japan. All communication in the
company will be conducted in English. The managers from the US must learn basic
Japanese and are supported by a personal Japanese assistant who use both English
and Japanese fluently. The managers will be in charge of communicating with the
headquarter while the assistant may help with conveying ideas from the managers
to the lower workforce and vice versa. English lessons are provided on free and
regular basis to all Japanese employees so that they can understand basic
instructions from the managers. Internal meetings will be conducted in English.
After each meeting, all the information conveyed will be restated in written
Japanese and sent to the entire workforce to make sure they know clearly what is
going on. Reports, notes and announcements are also in English to maintain
documentary coherence in the company. However, meeting with Japanese
customers will be conducted in Japanese. The meeting will be assisted by a native
Japanese interpreter for the best result.
Non-verbal communication
Japanese communication is hard to adapt because in Japan there exists a huge gap
between what one publicly say and what he really thinks. It is referred to as a high
context culture by cultural anthropologist Edward Hall in his work Silent Language
(Inoue, 2007). In Japan, words are not trusted, which is emphasized in a number of
Japanese proverbs such as Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not
know (Varner and Beamer, 2011) or Hear one, understand ten (JETRO, 1999).
Hence, paying close attention to non-verbal language in order to fully understand
what has not been said is an important skill in business communication. Similarly,
the Japanese also listen to the unspoken messages. Bluntness, interruption or
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attacking words are generally considered rude and disrespect. The tips are patience
and make all effort to make your idea as simple as possible to avoid confusion
because from time to time, silence means the need of clarification.
Consensus decision-making
The Japanese tend to make decisions based on group consensus, which is conducted
by a system called ringi. A written proposal is circulated among a group of people
who are affected by the decision and each of them can read, adjust or comment on it
until they are in agreement on on the decision (JETRO, 1999). This decision making
process is different from the American style where individual authority is applied.
Therefore, when doing business with the Japanese, Intracom projects management
team should expect the process to take longer than it would be and involve many
discussions and adjustments. A proposal should go with as detailed information as
possible to show your commitment and well preparation. The managers need to
build good relationships with every stakeholder, not only the one who has the
power. It is also important to maintain consensus among team members and never
show disagreement or conflict between employees of the same company in front of
the Japanese.
Not binding contracts
While contracts are so important in the US in terms of legislation and detailed terms,
they are usually belittled by the Japanese. A contract is traditionally considered as a
summary of the negotiation process and serves as an agreement to do business of
the two parties. The Japanese believe that trust is more important than the legal
documentation and the insistence on a detailed contract may hurt the relationship.
Hence, in such a relationship-oriented culture like Japan, the team should
concentrate on building strong personal relationship rather than depending on the
contract. Once trust is gained, the Japanese partner would never break his promise.
Additionally, all the contracts are made in both English and Japanese with simple
and straightforward words to avoid misunderstanding. Some terms are left
negotiable even if after the contract is signed, which is clearly made clear to the
Japanese party. Whenever a term is adjusted, it requires discussion and agreement
of both sides. One thing should be kept in mind: Be flexible, but with a limit.
Silence in meetings
For the Japanese, silence is golden even if in a meeting. There are several reasons
for that, such as the lack of linguistic confidence, politeness and the conflict between
the need to give lengthy and complete information and the lack of time (JETRO,
1999). Whenever a meeting is conducted with a Japanese partner, make sure all the
necessary and relevant information is well prepared in advance. If the manager
wants to hear comments and feedbacks from somebody, he should call on
individuals instead of waiting them to raise their voice. A summary of the meeting is
sent to everyone in both English and Japanese to make sure they do not miss the
main points.
Priority toward customers
There is one Japanese saying as The customer is god. For Japanese, the desire to
serve the customers and satisfy even their most unreasonable demands is
prioritized. Therefore, customers should be given the most attention and priority in
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a respectful and polite manner. Whenever the team receives a request from the
customers, a positive response is required to show them the effort and enthusiasm
to fulfill their demand. If the request cannot be satisfied, it should be declined with
detailed reasons and substitute suggestions. Every single relationship counts and it
is essential to maintain all the relationships no matter what happens.

The Japanese is famous for being traditional and conservative. The key for effective
and fruitful business in Japan is well understanding and adapting to their cultural
business communication style. These rules and guidelines are the initial framework
for Intracom projects management team to get familiar with the new environment
and work in the most convenient manner.




References:

Inoue, Y. (2007). Cultural Fluency as a Guide to Effective Intercultural
Communication: The Case of Japan and the U.S. Journal of Intercultural
Comminication, retrieved on January 15
th
, 2014, from
http://immi.se/intercultural/nr15/inoue.htm
JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization. (1999). Communicating with
Japanese in Business, retrieved on January 15
th
, 2014, from
http://www.jetro.go.jp/costarica/mercadeo/communicationwith.pdf
Varner, I. and Beamer, L. (2011). Intercultural Communication in the Global
Workplace (5
th
ed.). McGraw-Hill, 58-87, 200-205.

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