Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions for Japan:

Japanese national culture is characterised by moderate power-distance, moderate individualism,

very high masculinity, very high uncertainty avoidance.

Power Distance:
Although Japan has moderate power distance index and does not score as high as other Asian
countries, but still Japan gives high importance to hierarchical positions. Japanese firms usually
consist of clear hierarchical layers and managements which are structured mostly based on age with
seniority the main criteria for "moving upward". They have established their corporate culture by
drawing strict lines by defining functionalities & scope of each and every designation or position in
the organizations. Apart from this the method of decision making in Japanese organisation is much
more democratic than most of the other hierarchical societies and that is the reason of Japanese
culture having moderate power distance score even after strict hierarchical structure.

On the other hand, US has a very moderate power distance index and as a US manager working for a
subsidiary in Japan needs to be aware of the fact that, In Japan decision are made on consensus
basis and they follow strict hierarchical structure. Also, he needs to take into consideration a leaders
status while interacting with his clients.

Uncertainty Avoidance:
With 92 uncertainty avoidance index Japanese culture is one of the most uncertainty avoidance
countries in the world. This is mostly attributed to the fact that Japan is constantly threatened by
natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions. And the human
behaviour to manage this natural disaster has transcended into each and every aspect of society. In
Japanese corporate culture because of the innate nature of uncertainty avoidance, a lot of time and
effort is usually put into project feasibility studies and identifying all the associated risk factors
before starting any new project. Managers in Japan usually ask look for detailed facts and figures
before taking any decision. That is why it takes a lot of time in Japan to realise a change, and
consensus building and uncertainty avoidance are the major reason for this.

So as a US manager working in Japan a person needs to take into consideration the time duration it
takes in Japan to implement a project, Also the project proposals needs to be presented in great
detail from the initial state onwards.

Masculinity
With 95 masculinity index score, Japanese culture is one of the most Masculine culture in the world.
However, because of their mild collectivism and consensus building nature, we usually dont find
assertive and competitive individualistic behaviours in Japan which we often associate with
Masculine culture. In place of this, in Japan we normally observe these assertive and competitive
behaviours at group level. From very young age at kindergartens, children learn to compete on
sports day for their groups. The expression of Masculinity is also very evident in the drive for
excellence and perfection in their production and services delivery systems. Notorious Japanese
workaholism is another expression of their Masculinity.

So as a US manager working in Japan a person needs to take into consideration the fact that they
may exist differentiated gender roles in organisations, also a long-hours culture may be the norm, so
he needs to recognize its opportunities and risks.

Individualism
Japan scores 46 on the Individualism dimension as Japanese society shows many of the
characteristics of a collectivistic society: such as putting harmony of group above the expression of
individual opinions. However, it is not as collectivistic as most of her Asian neighbours. The most
popular explanation for this is that Japanese society does not have extended family system which
forms a base of more collectivistic societies such as China and Korea. Japan has been a paternalistic
society and the family name and asset was inherited from father to the eldest son. However, when it
comes to corporate culture, Japanese are famous for their loyalty to their companies, while Chinese
seems to change jobs more easily, Japanese people have a habit of staying with the same company
throughout their life. Apart from this Japanese people are more private and reserved than most
other Asian peoples. So, in the end we can say that Japanese are observed as collectivistic by
Western standards and as Individualist by Asian standards.

So as a US manager working in Japan a person needs to take into consideration the nature of
collectivistic decision making. He should not suppress feelings and emotions that may endanger
harmony. He should avoid giving negative feedback in public.

HOFSTEDE INDEX FOR COMPARING

CULTURES OF USA AND JAPAN
United States Japan
95
92

91
62
54

46

46
40

POWER DISTANCE UNCERTAINTY MASCULINITY INDIVIDUALISM

AVOIDANCE