What I Have Learned This Semester

This blog has been a real eye opener to me. I originally chose this blog because my dad went to Japan and I found it extremely interesting. I have always wanted to travel and this gave me the opportunity to travel and never leave my computer. I have taken away so many different things and learned a new respect for the Japanese culture. The Japanese do things differently than Americans but not everything that they do is bad. The way a culture interacts among its people is one thing that I did not know about Japan.  I have a new-found respect for the Japanese people and some ideas that I may have had in the past are now gone. If I had not taken this class I would not have learned so much about Japan. I really want to travel there one day and maybe explore the other Asian countries to see what the differences in their culture are opposed to the Japanese culture.

My dad is actually traveling back to Japan for work and he leaves on Monday. I am very excited to talk with him when he gets back and see what differences he picked up on. He knows I have been doing this blog and has asked me a few questions about the culture and what he should do differently from his first trip. He said he is most looking forward to the long dinner because that is how they build relationships in Japan before negotiations occur. The Japanese people always treated him with respect and he loves how he is treated when he travels over there. The worst part for him being 6’3 is the flight over!

Conflict in Japan

Conflict can arise at any time and is handled differently in different cultures. In Japan, conflict is handled inside of the person and one should expect to live with the conflict over a period of time. Japanese people are expected to keep their feelings to themselves and not show emotion. Emotion is seen as a negative element in Japan. An American person trying to resolve a situation in Japan is going to find it very difficult. Japanese culture values the older person or a person who is in charge so the leader of the meeting should take control if conflict arises. In all meetings some sort of conflict is going to come about and this is a good thing because it means that progress is being made. Members in a Japanese meeting will always listen to the boss, even if they believe that the boss is wrong or should do something different. Japanese employees who do not stick out or challenge the boss are seen as good employees and are valued in an organization

A popular Japanese saying is the nail that sticks up gets the hammer.  This saying means that anyone who stands up against others will get put back into place. This is different from America where people are encouraged to speak their minds and hopefully make a positive change in the meeting. Japanese culture sees speaking up as making the group not harmonious. Harmony is a large part of Japanese culture and every person wants to make everyone happy. One way to make people happy is to not argue with them. By not arguing , Japanese people keep their thoughts inside them and this could build up and lead to a disastrous ending.

Gift Giving in Japan

As we have learned so far, in Japanese culture, establishing relationships are very important. Japanese like to take a few days out of business discussion to build a true relationship and get a good feel for the person that they are negotiating with. One way that they like to build relationships is by giving gifts. Gifts will be exchanged before a business meeting but lavish ones should not be seen as bribes. In America, if an expensive gift is given before a meeting, then this act could be seen as a bribe but in Japan it is seen as a sign of respect.

Another piece of gift giving etiquette is to always praise the gift that is received no matter if it is liked or not. This is a way to “save face” for the Japanese and makes the group harmonious without having any hard feelings. One interesting fact I found about Japanese gift giving is that on Valentines day, the woman gives chocolates to the man that she is interested in. This differs from our American custom of the male giving gifts to the female that he is interested in.

My dad went to Japan and he was told to bring a lot of gifts that Japanese people would think were interesting. Since land is very scarce in Japan, he bought a very nice book that had a lot of pictures of horses and horse farms around Kentucky. My dad also heard that Japanese enjoy good bourbon and since Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, he got a very nice bottle of bourbon. Once my dad landed in Japan he was had no idea when to give the gifts but was told to save them til the end of the trip and then he could share his gifts with his hosts. When the gift giving time arrived, he gave his gifts and was given a pair of pearl cuff links that were valued around $600, some very nice sake, and other gifts to take home. A few days before he left they asked if he had a son and he said yes. They then asked what he was into and my dad said baseball cards. The Japanese people who hosted him then went out and bought me over 200 baseball cards from various Japanese baseball players. My dad said it was an amazing experience and one he will never forget because he felt like a king over there and has never been given so much stuff.

Non-Verbal Communication in Japanese Culture

Japan is a very high context culture and this means non verbal communication is very important in Japanese culture. Japanese people do not need to say everything that is on their mind because communication can be understood through facial expressions and tone of voice. Japanese people trust non-verbal communication more than the spoken word. It is more important to understand the context in which the words are said rather than the actual words.

Businessmen traveling to Japan will have to research some of the non verbal actions because they can be different than western culture. Silence can is valued in Japan. While in America, we fill the silent void in our speech with “um” or “like”, Japanese people do not see the need to fill the silence. The silence that we try and avoid is seen as a time to think before speaking and gives the person enough time to say exactly what they want to say. If a person begins to feel uncomfortable it is important to just relax and try and not focus on the silence.

Another important piece of non verbal communication in Japan is the use of facial gestures. The over use of facial expressions can be seen as rude. Since Japanese value privacy, a straight face is seen as hiding one’s privacy. Smiles are used to cover up embarrassment and can be used in an awkward situation when the person does not know how to react. If a westerner is placed in an awkward situation with a Japanese person and they laugh, that can be seen as rude but that is how Japanese deal with it. Japanese view looking at a person directly in the eye as very rude and should not be done. This view is different from Americans who view it as an honest person that looks you in the eye.

Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance in Japan

In this blog post, I am going to discuss two of Geert Hofstede’s five natural cultural dimensions. The first dimension that I am going to discuss is Power Distance. Power Distance is the degree to which people of a culture accept the difference in power between higher ranking individuals and lower ranking individuals. Japan has a mid to high-ranking on Power Distance with number of 54. This means that workers in Japan are more likely to listen to their superiors and not question their decisions.

The second dimension that I will discuss is Uncertainty Avoidance. Uncertainty Avoidance is how a society deals with change and the unknown.  Japan has a rating of 92, which makes it one of the highest Uncertainty Avoidance countries in the world. A lot of time is spent on preparing for the future in Japan and nothing is left to chance. The Japanese culture has many traditions and these traditions are taken very seriously and done on appropriate occasions. Change is not highly looked upon and change is questioned in Japanese culture.

When a person travels to Japan for business purposes, one should be prepared to change the way he or she communicates. Business cards are called meishi and are to be honored and shown as a sign of respect. The receiver of a business card would respect the card and place it in a special card holder. It is considered rude to place a business card in your pocket after receiving it. In Japan, managers control the meetings and whatever decisions are made by the manager stands and is not questioned. This varies from the United States way to thinking and is something that will take some time getting used to. Another difference in communication is the use of titles. In Japan, titles are very important in a business setting and the first name of a person is never used. It is considered a sign of disrespect to use another person’s first name. Since Japanese have a high Uncertainty avoidance, they tend to look ahead and try to predict the future. This could affect ones communication if they were trying to take care of a piece of business for the present time.

Lifestyle in Japan

The lifestyle of a Japanese person is much different than in America. For example, in Japan it is customary to remove one’s shoes when entering a home. This tradition is because all activities are done on the floor and removing the shoes keeps the floor sanitary. In America, we will keep our shoes on and walk around the house with them on. Walking around bare foot allows the pressure points in the bottom of the feet to be worked out and this is a good health practice.

The people of Japan speak Japanese. It is considered a very hard language to master and understand but Japan has a 99% literacy rate among its adults. Japanese women and men speak different languages and use different words. There is no distinction between plural and singlur words. Another difference between Japanese and English is that Japanese put the verb at the end of the sentence, where as in English, the verb is in the middle of the sentence. Japanese writing is broken down into four different groups and can be used in different contexts.

Japanese have a very unique dress style. The kimono is a traditional dress that is made of silk and worn only on special occasions like a graduation or wedding. They arevery difficult to put on, this is why they are only worn during special occasions. Both men and women will wear these kimonos but women’s tend to be bright, while men’s tend to be dull colors like brown and blueDuring most days, Japanese people will wear T-shirts and jeans like Americans will. Western dress is becoming widely accepted around the world and this is one reason the Japanese only wear kimonos for special occasions.

Japan

The country I have chosen to write by blog about is Japan. Japan is an island nation in eastern Asia. It is approximately the size of California. There are about 130 million people living in Japan which makes it the 10 largest country in the world based on population.

The capital of Japan is Tokyo and approximately 13.16 million people reside in the capital. Japan has the third largest economy in the world and its main exports include cars, computers, and electronic goods. Its major imports include raw materials like wood, oil, and food.

Japanese culture is very different from our American culture. The Japanese believe in “saving face” and not trying to embarrass a fellow person. This value is different from American culture in that we want to win and everything we do, but in Japan winning is not everything. It is more important that everyone is happy. Age is highly valued in Japan and the older a person is, then the more respected they are. Families will often live together in one house because that creates harmony.

Japanese food tastes are much different than the United states. White rice is served at every meal and most meals contain miso soup, pickled vegetables, and some sort of meat (usually fish). Since Japan is an island country they have many types of fish to choose from and they eat a lot of it. The amount of fish that they eat has led them to be one of the healthier nations and have the lowest rate of heart disease in the world. The life expectancy in Japan is 87 years old for females and 80 years old for males.

World View

My worldview is very complex. It has been formed over many years by the people I have met and the experiences I have had. World view is defined by Merriam-Websters dictionary as “The way someone thinks about the World”. I hope that my world view will change once I get to learn about different cultures and how I can apply their cultural values to my every day life.

There are three types of world views: secular, spiritual, and religious. My world view is a combination of all three. I take bits a pieces of all of these world views and create my own world view. I am Catholic and  get many of my religious beliefs from the Catholic faith and this becomes part of my religious world view. Part of my world view is also formed from the secular belief. For example, I believe money makes the world go round and what a person earns should be kept and that person should only share it if they want to. That money was earned from hard work and that person should reap the benefits from that. I also have a part of me that has a secular world view. For example, I believe that the meaning in life is to find a purpose and not just wonder the earth searching for a higher power.

After I begin to learn about different cultures, I can see the positive and negative values that Americans have. I found this site very interesting because I never realized how many different sub-cultures we had in American society and how complex and deep we really are. If every culture around the world is this complex, then I am excited to learn everything I can about them.