Culture Difference Between United States and Japan

When doing business across cultural boundaries, it is important to try and understand the cultural differences. If no time is spent on mapping and comparing differences, the negotiations might break down because of basic misunderstandings that could have been prevented. The most prevalent differences are between the western and the eastern business culture. To compare both culture in doing business and put it in a perspective, the western will be represented by US while the eastern will be represented by Japan.

Generally, US company’s decision making is quick. Superiors give some great flexibility to subordinates so that they can decide and make decisions quickly. Unfortunately there are some errors that can come because of that. In contrast, Japanese company’s decision making is in stages following their corporate hierarchy. Their decision makings are very cautious and conservative and sometimes slower than US companies. These stages are supported by plenty of meetings and documentation. This minimizes error and brings consistency at all levels.

The US company’s roles are very individualized. Contribution of individual is very important as linked to company goals. However, Japanese companies require individual contribution to the whole group but recognize that the whole group must succeed otherwise the individual’s contribution has no meaning.
In terms of conducting business relationship, contacting clients by email or on the phone seems to be more natural in US companies but for Japanese companies, they respect meeting each other face to face. It is important to them for conducting business relationships.

US Companies focus on Return on Investment (ROI) or the end result. They don’t concern themselves on how it is achieved and spend less time establishing their process. Japanese also focus on ROI, however, they emphasize the process on how to get there. For example, they evaluate how to create the process for the project so that they regard the cost including the value of establishing the process in total.

Family and personal time is the priority in the US. Work-Life balance is a must. There is some socializing outside of work but not as a group. In Japan, priority is on the work life. It is a given, work is the centre of life. There are many traditions that re-enforce this. A newcomer to the company, hold the place for Hanami to enjoy the cherry blossom in spring for drinking with co-workers. Also, a common after-work event is Nomikai (drinking party) and is used as a very important opportunity to communicate with each other for work.

Culture is just one perspective that can help us to understand more about a business. When doing business with people from other culture, it is advised to prepare oneself before doing so. First, it is essential to know the most important facts about the country itself and then try them out to get an overview of the culture in that particular country. After that, it is advisable to study the local business culture and its etiquettes. Plus, learning the language can be a complementary part. Even though the difference in culture and its diversity can potentially hinders a company establishment in a foreign country, in the end, doing business is the same for every country; everybody wants to make a profit!