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Japan

Japanese society has high power distance, with a clear hierarchy where everyone is conscious of their position and acts accordingly. Decisions slowly pass through layers of confirmation, showing no single top decision maker. Japanese value harmony in groups over individual opinions, and loyalty to their companies through lifelong employment. They have a long term orientation, arriving early out of respect and communicating carefully to avoid conflict through silence or indirect language.

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39 views2 pages

Japan

Japanese society has high power distance, with a clear hierarchy where everyone is conscious of their position and acts accordingly. Decisions slowly pass through layers of confirmation, showing no single top decision maker. Japanese value harmony in groups over individual opinions, and loyalty to their companies through lifelong employment. They have a long term orientation, arriving early out of respect and communicating carefully to avoid conflict through silence or indirect language.

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HTTPS://WWW.HOFSTEDE-INSIGHTS.

COM/COUNTRY-
COMPARISON/JAPAN/

POWER DISTANCE
Japanese are always conscious of their hierarchical position in any social
setting and act accordingly. Some foreigners experience Japan as extremely
hierarchical because of their business experience of painstakingly slow
decision-making process: all the decisions must be confirmed by each
hierarchical layer and finally by the top management in Tokyo.
Paradoxically, the exact example of their slow decision-making process
shows that in Japanese society there is no one top guy who can take decision
like in more hierarchical societies.

The Japanese greeting practice is to bow to others, especially the elderly and
people of great status. They have a culture of learning from the experience of
their predecessors, thus when they raise a concern with their superiors
(typically those older than them) or elders, they just want to explain and seek
advise, not to challenge or make difficulty.

INDIVIDUALISM
Japanese society shows many of the characteristics of a collectivistic society:
such as putting harmony of group above the expression of individual opinions
and people have a strong sense of shame for losing face. Japanese people
always respect the decisions of the group, they never impose their own
thoughts on work, this is a scientific way of working and brings success to
them.

One seemingly paradoxal example is that Japanese are famous for their
loyalty to their companies. In Japan, the motto "life-long work" is always
used to increase productivity, and it is frequently used by enterprises to assist
develop efficiency at work. Japanese employees, particularly competent male
employees, frequently aspire to have a career for life. Those in these nations
are less likely to volunteer to change jobs than employees in other countries.
Even at large corporations like Toyota, temporary workers account for
around 6% of the workforce.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

Japanese frequently arrive early for appointments because they do not want to
keep others waiting. Arriving early or on time demonstrates respect for a
partner or friend.

COMMNUNICATION STYLE

The japanese are extremely taboo about fighting or quarreling with each
other, even in actions and words. Therefore, they always choose ingenious
expressions, reduce speech to make it easier to listen when they do not accept
a certain issue. This both avoids pressure and does not offend the opponent.

The Japanese communicate through silence because they feel that talking less
is better than talking too much, and they value actions over words. The
individual in the highest position in a negotiation is frequently the least
wordy, and what he says is the ultimate decision; quiet is often a strategy to
avoid offending others.

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