In the case study “Kelly’s Assignment in Japan”, it is very apparent Kelly’s expatriation was extremely mismanaged. Both her family and company were ill-prepared for the transition.
From the beginning, there was no preparation from Kelly’s company to assist her with the culture and customs of Japan. They failed to provide her with information on proper ways to communicate with her Western counterparts. Additionally, Kelly experienced a language barrier and only had limited Japanese which she self-taught on the flight to Tokyo. Without formal knowledge of Western ways Kelly clashed with Japanese culture when she placed the CEO’s business card in her pocket without looking at it. Had Kelly been informed she would have known to review the business
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They were unprepared due to lack of time and resources to become accustomed to Japanese ways and are in the irritation and hostility stage. This is apparent on their first day, when they come to realize they have brought too many personal belongings to their small apartment in Tokyo. Kelly’s husband, Joe, is also struggling to find employment. With no contacts in Tokyo and without assistance from Kelly’s organization to help network, Joe becomes concerned if they will be able to continue on one income. As tension rise, Joe, becomes overwhelmed by menial tasks such as grocery shopping and cooking dinner. He’s finding it difficult to operate the small appliances in the apartment along with the inability to understand food packages to prepare food. His emotions quickly start to get the best of him as his frustration rises. The children are also struggling to adapt to their new home in Tokyo. While the school they are attending boast to be bilingual, the majority of the students are Japanese and do not speak English. The children are unhappy and nothing is familiar for them. At school their classes and lunches are vastly different than they were in America. They’re upset with the lack of yard for them to play in and the television programs are in Japanese, which they are unbale to understand. The children bicker with each other and complain about wanting to …show more content…
Kelly’s company put her in an unrealistic situation of requiring an answer within two days of extending her the position abroad. Kelly’s company should not have assumed because she had great success in business relationships in London and Germany, which have similar cultures to the United States, it would have implied she would have been just as successful in Japan. The company lacked in preparing her in the customs and cultural ways of the Japanese, instead only considering the financial compensation as enough motivating factor. The company should have provided training of Japanese for the family, assisted in Joe’s networking in Tokyo to locate a job and should have been readily available for Kelly’s family with any questions and provide timely follow-up. Kelly lacked in doing her due diligence into the Japanese culture and fully understand what it would take to move her family abroad. A little research on her part into Japanese culture, customs and etiquette would have provided her with forethought on how to handle herself in Japanese
The cultural behaviors of the “American” or “Japanese” in the video do not accurately reflect business behaviors in these countries so please do not generalize based on the video. The video is meant as a classroom exercise to analyze a specific cultural encounter. Total 20 points.
The first barrier that comes to mind is Language. Either the Company employs someone who is well versed in Japanese and from that Country or it forces the Japanese to speak English. As English is a more common language in the business world, it would seem as if that forces the Japanese to speak English.
There are significant cultural differences between Japan and the United Kingdom that need to be taken into account when doing international business. There are also a number of methods and systems by which these differences have been described. These include the Geert Hofstede cultural dimensions, Trompenaars seven dimensions of culture and the Globe Project's cultural dimensions. This paper will discuss these differences and similarities, and shed light as to the best approach to international business in these countries.
One real life example Sreedevi mentioned was when she was working at IBM, the training was in a two way structure. New employees are provided with training when they first enter the job, and then the new employees will have to demonstrate to manager as a way to proof that they fully understand how the technology work. One last point from the movie is that people should be incentivized differently, especially when managing people from different culture. In the film, one American lady really like the brother and wanted to hire him in her Chicago firm. She offered the brother a legal status to stay in the US. However, what is more important to the brother and to his culture is family. If the American lady could allow the brother to bring his sister along to Chicago, the brother would have accept the offer in the first place. Therefore, it is very important to
Since Japan’s exit from isolation and entrance into global, cross cultural exchange, many aspects of the Japanese culture have been shaped and changed from their original traditionalism. Despite Western influence, however, Japan has been able to maintain a sense of cultural identity through unique practices that are rooted in the original culture. A prime example of this autonomy can be found when observing Japanese business culture and ethics, especially when the United States is used as a cornerstone of comparison. In observing the modern business practices of both nations one is immediately drawn to the manner in which business is both discussed and
This paper provided an opportunity to take a deeper look into the country of Japan by conducting a Global Cultural Analysis. Throughout this paper the following four research areas were explored: 1.What is the major elements and dimensions of culture in Japan? 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in Japan? 3. How does U.S. culture and business compare with the elements and dimensions of culture integrated by the locals conducting business in Japan? 4. What are the implications for U.S. businesses that wish to conduct business with Japan?
Upon reading about Kelly’s assignment and the problems that she faced while being chosen to work in Japan, it seems as though she along with her family had a difficult time adjusting to the different culture and customs that working overseas can bring. Kelly was selected by a process known as expatriate selection, which is the “selection of personnel for overseas assignments” (Deresky, 2014, p. 278). Her boss believed that due to her performance in her regular domestic setting, she would prove that she would do well while working abroad. However, it seems as though her boss may have overlooked certain cross-cultural factors that are important for international business matters.
Our way of conducting business in the United States works for us, but when doing business in other countries it may not. I decided to look at the way business is done in Japan and how it differs from United States. When doing business in different countries, we would need to do our homework and research Japan. Japan is a country with a rich history and culture. The lack of knowledge about their culture can make doing business very different. We will look at the Japanese culture and how it differs from U.S. culture and the proper way to communicate in a business meeting in Japan.
Business cultures between USA and Japan vary immensely the American’s are quick to make decisions and allow many juniors to make decisions of their own accord, although many errors can be caused because of the leeway given. In comparison to Japan where business decisions are a lot slower and given a lot of thought. Japan will avoid all risks possible and all business decisions are made following a corporate hierarchy. This entails many meetings and numerous records to minimise any errors so they can deliver consistency at all levels.
Although disappointing, the trip was not without some success as the men were able to accomplish the company’s goals. However, her male counterparts took all the credit for her hard work, with very little ever being said about what she had done to help them achieve the company’s objective. The companies response to this dilemma, however, was expected and in a way understandable at the time. Mostly because she knew that laws in other countries and norms were not always well defined, and it was evident that conflicting priorities were going to arise as they traveled from culture-to-culture. But what bothered her was the impression that corporate inadvertently overlooked the ethical elements of this business decisions, or worse still, choose to ignore it. Moreover, it was determined
Culture differences between Nomura and Lehman that can be found in this situation is the way that Japanese treat their female employees is different from male employees. Nomura train new hiring employees by separate them by gender and teach women about the thing that does not proper such as how to serve tea or strictly about their dress in in the workplace. This can display different cultures between them some reasons might be that in Japanese culture they consider that women doesn't have ability to work as much as men. Japanese culture at work is very strictly on how the employees behave not only in their work hours but all times while they are working on the company that is different from the national culture that focuses on work more than personal behavior or how they dress. Even if Nomura said he wanted to blend two cultures together but it's look like he still use Japanese culture as the main culture. Moreover, Lehman said that Nomura process is slower than when the employee worked in his manage.
One of the most important facets for a successful business in the twenty-first century is how it communicates with their customers, partners, suppliers and governments from different countries and cultures from around the world. For a business to operate with any modicum of success in Japan, you must possess a basic understand of how their society functions. As a result of learning about the geography, climate, history, religion, cultural rituals, politics, education system, and the role of the family; it will allow a business or business person the insight needed to understand how society functions and the method in which business is conducted.
Culture is a very important value that is often misconstrued with a foreign country. You have to understand the local law and its role in their society. Americans often think that because Japan has very little litigation, Japanese companies are not concerned about contracts and legal rights. That is an enormous cultural misunderstanding that can lead to major business mistakes. Japanese businesses are very legalistic and concerned with preserving their rights - though they are not litigious, in part because the Japanese court system is slow, expensive and cumbersome.
In this case “Kelly’s Assignment in Japan”, we have an example of expatriation poorly managed and unprepared. Different cultures, customs seem very important between Japanese and Westerners. Added to this barrier, we also not that there
Whenever a company is entering a new market it has to take into consideration the cultural differences between countries. Based on the case study analysis, the difference between the two countries in terms of eating out habits and eating preferences seem not to be understood by the Denver headquarter. Denver headquarter believes that it can enforce the same business model applied in the U.S to its stores in China, regardless of local preference. In addition, Foster seems to lack knowledge about the Chinese culture because she was not familiar with the market in China, as she had no experience working internationally. There was a lack of cross-cultural communication between Chen and Foster; even though, Chen had experienced both cultures while studying abroad in the U.S.