Gender Inequality in Japan - Research Paper Example

National culture of any nation has an impact on how people act, behave, interact and work. Culture has been defined by Hofstede as the “collective programming of the mind that distinguishes members of one group of people from another”. This programming is passed on from one generation to another and become embedded in the system. Hofstede further maintains that national cultures have more influence over organizational culture. Understanding the Japanese ways or working has been interesting me for quite some time and hence this research. Japan has always been an ethnically and religiously homogenous society (Ralston, Holt, Terpstra & Kai-Cheng, 2008). The Japanese cultural heritage is based on the Confucian philosophy. Hence, to undertake business deals in Japan, one would have to know and understand the nuances and the customs in the Japanese culture that influence the social as well as business behaviour. Japan is one of the most industrialized nations, has great infra-structure, 99% literacy and a developed banking and services sector (Ghimire, 2006). However, there are certain myths and misunderstandings about the Japanese culture which gives rise to apprehensions in the minds of the foreigners and the MNCs. Japanese is a male-dominated society and even though several women have had outstanding achievement, their names are nowhere to be found. The Japanese society is “gaku-reki shakai” where a person’s academic record governs his future. This is because companies recruit at certain schools and hence education determines job, income and status (Stedham & Yamamura, 2004). This pushed the Japanese society for higher education. Women too entered the field of education. Even today the discrimination and inequality remain pervasive in the Japanese society. Because of this, women, despite preferring equal distribution of power and wealth, are unable to overcome the power distance between the genders in Japan. Social culture The Japanese are very polite in all their actions and movements. Face is a mark of personal dignity and hence they would try to save the ‘face’ as it is very crucial for them. Turning down requests leads to embarrassment and loss of face which they would want to avoid at any cost. However, if they are unable to comply with the request, they would not be rude but answer politely that the request in under consideration. They do not openly criticize or hurt and insult anyone. This is because the Japanese society believes in harmony and which has been the guiding philosophy and the cultural heritage. This philosophy of harmony guides them through their business and personal life as well. From the pre-school age itself the children are given the values of harmony and cooperation. The educational system too emphasizes on interdependence and working together as a team. The value of harmonious relationships reflects in the behaviour of the Japanese people. They do not work for the individual good but for the society and the nation as a whole. Even if facts have to be presented that could be disagreeable, it is done with dignity – it is done in a gentle and indirect manner that would not hurt or humiliate others. They believe that working harmoniously serves to enhance productivity. They maintain hierarchy in the society and people are conscious of the age and status. They maintain distinct hierarchy whether it is in the extended family or the society or a business situation (Kwintessential, n.d.). Even at the school level they are taught how to address the seniors or the junior children. The oldest person in the group would be served first and honoured in any social gathering. Just as bowing down is a mark of respect, similarly, Japanese people are expected to sit straight with both feet on the floor (Hoyt, 2000). Legs can be crossed only at the knee or the ankle. They walk in short quick strides and drooping shoulders which is a sign of humility and respect. They draw the first impression of a person by the brand of the dress and the clothes worn. They seldom invite people home for business discussions but if they do, the etiquette and manners have to be adhered to. Etiquette and customs The Japanese believe in etiquette at meetings and also follow strict table manners. At meetings, the greetings are formalized and ritual (Kwintessential, n.d.). They extend respect based on the status difference and one is expected to wait to be introduced. It is impolite to introduce your self even in a large gathering. Foreigners may shake hands but the business and social tradition is to bow down. To what extent one bows down also depends upon the relationship with the other person and also on the situation. The foreigners are not expected to bow down because they are not supposed to know the nuances but if they, it is appreciated. When invited to a Japanese house, one is expected to remove the shoes and put on the slippers kept at the doorway. The shoes when kept should point away from the doorway that one is walking through. They value punctuality and they expect the guests to follow that. Even for social functions, unless informed, one is expected to dress as if going to work. Even toilet slippers are available at the entrance which has to be removed when finished. They also follow lots of rituals in table manners, protocol in sitting at the table and giving and wrapping gifts. Business culture To enter Japan, businessmen and organizations have to really understand the business nuances that work in Japan. While it is different from the US or from Europe, it is by no means the Japanese believe in stable long-term relationships which stems from a sense of loyalty towards trusted partners. They usually field fluent English-speaking executives when new MNCs come into Japan for negotiations but smaller companies may stick to Japanese for communication. They are extremely polite at business meetings and this all the more pronounced when they converse in English. In Japanese, they would be more direct and it may sound even rude. The service culture in business is also something different and unheard of in any part of the world. For instance, if you enter a store, you would be greeted with shouts of irrashaimase (welcome) and domo arigato gozaimashita (thank you) when you leave the store (Venture Japan, 2009). This is often misinterpreted as social culture but it is actually the service culture in Japan. Service is a pillar of Japanese culture. Because of the culture of close family ties, the Japanese firms that operate overseas, operate at a loss because of the inability of the Japanese managers to function effectively in a pattern that is different from the domestic organization (Sethi, 1975). Decision making in Japanese firms is bottom-up (ringi) which means they believe in strong group commitment to company decisions. Thus, the same culture and ties makes it difficult to change as the new external situation demands or engage in long-range planning. This solidarity of the management group compels them to maintain face and social harmony at all costs. The managers possess high degree of tolerance for obvious contradictions. Wage differences exist between the life-time employees of the large firms and the employees of the smaller firms. What this tells us is that personal relationships are very important for business in Japan. Its business culture is rooted in the conviction that relationship come before business. Hence, to venture in business in Japan, time and efforts would need to be invested in building relationships in the early stages. The Japanese organizations are hierarchically structured with the individuals knowing their position with regard to each other (WorldBusinessCulture, 2009). Their culture and sense of belonging gives strength to the team and the organization. Team working in Japan is a way of life that permeates all aspects of work life. People feel actively involved and committed because they do not follow the top-down decision-making process. Business etiquette Appointments are essential to meet people and this should be made several weeks in advance (Kwintessential, n.d.). They maintain seniority and dignity at all business meetings and hence the senior-most person would be seated furthest from the door. The Japanese do not become familiar in one meeting and take several interactions to get down to business. This reflects their traditional of working with close people. They believe in building long-term relationships. Even during negotiations, since they find it difficult to say ‘no’, the non-verbal communication or the body language conveys the message. The Japanese prefer broad agreements and flexibility so that contracts can be renegotiated. Business cards are exchanged with a great ceremony and one is expected to invest in the business card. Business cards are given and received with two hands and with a slight bow. It is as if respect is being shown to the person concerned. They spend more time on business lunches in building relationships rather than rushing through deals or contracts (Luesing, 2006). Even their eating style differs from the West. They are uncomfortable when others keep both their wrists on the table for the entire meal. The hand that is not being used to eat or drink is kept on the lap. When eating with chopsticks, it should not be left standing upright on the bowl and nor should they be crossed. Communication Conducting business in Japan would be difficult unless one understands the nuances of communication (WorldBusinessCulture, 2009). The Japanese have a subtle way of communication and there is a lot of difference between what one thinks and what one states publicly. Hence people must have the ability to understand the underlying truth because this would influence the development of relationships. The non-Japanese would find it difficult to navigate their way through and hence they should question everything so that no misunderstandings arise. Another difficulty in communication is the language problem. Very few foreigners speak Japanese and the English spoken in Japan lacks quality most of the time. The Japanese tend to be vague and they lack comprehension which decision-making difficult. Japanese body language is minimal and they tend to be very stiff or still at meetings. They sit upright and they rarely display any emption. It becomes difficult to comprehend their attitude and reactions. They usually carry an impassive expression. However, among themselves, they tend to rely on facial expressions, tone of voice and posture to tell them how and what the other person feels (Kwintessential, n.d.). They rely more on non-verbal communication because words can have several meanings. The same words could mean differently under different circumstances and hence it is important to understand the context in which the words have been spoken. Frowning while speaking is a sign of disagreement in the Japanese society. Certain expression must be taken note of when communicating with the Japanese – inhaling through clenched teeth, tilting the head, scratching the back of the head and scratching the eyebrow. It is disrespectful to stare at the eyes of the elders while talking. When in a crowd, the Japanese avoid eye contact when they want to maintain privacy. Because of their close ties, they do not need any separate training in team building; they are naturally group-oriented (WorldBusinessCulture, 2009). To avoid any direct confrontation, they seek agreement before the formal meeting. Hence, foreigners should not expect to thrash it out at meetings because most of the planning and decision making has already been done. They display that they are modest and humble and prior agreement helps them to maintain their ‘face’ in front of other groups. The Japanese do not believe in self- promotion and consider it an embarrassing trait. Business ethics in Japan Based on the five theories - deontology, utilitarianism, relativitism, managerial egoism, and justice theory – the ethical stand of the Japanese executives have been studied. The study by Lee and Yoshihara (1997) found that Japanese executives are very strict in their ethical business attitude as compared to the Koreans and they think they should behave deontologically. However, in actual practice, very few (just 5%) actually followed the law. While many think that charging the company for treating friends in unethical, more than 50% of the executives do it. As far as bribery is concerned 73% of the Japanese would pay money even if it is in a compromised manner. They would not hesitate to hire a competitors’ technicians or skilled people if profitable to the organization. They do not consider this unethical. However, they are against export of legal but harmful products. On the other hand, they do not consider importing cheaper parts from a developing country as unethical as long as the final product is not inferior to the existing finished product and the customers are not interested in knowing from where the product has been sourced. The executives want to be ethical because of personal beliefs but when the economic interests of the organization arises, they would not mind compromising to some extent like hiring people from competitors. Conclusion Thus it can be seen that the Japanese society and culture differs greatly from the major industrialized nations. They have set norms which are inculcated in the child from the pre-school age. The values thus embedded reflect in every walk of life including the work place. The business etiquette and norms are an extension of the social customs in every field be it the way communication takes place, the etiquette in giving gifts or greeting people, table manner or maintaining hierarchy. They are extremely polite and harmonious people who do not believe in humiliating others. Even to communicate ‘mo’ they maintain dignity. Thus, working in Japan or with the Japanese people would not be difficult. All it requires is an understanding of their culture, the nuances and the values that permeate the society in every walk of life. References Ghimire, B. (2006). Doing business in Japan. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://internationalbusiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/businessinjapan Hoyt, N. (2000). Nonverbal Communication in Japan. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://homepages.wmich.edu/~n5hoyt/japan.htm Kwintessential. (n.d.). Japan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/japan-country-profiles.html Lee, C., & Yoshihara, H. (1997). Business Ethics of Korean and Japanese Managers. Journal of Business Ethics. 16, 7-21 Luesing, C. (2006). Appreciating Cultural Differences Makes Good Business Sense. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://www.bizonline-content.com/bizresourceonline/wachovia/displayarticle.asp?id=33&clientid=8&categoryid=2 Ralston, D.A., Holt, D.H., Terpstra, R.H., & Kai-Cheng, Y. (2008). The impact of national culture and economic ideology on managerial work values: a study of the United States, Russia, Japan, and China. Journal of International Business Studies. 39, 8-26 Sethi, S.P. (1975). JAPANESE BUSINESS AND SOCIAL CONFLICT. Ballinger, 226 Stedham, Y.E., & Yamamura, J.H. (2004). Measuring national culture: does gender matter? Women in Management Review. 19 (5), 233-243 Venture Japan, (2009). Japanese business culture. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://www.venturejapan.com/japanese-business-culture.htm WorldBusinessCulture. (2009). Doing Business in Japan. Retrieved online 2 May 2010 from http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-in-Japan.html Read More