Japanese cultural analysis - Research Paper Example

?Cultural Analysis I. Executive Summary Undertaking cultural and economic analysis is extremely beneficial for decision making be it at company levelor at national levels. Without a vivid cultural and economic analysis in place, it becomes very difficult to know more about a particular place in question. To this effect, this write-up was undertaken to bring to light, the cultural analysis of Japan. Areas that have been looked at include geographical setting, social institutions and education. In terms of culture, Japan has a long adhered system of practices, which are important for every investor who wishes to enter Japan to know and learn to adhere to. This way, can be a future of promising prosperity for the investor. II. Introduction Cultural analysis is explained to be the use of qualitative research methods to identify “the applied analysis of cultural phenomenon, often including advertising and media products, in order to provide context for a client's business or insight into a market” (Association for Qualitative Research, 2010). By the use of the term qualitative research method, this that cultural analysis is conducted based on certain defined principles of publicly available data. Not withstanding this, a researcher may also conduct cultural analysis by the use of field related research methods such as interview (Association for Qualitative Research, 2010). In this context, much of the analysis was based on publicly available data and the most vital cultural analysis information on Japan comes to rest on three major areas. III. Country’s History (Brief) The first area of cultural analysis concern for Japan has to do with what the Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc (2011) puts it as the Confucian dynamism. “In practical terms Confucianism refers to a long-term versus a short-term orientation in life” (Hofstede, pg. 164). The Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc argues that Japan upholds the long-term orientation as against short-term orientation. Clark (2005) explains that countries that have the long-term orientation revolve on the axis of “persistence (perseverance), ordering relationships by status, thrift and having a sense of shame.” Generally, policy makers of such countries focus on future generations rather than the present generation though it does not neglect the present generation altogether. To this end, Japan as a long-term oriented country invests so much in education since education has a long-term positive effect on the fortunes of the country. Against this backdrop, it can be said that kikki.k has a great advantage venturing into Japan. With reference to the products of kikki.k, it is clear the products have greater relation with education. This means that with a well marketing strategy, the company can dominate the stationery industry in the Japan. IV. Geographical Setting A. Location Viewed from the geographic coordinate system, Japan can be said to be 36° north of the equator and 138° east of the Prime Meridian. Japan is made up of thousands of islands, among which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest. Japan shares border and are the closest neighbors are Russia, China and Korea. B. Climate Due to the presence of the three thousand islands in Japan, Japan’s climate is not the same everywhere. However on the average, there are four seasons which are summer, winter, spring and autumn. C. Topography According to the Encyclopedia of the World (2011), there islands which stretches from Southeast Asia to the Aleutian Islands. 75% of land in Japan is covered with mountain. Landforms are steep and rugged. The is the presence of two principal mountain ranges, which are the Hida (or Japan Alps) and the Akaishi mountains. Among the many mountains, twenty-five have peaks of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft), among which the highest is Mt. Fuji (Fuji-san), which stands at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). There are 265 volcanoes in Japan among which 20 remain active. An average of 1,5000 minor shocks of earthquake occurs yearly. There are few and small plains which only about 29% of the total land area of Japan. Among these plains, the greater number of them are found along the seacoast and are composed of alluvial lowlands, diluvial uplands, and low hills. Human population is heavily concentrated in these limited flat areas. With respect to rivers, rivers present are short and swift. The largest lake which is Lake Biwa has an area of 672 sq km (259 sq mi). There are hardly any good harbors since in most areas the land rises steeply out of the sea. V. Social Institutions A. Family 1. The nuclear family The nuclear family system is the predominately practiced family system in Japan today. It is now made up of about 65% of families and it is typically like the American nuclear family system (U.S Library of Congress, 2007). 2. The extended family The extended family otherwise known as the ie is made up of family genealogy from the grandparents to presently living grand children. The ie family system and principles underlying have however been fading gradually over the years. 3. Dynamics of the family a. Parental roles In homes, parents are seen as the actual caretakers of the family. The mother’s role is primarily to cook and nurture children. The father’s role is to provide money for the house keeping of the family. b. Marriage and courtship Courtship is generally accepted before marriage. However, courtship is guided by strict religious and moral rules whereby people in courtship are not considered to be marriage and are therefore not expected to engage in such acts as sex. Marriage on the other hand involves the official union of a man and a woman by law either in court or in the presence of relatives and friends. 4. Female/male roles Though gender disparity if not prevalent, the man is generally considered the head of the house and thus the bread winner. Female roles are limited to keeping the house in activities like cooking, cleaning and nurturing of children. B. Education 1. The role of education in society a. Elementary/Secondary schools Elementary and lower secondary education is compulsory in Japan. Upper secondary is however voluntary but almost all students progress to this level. There are public schools for all aspects of education but private schools dominate the upper secondary level. b. Specialised schools According to CRICED (2009), “specialized education courses in Japan comprise vocational education courses, agricultural courses, technology courses, commercial courses, fisheries courses, home economics courses, and nursing courses in vocational education programs.” (School Education Act --> II-37) c. Higher education Japan believes so much in education and so promotes education to the highest level. Presently, private universities are the commonest in Japan. Admission is gained to any of the numerous universities by passing an entrance examination. There are two of such entrance examination for students seeking to enter universities. Whereas on is organized at the national level and which are uniform, there is another organized by individual universities. Generally universities train students in areas such as engineering, medicine, law and education. 2. Literacy Rates According to Facts about Japan (2011), the literacy rate in Japan stands at 99%. Economic Analysis I. Executive Summary Economic analysis of a country is extremely beneficial for decision making especially at the business level. Without a vivid economic analysis in place, it becomes very difficult for investors to know more about a particular place before starting investment activities. To this effect, this write-up was undertaken to bring to light, the economic dimensions of Japan by undertaking a comprehensive economic analysis for Japan. Areas that have been looked at include population, economic statistics and activities, as well as general working conditions. Through the analysis, it was found that economically, Japan has a lot of potential for kikki.k who are seeking to enter the country newly. II. Introduction Japan is regarded as one of the world’s strongest economic forces. This is because of the successful economic successes and growth that the nation has enjoyed over the years. Today, Japan is in trade or economic partnership with several nations across the world. III. Population (All figures based on 2001 est. for United Kingdom) A. Total Japan’s population for 2011 as given by the CIA World Fact Book is 126,475,664 people and this is the July estimate. 1. Growth rates According to the CIA World Fact Book (2011), Japan’s population growth rate for 2011 is “-0.278% (2011 estimate)” (Index Mundi (=2011). 2. Birthrates The CIA rates Japan’s birth rate to be 7.31 births/1,000 population (2011 estimates 3. Death rates From July 2011 estimates, Japan’s death rate is 10.09 deaths/1,000 population (CIA, 2011) B. Distribution of population 1. Age The age distribution for Japan’s population is given as follows: 0-14 years: 13.1% where male make up 8,521,571 and females make up 8,076,173. 15-64 years: 64% where males make up 40,815,840 and females make up 40,128,235 65 years and over: 22.9% where males make up 12,275,829 and females make up 16,658,016 (2011 est.) 2. Sex ratio From the population distribution above, we find that males make up a total of 61,613,240 of Japan’s population with females making up 64,862,424. This means females are more than males. 3. Geographic areas Te Local Government groups the country's forty-seven prefectures into eight regions. These are listed with their important and largest cities in the table below Region Largest city Hokkaido Tohoku Kanto Chubu Kyushu Shikoku Chugoku Kansai or Kinki Sapporo Sendai Tokyo Kanazawa, Niigata, Nagoya Fukuoka Matsuyama Hiroshima Osaka 4. Migration rates and patterns The migration rate given for the year July 2011 estimate stands at 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population. However, the few migrations that occur arise as a result of the need to take up new employment positions. 5. Ethnic groups According to Index Mundi and CIA World Facts Book, the following are the ethnic groups in Japan: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%.” The source notes that “230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)” IV. Economic statistics and activity A. Gross national product (GNP or GDP) 1. Total The CIA quotes the GDP of Japan to be $4.338 trillion 2. Rate of growth The growth rate for GDP is however given as 3% (2010 estimate) B. Personal income per capita The World Salaries Group quotes the personal income per capita of Japan as $14,360 for the year 2005. The average employment income is however given as $29,304 for the year 2005 for regular employment, excluding overtime allowances. C. Average family income According to Gini Index as quoted by Index Mundi, the average family income for Japan is 37.6 for the year 2011. D. Distribution of wealth 1. Income classes The income classes in Japan are given as lowest 10%, lowest 20%, second 20%, third 20%, fourth 20%, highest 20% and highest 10% 2. Proportion of the population in each class Lowest 10% 4.8 Lowest 20% 10.6 Second 20% 14.2 Third 20% 17.6 Fourth 20% 22.0 Highest 20% 35.7 Highest 10% 21.7 (Source: 2000 World Development Indicators from the Encyclopedia of Nations) E. Minerals and resources The most abundant minerals and resources include “coal, iron ore, zinc, lead, copper, sulfur, gold, and silver are among the most abundant minerals” (Britannica Online Encyclopedia, 2011). Tungsten, chromite, oil and manganese are however in smaller quantities. F. Surface transportation 1. Mode The main modes of surface transport are road and rail. There is 1.2 million kilometer paved road for vehicular transportation with the rail system, very active and vibrant. Rails serve as the major means of transport especially for mass transport purposes. 2. Availability (based on est. for United Kingdom) Both cars and trains are readily available in Japan. 3. Usage rates The cargo sector of road transport can record as high as 274.2 billion tonne-kilometres in a year. The statistics on car is 395 per 1,000 people (Nation Master, 2011). There is 7.417 million passenger-km per day (Nation, Master, 2011) An average of 250 Shinkansen trains work daily in Japan 4. Ports Ports in Japan include “Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai” (Nation Master, 2011) G. Communication systems (base on est. for the United Kingdom) 1. Types From the CIA and as quoted by Travel Blog (2011), the types of communication systems in Japan include telephone, mobile cellular, radio broadcast stations, television broadcast station and internet. 2. Availability There is “excellent domestic and international service domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international” for telephone system” (Travel Blog, 2011). This ensures that there is constant availability of telephone communication. The same is true for mobile communication, television and the internet 3. Usage rates “Telephones - main lines in use: 71.149 million Telephones - mobile cellular: 86,658,600 Radio broadcast stations: AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 Television broadcast stations: 211 plus 7,341 repeaters note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services Internet users: 57.2 million” (Source, Internet Blog from CIA, 2011) H. Working conditions (This section has been tailored specifically for the fitness industry) 1. Employer-employee relations There is positive employer-employee relations as the laws of the land protects both parties against cheats, bias, discrimination and all forms of unfair treatment. The laws of Japan however place much focus on the employee when talking about business laws. 2. Employee participation Employees are generally hard working and thus involve themselves largely in business and organizational growth. This results because a lot more of the employees are securely qualified to take up their positions. 3. Salaries and benefits The average gross income of workers is $29,304 per year. REFERENCE LIST Encyclopedia of the World 2011, ‘Topography of Japan’, retrieved May 11 2011 The US Library of Congress, 2007, ‘Japan – Family’, retrieved May 14, 2011 Center for Research on International Cooperation in Educational Development (CRICED) University of Tsukub, 2009, ‘Educational System of Japan’, retrieved May 14, 2011 Index Mundi 2011, ‘Japan Population Growth Rate’, retrieved May 15, 2011, CIA, The World Fact Book, 2011, ‘Japan’, retrieved May 16, 2011 Encyclopedia of Nations, 2011 ‘Japan Poverty and Wealth’, retrieved May 15, 2011 Britannica Online Encyclopedia, 2011, ‘Japan, Resources and Power’, Nation Master, 2011, ‘Japanese Transportation Statistics’, retrieved May 14, 2011 Travel Blog, 2011, ‘Japanese Communications’, retrieved May 14, 2011 The Economy Watch, 2011 ‘Japan Economic Analysis’, retrieved May 4, 2011 Read More