Japanese Culture vs. American Culture
Truly, all the cultures of the world are different and beautiful in its own sense. However, in business, even a culture seems to tactfully market itself. The authentic and traditional Japanese culture clashes with the modern and tactful American culture. The following differences have been observed:
The Americans are viewed as impatient and litigious. The company goals usually revolve around short-term profit achievement and their strategies follow a short ‘A-B-C-D’ progression. “I don’t care how you do it, just get it done” is one of their famous one-liners. They are also more optimistic about their business.
On the other hand, the Japanese are more detail-oriented and spend a generous amount of time to research on their ideas. Their strategies follow a sedulous ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H…’ progression. They take a more holistic approach on all the relevant data acquired by them. Possessing a pessimistic
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There is also more tolerance for ambiguity -less yes or no, and more ‘shades of grey’. The problems being complex, incoherent and vague; require incremental and diffused solutions. The Japanese willingly accept their weakness and they strive to turn it into their strength. This is what sets them apart.
Discussion
Just like Zappos and Sony, many companies have a corporate culture, but they don’t really commit to them, as with Sony. Culture is embedded and transmitted through both implicit and explicit messages such as formal statements, organizational philosophy, design of physical space, deliberate role modeling and teaching by leaders (Schein 1983; Pilotta et. al. 1988). Deal & Kennedy (1982) suggest that the more highly successful companies are those that exhibit a strong organizational culture. They identify several component parts to a strong organizational culture, including: Values Heroes Rites & Rituals.