THE PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE OF BINH DUONG PROVINCE

THUDAUMOT UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES



Accumulative Report

Title: Telephone etiquette for business calls in

Japan

Student: Võ Th ị Qu ỳ nh Trâm Code: 1922202010169

Class : D19AV 05

--- Bình Dương, 2021

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ASSESSMENT

Score Examiner’s Signature 1 Examiner’s Signature 2

In figures In words

Criteria for assessment

- Topic (10 pts):

……………………………………………………………………………….

- Organization (25 pts)

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- Quality of Information (25 pts):

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- Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Spelling (25 pts):

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- Interest Level (15 pts):

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Total :…………………………………………………………………………..

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TOPIC: Telephone etiquette for business calls in Japan

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Background

Business rituals are behaviors and behaviors are considered appropriate in the
business and professional world. In this course, students will learn the
business ritual regarding the code of the behavior that allows us to
communicate with people in business and interact with them in a civilized
way. Good behavior makes us not all, but most things can be given. They are
the skills that make people feel comfortable and comfortable and include
electronic etiquette and paper, behavior at festivals, events, meetings,
dressing, job interviews, sports. , presentations and even international travel.
English etiquette and good behavioral courses will guide students through the
basic principles to improve business rituals and skills in business rituals to
identify a professional image.

According to Leon-Ard, "likes or not, the management board is well behaved

with business capacity and poor behavior with poor performance." Therefore,
before we can work in a good environment, we need to invest in time needed
to understand the rules of polite behavior and practice social skills at work so
they have Good impression and absolute trust. The necessary guide for
business rituals has fourteen chapters about the most important areas that can
help us succeed in our career. After the course, you will be more confident
about yourself, confidence associated with knowledge will help you know
how to behave, how to dress, how to eat in different situations to create a
good image for yourself. Professional images and more reliable reviews.

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That knowledge will help us socialize smoother, whether in interactions with

colleagues or other people colleagues outside or internationally.

2. Reasons to choose the topic

Currently, the company's culture has become an important issue in many

companies, rituals and good behaviors is a decisive factor for long-term
survival of many businesses. For Japanese businesses, cultural elements are
more interested. Because Japanese people attach great importance to the rite
and behavior in communication. Many Japanese companies have now built a
successful and highly effective company culture, that the rituals of Japanese
companies are loved by many people and received. This is also a factor
contributing to bringing Japanese companies into one of the world's leading
companies.

Political behavior is a very specific and important culture in Japan. They will
provide many close rules, teach new employees to behave into
communication through the simplest tasks such as tea making, cleaning,
calling, greeting, style dresses, etc. Especially with the new trainee quite
embarrassed with work calls, so we can follow it to easily integrate with the
working environment here or anywhere. So today we will analyze ''Telephone
Etiquette for Business Calls in Japan''

II. BODY

1. Definitions & Characteristics of the components

i. Definition of Telephone Etiquette for Business Calls.

Today the phone communication is a common form of communication, which

is the fastest and most convenient form of communication today. This form of
communication is conveniently where you can sit in a place but can still call
to talk to any object you want without having to meet directly. We must know
the basic communication skills by phone to be able to talk to family, friends,
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with business partners, seeking customers, receiving customers to achieve the

highest efficiency. For acquaintances, chat communication by phone can be
comfortable. But in business, phone communication skills play an important
role in whether you earn customers or not.

ii. Characteristics of business calls in Japan

Japan is a country with more than three thousand islands stretching along the
Pacific Ocean of Asia. Japan is destined "solar land", not only famous for its
beautiful natural landscape, friendly people but also known for the third
largest economy in the world after the United States and China. The Japanese
are said to be a nation possessing many precious personalities. With a poor
country on natural resources, every year faces many disasters from natural
earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami. with all Japanese efforts are a real country
Currently, the construction of corporate culture for its own, is the country that
causes the whole world to recover. Important role-playing factors, in the
process of building a strong and prosperous enterprise, it is the main corporate
culture so it is increasingly interested and focused more, that factor The
decision to defeat a whole business.

iii. Telephone communication rules in Japan.

In the past, when cell phones were just starting to become popular in Japan,
the rules in the culture of using this tool were unclear. But in recent years, this
has been increasingly noticed and can be said to have become part of the
Japanese code of conduct.

Rules for answering the phone in Japanese companies. When entering the
company, answering the phone, communicating with people in the company
or customers is very important. Especially the Japanese attach great
importance to the use of language when answering the phone. Among the
expressions, there are actually many polite expressions. It's a DON'T that you
don't give personal titles to people in your company, even co-workers or big
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bosses, but it's a BIG TIP to keep them simple on a notepad. The ability to
answer the phone well or not will be a big influence on the impression of
customers / partners about the company. Therefore, employee telephone
behavior is the standard by which outsiders judge your company. Especially
for people who call for the first time, the way you answer the phone will leave
the deepest impression in their hearts, and greatly affect their impression of
the company.

2. Etiquette in calling culture and manners in communication of Japanese

businesses.

Nowadays, mobile phones or smartphones have become an integral part of our

daily lives. It also plays an important role as a communication tool in the
business environment. The convenience of being able to talk on the go also
makes your work quicker.

Since about 70% of business is conducted by phone, good phone

communication etiquette is important. Currently Japan has the highest rate of
foreign investment in the world and there are many people who want to work
in these companies. Japan is considered as one of the countries with a polite
culture, cultivating a very unique way of behavior in social transactions and
business transactions. Therefore, it should be emphasized that phone etiquette
is very important when an employee wants to work at the company, they must
adhere to professional manners during calls because that is the standard for
outsiders to judge. my company. The first important thing many employees
have to remember is that in order not to become an annoying caller, respect
their partner's personal space and schedule. Business culture in Japan is rather
rigid and all interactions are symbolic, so make sure to call during polite times
- business hours are best. However, if your business is not urgent, try to call
between 5 and 7 pm. But meeting in person must take precedence over ringing
the phone. Answering the phone when you have a visitor to the office is rude.

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Sometimes there are urgent calls from someone with a higher rank, "sorry the
customer", answer the phone, explain to the caller that you have a visitor to
the office, be brief and promise to call back.

When a foreigner works in a Japanese company, answering incoming phone

calls can be a basic office job. Since we can only communicate over the phone
by exchanging our voices, it is very important that you learn “common
expressions in Japanese” to avoid being misunderstood or annoyed by the
other party. there. Within 3 rings, you must pick up the phone as a code of
conduct when working. If after 3 rings you still do not answer the phone,
when you answer the phone, you must add the sentence: 'Sorry for keeping
you waiting for so long'. Before making a call, in addition to preparing the
conversation in advance to save time for yourself and your partner, the
preparation and time of the call also greatly affect the outcome of the
conversation.

First of all, you need to know the operations on the phone to avoid difficulties
when there is an incoming call, when you come to work at the company, you
will be given specific instructions, you just need to take careful notes and
repeat a few times is okay.The second thing you need to remember is to
memorize and understand the conversation patterns when answering the
phone, because the Japanese are very important to the use of honorifics. You
can use a notebook and jot down points to note during the call to avoid the
situation of empty talk that causes disliking with customers or business
partners. The next important thing, if you need to call someone to discuss
business, list the things to talk about and how to deal with them in a notebook.
Failure to take this step can result in missing items you intend to communicate
with your customers, cause you to call back, and make you look
unprofessional. You should make it a habit to take notes when answering the
phone: "While listening, make a note of important information such as:
Company name, caller, department, whom to meet, what to do ... otherwise
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then when you put it down.. the recipient you might have forgotten
everything.” It's a good idea to keep a notebook and pen on your phone to jot
down your name, date, and other pertinent information.

The Japanese respect a professional working style, so defining yourself is the

first step to making a favorable impression. Your full name and affiliate
should be clearly stated, and should be clear and slow enough to be easily
understood. Usually in Japanese companies, there will be a general rule about
the conversation, starting with funny sayings such as "Thank you for calling,
ABC Corporation" to avoid being surprised about the suddenness in the call.
If calling an incorrect number, politely apologize before hanging up. If the
listener needs to transfer the call, say: "I'll connect your line. Would you hold
the phone?" so that listeners avoid feeling unfulfilled when looking to your
company. While waiting to be connected to others, it is helpful to provide
your first and last name, as well as your position or department title. In case
the person requested by the caller is not available, "I'm very sorry.
Unfortunately, Suzuki is not at the office. He will be back around 4:30. When
he comes back, I can leave him. Has he contacted you?". Callers who choose
to hold must be provided with feedback on the progress of the search, at
which point the caller will likely say something like: "I see, when he comes
back you can love Can he call me?" And then you should get the caller's
number so that you can continue to communicate with the customer: "Sorry,
but just to be sure, can I have your phone number?" After receiving the
person's information call, you should confirm that you have their correct
details. "Thank you. Let me repeat that to you. Is that Ms. Tanaka from
Company Y at 06-XXXX-XXXX?" You will make a good impression of
yourself on your partner or client if you know it. how to listen carefully, be
polite, and be discreet in giving the information the other person needs and
politeness is important to leave a favorable and often lasting final impression
on your partner who will always remember you.

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There is a special rule that is very important to know that in Japan, a

conversation only ends when "One of the parties has severed the connection".
Even if you've finished talking and were about to hang up after a second, that
last second is still considered part of an ongoing conversation so you need to
stay focused until the last minute. The reason is because, most people in Japan
are reluctant to hang up first in business conversations. To end a conversation
while also listening carefully to see if the other person hangs up, you can
make a statement. "Sorry for my rudeness". This phrase is used to mark the
end of a conversation. Usually, both speakers repeat the phrase several times
before actually cutting off the conversation, so all that is said in the last
second is sure to be heard. However, it is better if the customer or partner
leaves the conversation first, it is up to them to end the conversation. This will
give them a feeling of being included in this conversation, and it will leave a
good impression the next time around. Another reason Japanese people often
don't end a conversation first is because people don't want to be overheard and
reveal the inner workings of their company to non-members. a few words.
Also, if you start talking to someone right away without hanging up, the
person on the other end may think you're trying to end the current
conversation as soon as possible to benefit the other person. , this is impolite.
Therefore, to avoid ending the call too abrupt and disrespectful to the
customer, (because this makes the caller feel uncomfortable or frustrated) the
person who ends the call often signals to the other party that the call is broken.
The story is about to end with polite words. Useful phrases to end calls
include "Thank you for calling," "I appreciate your call."

Not only Japan has a culture of calling for work, Vietnam has 53% of the
population owning smartphones, ranking 25th out of 39 countries with the
highest percentage of people owning smartphones in the world and first in
Southeast Asia. Despite having a smartphone-owning population that is 59%
lower than the global average, Vietnam is one of the countries with the

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highest growth rate in smartphone users in the world. Some phone

communication skills in Vietnamese companies are also very similar to those
in Japan. Most companies tend to work politely when communicating over the
phone. However, it can be seen that the culture of using the phone has not
been fully applied, in some companies the calling is still very indiscriminate,
they do not care about honorifics, call time, and they can answer the phone at
any time even in the meeting room or there are customers there. Therefore,
the combination of learning the cultures of other countries will help us a lot,
because it will help us get good impressions at work and create
professionalism. Or we can learn these good cultures to apply for a job in a
foreign company.

3. The Japanese implication: Learning to increase future employment

opportunities.

Mobile phones make every field of business much more optimized and
convenient. Many sources of information indicate that business calls dominate
the search and exchange with customers and partners. As one of the most
popular forms of customer care, telephone customer service is not only
convenient and fast, but also highly effective. However, this form of customer
care requires employees to have good telephone skills. Many statistics show
that the cost of a business to get new customers is many times higher than to
keep old customers and using the phone well will help keep customers loyal
to them. Therefore, in order to help future work develop well, we need to
learn a lot about "Telephone etiquette for business calls". Because we will
know that in the future there will be a lot of us communicating via phone, not
only that, if you want to be recruited into a foreign company, polite
communication etiquette including cell phone you need to firmly grasp. Japan
is said to be one of the countries with extremely good culture, so learning
about Japanese cell phone etiquette will help your business get good deals
over the phone, I'm sure everyone will recommend that person to their friends
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and relatives…. But for those annoying phone calls for marketing, advertising
... will be an "obsession" for many people. To make a good impression on
business calls with customers, the most important thing is always be
courteous and patient in dealing . The fact that we can build a professional
image is a necessity for the work, and we will be trusted by many partners and
customers. After learning about Japanese business phone etiquette, we can
draw conclusions and apply them to future work by following these steps:

Step 1: Say hello to customers as soon as you pick up the phone

Step 2: Confirm customer information

Step 3: Listen and confirm the customer's problem

Step 4: Offer solutions for customers to choose

Step 5: Support to solve problems for customers (if any)

Step 6: Say goodbye to the customer (better let the customer end the
conversation)

III. CONCLUSION

With the largest economy in Asia and the second in the world, Japan is a
potential market for Vietnamese businesses. Communication skills, making
phone calls when working at Japanese companies are very important and
necessary to help you maintain and build relationships and increase work
efficiency. Therefore, understanding the consumption and business
characteristics of Japanese people will help Vietnamese businesses to
communicate and do business successfully with them. In addition, it also
helps young people who are planning to work in Japanese companies. In this
lesson, your reference will likely have two types of communication problems:
conduct problems and business calling etiquette. It is important for all

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references to be prepared to face both types of communication problems at

work. Problems can be solved quickly if you try to anticipate the types of
things that might happen, and checking your technical equipment before
starting work will help you get the job done better. Problems communicating
with others can be handled by being prepared for interruptions, knowing how
to interrupt, asking clearly when necessary, and being able to answer
questions about your presentation. Build yourself a professional way of
working, always confident and complete your work well in the future.

REFERENCES

[1] JR Pass. (2019). A guide to Japanese etiquette. Retrieved from

https://www.jrpass.com/blog/a-guide-to-japanese-etiquette

[2] Basic rules of “answering the phone” in Japanese businesses. Retrieved

(2020). from https://jnavi.yoiwork.com/en/japenesebuisnessmanner2-basic-en/

[3]Collaborative content: PASONA TECH VIETNAM/ Illustration: Lang Vi/

Cover photo: Martin CathraeDec 21, 2017.'' Confidently communicate over the
phone''. Retrieved from: https://kilala.vn/cong-ty- japan

[4]Sugimoto, Y. (2021). An Introduction to Japanese Society (5th ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[5]Miura, A. (1990). Greetings and other set phrases. In O. Kamada & W. M.

Jacobson, (eds.), On Japanese and how to teach it. Tokyo:The Japan Times.3-
23.

[6]Tanaka, N. (1982). Wakare no gengokoudo yoshiki. [Speech behavior

patterns of parting]. Gengoseikatsu, 363, 38-46.

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[7]Kumatoridani, T. (1992). Denwakaiwa no kaishi to shuketsu ni okeru "hai"

to "moshimoshi" to "."ja" no denwabunseki. [Discourse analysis of "yes,"
"hello" and "well then" in the opening and closing of telephone conversation].
Nihongogaku IJapanese Language Studies), 11, 14-25.

APPENDICES
OUTLINE FOR ETIQUETTE & GOOD MANNERS

I. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................2
1. Background...............................................................................................................2
2. Reasons to choose the topic......................................................................................2
II. BODY.......................................................................................................................3
1. Definitions & Characteristics of the components.....................................................3
i. Definition of Telephone Etiquette for Business Calls................................3

ii. Characteristics of business calls in Japan..................................................3

iii. Telephone communication rules in Japan..............................................4

2. Etiquette in calling culture and manners in communication of Japanese

businesses................................................................................................................5
3. The Japanese implication: Learning to increase future employment
opportunities................................................................................................................8
III. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................10
REFERENCES............................................................................................................10

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