>> Let's review what we have learned in this course about Japan.

First we will review the cultural dimensions as presented by Hofstede, Trompenaars,

and Meyer.
Then we will review in more detail how people in Japan tend to communicate, promote
trust,
lead others and resolve conflict.
Let's start with cultural dimensions.
Although Japan is very hierarchical,
it's a consensual society where decisions are often made by the group in a bottom-
up manner.
That means decisions take longer, as input from everyone is gathered before
decisions are made.
Top management will decide which group of people to delegate a task to,
after which the group will come up with a solution to the problem.
Trust is based heavily on relationships
and interpersonal experiences and less on work collaboration.
While Japanese culture is extremely respectful of its elders and is comfortable
with the distanced relationship between managers and employees,
it is still a somewhat collectivistic society.
In the business world, groups must come together
to make a collective decision before resolving a problem.
Japanese culture is one of the most masculine cultures and is driven
by the need for success and competition.
Success is defined by who is the best at a task.
There is a high degree of gender differentiation in society and the workplace.
The Japanese are not comfortable with unpredictable or ambiguous situations and
prefer
to have context and background information when it comes to business negotiations.
Business deals always start with relationship building.
Detailed planning and briefings are very important to mitigate uncertainty.
With a high long term orientation, the Japanese culture is pragmatic in mindset,
encourages thriftiness, and emphasizes education to prepare for the future.
Truth also depends on time, context, and situation.
The Japanese avoid confrontation at all costs.
Public disagreement is viewed as rude.
If dissent is present, it must be done privately and diplomatically.
Scheduling and time in Japan are very linear and sequential.
People follow a strict schedule and do not generally deviate from fixed time plans.
Team members prefer to build plans and stick to them.
They are organized and on time.
Now let's review what we learned about communication and trust.
Japan has a high-context culture in which it is expected
to have nuanced and sophisticated conversations.
It is more common to read between the lines and leave things open to
interpretation.
When working with Japanese team members, keep in mind that consensual cultures and
cultures
that prefer indirect feedback will spend time listening
to others' needs before driving direction.
Keeping direct unfiltered feedback
in check is prefered.
High uncertainty avoidance tends to project rigidity
and judging can be met with hurt feelings.
Pay close attention to connecting to people over time
and carefully strengthening your relationship.
This is a natural way to influence.
Verbal recognition is rare in Japanese culture.
Japanese colleagues value nonverbal recognition such as being given more
responsibility, gifts,
or introduction to important people.
Simple, fact-based, and personal recognition is prefered.
Working hard is considered normal in Japan and results can always improve.
Being assigned challenging work is likely to create pride
and be considered a recognition in itself.
Demonstrating benevolent intentions and capability to fulfill promises is valued.
Forming and maintaining connections that increase the network is highly prized.
High context and patient relationships are prefered.
Let's review what we know about leadership in Japan.
The Japanese are synchronized leaders
who are valued for their prudent and linear actions, their ability to seek
consensus,
and securing the proper authorizations when making decisions.
Because this requires a considerable amount of time, once decisions are reached
in an organized manner and with everyone on board,
there is a significant urgency to implement the decision.
They can also act as diplomatic leaders, who are valued for their nuanced
and sophisticated communication skills,
and their ability to keep business conversations pleasant, and feedback
constructive and caring.
Direct feedback and open debate can create bad feelings and is avoided.
Such leaders are expected to "read the air" very carefully and adjust their
behavior accordingly.
According to the GLOBE study, desirable leaders in Japan are somewhat visionary and
decisive,
develop strong teams, and use their administrative skills
to create cohesion and remove obstacles.
Engaging in status-conscious, face-saving, and self-protective behaviors is more
tolerated
than in almost all other cultures.
Now let's review what we learned about conflict management and coaching.
In Japan, sensitive conversations require indirect communication
to avoid damaging a relationship or causing someone to lose face.
Directly stating a problem is regarded as ungraceful, immature, and untrustworthy.
The message is made of many layers, including facial expressions, emotional
presence,
organizational context, and unspoken meanings.
Formality in Japan is very important as it shows a high context value for rank,
effort, seriousness, and respect.
This can be misleading to less formal cultures who can mistake the degree of
politeness
as a sign that all is going well, or the complete opposite,
that the situation is more serious than it really is.
While in their personal life Japanese people prefer the compromising style,
when solving business conflict they lean towards the competing style.
Their polite and patient approach is used to maintain harmony and should not be
mistaken
as a lack of assertiveness or conflict avoidance.
Japanese business people prefer an active conflict resolution style
when confronting task conflict, and a more passive stance for relationship
conflict.
Skilled negotiators, they will also carefully look for outcomes
where concessions made now can be used later as currency, where their obligations
are minimized
and can be fulfilled in a flexible manner.
A Japanese coach will likely never give negative feedback in public.
When coaching Japanese team members, emphasis should be placed on significant
practice
and confirmation of each skill level before moving on to the next one.
The Directing technique of conflict management works well especially if there is
strong focus
on the group, although coaches from other culture should stay tuned to the fact
that direction will never be challenged in front of the group.
When using the Empowering technique, attention should be paid to pointing
out that the team member is ready because the previous level has been reached,
and not to single out specific individuals too strongly.
Finally, let's remember that there's a lot more to understanding this culture
than what can fit in such a short video.
We hope that this will get you started on doing more research
and building your cultural intelligence.