Nemawashi

Understanding Japanese business culture

Outcomes

By the end of this programme, delegates will:

• Be more aware of their own cultural preconceptions and assumptions
• Have a deeper understanding of Japanese business culture: what motivates the typical Japanese businessman and how best to influence him
• Be aware of parameters of good practice in cross-cultural communication and be in a position to modify their own style accordingly

The Programme

Every programme is unique and based on pre-course questionnaires. However, the typical outline is:

Know Thyself: a brief look at the delegates' own cultural pre-conceptions and assumptions - an important first step in the learning process

The Japanese Manager: an interactive briefing focusing on those areas of Japanese business culture of particular relevance: we will develop a model which permits us speedily to examine why Japan is the way it is. It includes:

• Japanese attitudes to life, time, truth, morality, family, the outside world and, importantly, to work and business life
• Company structures and hierarchies: the new tensions
• Decision-making - nemawashi: the Japanese consensus-building mechanism
• Japanese attitudes to the client and to customer service; to contracts and the law
• The importance of the social dimension in business

From Theory to Practice: the real-time issues: should we modify our natural business style to harmonise more successfully with the typical Japanese approach? If so, how? A brief discussion to challenge participants to consider how their own behavioural change might bring greater success in their dealings with Japan

Q/A: a final session to clear up remaining questions