Cross Cultural Business Case Study

Due to the process of globalization the world is becoming increasingly similar and turning into a single system with similar characteristic which means more opportunities for businesses to operate on the global market and for managers to rethink the basic objectives of how their firms are operating. Therefore, to be successful in business sphere globally managers need to have a deep and sensitive understanding of culture itself, people’s attitude and behavior to different cultural aspects in focus. The lack of knowledge of the culture can cause difficulties and misunderstanding, which can lead to negative influence on the business development. This essay will discuss cultural considerations in cross-cultural business and the potential issues …show more content…
Moreover, a small mistake in negotiations may lead to a failure, because of the omission of the one of the aspects of the culture. For example, a few main differences are outlined below. Firstly, Japanese business people tend to dress conservatively in a blue or grey suit with white shirt and dark tie. While, Americans do not pay much attention to the appearance. Secondly, in Japan if the age is not appropriate for the occupied position the businessmen can make the assumption that he or she is extremely talented and skilled to having a high position at such young age. In contrast, Americans do not pay attention to the age of the businessman but are mostly interested in the a company itself. Lastly, the most important distinction is the attitude toward money and profits in modern business. The last thing Japanese people will discuss is the price. If the Japanese client begins to ask questions about the costs, it means a serious interest in the proposal …show more content…
According to the theory, Japan relates to the high-context culture as it relies on external message. The high-context participant focuses more on listening and observing, valuing more what happens around him or her rather than focusing on the word meaning itself. Also, in high-context culture people pay significant attention to the body language and closeness. Japanese typically use a polychronic perception of time, for example people tend to focus more on what they are doing rather than the time itself. One of the advantages of high-context culture is a strong feeling of the group, although it is hard to make any changes. United States relates to low-context culture, which is apparently the opposite. A participant listens more for the word meaning than for the context. Americans are people of action. People respect their personal space and others’ privacy. Americans use a monochronic perception of time. Time is very valuable for Americans and they aim to have highly-organized schedulers. One of the advantages of this system is flexibility that, in turn, allows to apply changes easily. However, there is less human trust and people are separated from each