Japanese Business Etiquette for Emily

This assignment focuses on providing guidance to Emily, who is preparing to meet with a Japanese client. It delves into key points of Japanese business etiquette to ensure Emily has the necessary knowledge for a successful meeting. The document emphasizes strategies for effective cross-cultural communication, highlighting proactive approaches and the importance of managing cultural perceptions and sensitivities.

Communication in Business

Business communication is being termed as an information which is shared among
people who are within or outside of an enterprise and is performed because of the organisation's
commercial benefit (Welch, 2011). It is very necessary to have a proper business communication
so as to make effective dealing with other firms in order to make growth. Communication is
being used in order to make promotion of services, organisation or product with the aim to
increase sales. In the communication of business, message get transferred by distinct channels
like word of mouth, internet, radio, television, publication etc. It is required to exchange options,
opinions, proposals and plans, reaching agreement and conducting sales.
As per the summary of case; it is described that Emily, a native of Australia always had
an interest in making food and thought to make career in it, as her parents were also chefs and
always keen to make experiments with several new recipes. As Emily grow up in the life of
loving food, she got inspired to begin small business which will manufacture various flavours.
Today, she is the owner of 'The Aromatic Condiment Shop' (Sharp and Brumberger 2013). She
has guaranteed to use organic ingredients instead of preservatives in her products.
Emily, now wants to make expansion of her business in Japan, as she believes that she
will achieve success with her products, which involves jams, pastes, chutney and chilli sauces.
She thinks in order to extend business, she must fly to Japan to have a meeting with Mr.
Hamasaki (55 year old man), manager of popular store. Now there is one problem with Emily is
that she is not having knowledge to conduct trade with Japanese, particularly how to make a start
in first meeting (Schoop, Köhne,and Ostertag, 2010). So, to help Emily, Japanese business
etiquettes with suitable course of action is planned herewith.
In exercise, business etiquettes of Japanese are not much different – good manners,
politeness and sensitivity are considered as pillars of it just like business etiquettes in US and
Europe. The major difference is that the trade rule of Japanese are very formal – so at a very first
meeting Emily must have a knowledge to exchange business card of Japanese which is nearly
ritualistic.
There are also various aspects in regards with business etiquettes of Japanese, for
instance attire of business, which is very much traditional in comparison with trade in Europe
and US. The main key issue with Emily is in relation with initial meeting with Mr. Hamasaki.
She has to keep some key aspects in mind before having first meeting, these features are defined
as follows:

Japanese business cards:
◦ Business cards of Japanese are must have in their business etiquettes. If Emily is
making a trip of 1 week then she must carry at least 100 and must give 3-4 cards in
small meet ups and 10-12 in large meetings. Card must be double sided with both
English and Japanese.
◦ Never lob, push, throw or flick Japanese business card on the table. Must give card
by holding it with both the hands.
◦ Must not write any kind of note on business card and should carry a note book do so.
Business attire:
◦ Men – Must wear dark colour suit either black or navy with white shirt and Tie from
October-April and grey suit in the months of May to September. Never wear black
suit with white shirt and black tie as this is funeral dress. Hairstyle must be short and
well groomed and no beard should be there (Schaper and et.al., 2014).
◦ Women – It is being recommended to have short (back tied) hair, long skirt suit or
trouser suit as per seasonal colours. Japanese women are very fashionable and are
brand conscious. Many companies of Japan does not allow female to wear short
skirts, jewellery and heels so Emily must take care of her attire.
Business meetings:
◦ Always ask for confirmation by calling 1-2 hours prior scheduled meeting.
◦ If a person is getting late because of some reason then must inform to reschedule the
meeting.
◦ Always reach 10 minutes before meeting.
◦ Properly plan meeting agenda by including all the necessary points.
◦ It is suggested to carry lot of notes as this shows that a person is very much interested
in making dealing (Hynes, 2012).
◦ If there is a requirement of non-disclosure signed agreement then send it in advance
before meeting could take place.
Personal habits:
◦ Never blow nose in public areas.
◦ Do not pat on shoulder or back of Japanese man.

◦ Must not grab a hand of host in the first meeting and there should be formal
handshake.
◦ Always carry a smile, show that you are willing to learn, ask as many questions as
you can and be pleasant.
◦ Always carry Japanese Business card.
Emily can make use of various things so as to give good first impression while having
meeting with Mr. Hamasaki.
Greeting and introduction: It is the most complicated and toughest challenge. In Japan
greeting starts with bowing, and in return you should also do same with straight back and clasped
hand in front (Guffey and Loewy, 2010).
Silence: In setting of business, silence is valued most over talking. A formal and
introverted approach at the starting of business relationship is considered as good.
Group commonness is predominant: Culture of Japan is group oriented; and hence
group solidarity is preferred over individualism. Emily must remember that the concept of team
is very significant for Japanese.
Age equals Seniority: As Mr. Hamasaki is a 55 year old person so he must be treated
with the well-marked respect than younger ones in a team.
Do not make use of hard sell: Do not make use of hard-sell approach instead make use
of persuasive and gentle presentation. Must do preparation on points of agreement and should
not drive hard on deadlines and decisions.
Privacy: People of Japan are reserved and private so there should not be any kind of
personal question in starting of the deal.
Gift: Exchange of business gift is very significant tradition in Japan particularly in the
very first meeting. Flowers as a gift must be avoided as they are used for funeral (Griffin, and et.
al., 2010).
In today’s world, Cross cultural communication is very important for a business which is
having different plans as well as workforce for conducting global business. This sort of
communication gives an understanding regarding how employees who are from distinct culture
perceive, speak and communicate around them. In such communication, the company deals with
distinct communication strategies, beliefs and customs. Power distance, non-verbal difference,
high context vs. low context cultures and difference in language are some of the main factors

which can impact cross cultural communication. There are some of the ways that a deficiency in
understanding of culture will make barrier for the success of business (Decarie, 2010). High Vs. low context culture: This concept is in relation with how upbringing,
thoughts, feelings and opinions of employee's impact how they behave in a given
culture. Western Europe and North America are basically considered as low context
cultures, which means that trades in such places are having individualistic, direct
employees who wants to make decision made on facts. Cultures of high-context are
opposite in which there is importance of trust in business dealings. Hofstede model in
such situation will assist in gaining knowledge in regards with differences which are
there among countries due to cross cultural miscommunication. Non-verbal differences: Eye contact and gestures are the two main factors of the non-
verbal communication which are used distinctly in different cultures. Utmost gestures
are being reasoned as rude in several cultures. Eye contact is another non-verbal
communication form. It is termed as good thing and is considered as the reflection of
straightforwardness and honesty. In Middle Eastern and Asian culture eye contact is
seen as aggressive or rude in various situations. Women must avoid it, as hold-up eye
contact is sometimes seen as a symbol of sexual interest.
 Language difference: The main problem and issue dealing with communication of
cross cultural is difficulty which is there because of language barriers. For instance,
Emily does not make communication in Japanese and is concerned with her ability to
make communication in effective manner with Mr. Hamasaki. She can make use of
some strategies for necessary communication, she can explain herself with facial
expression, emotions and non-verbal clues. Can also make use of drawings and may ask
for the interpreter. Companies who wants to make cross cultural dealings, hire such
employees who are having proficiency in other languages. In this kind of situation,
GLOBAL model of cross cultural miscommunication can be used which helps in
exploring the complex as well as fascinating effects of culture which is there on
leadership and economic competitiveness of society. This model will support in
knowing about language dimensions which are faced due to cross culture business
dealings. (Conrad and Newberry, 2012).

From the study presented herewith, it can be concluded from the report that business
communication plays a vital role in the making various deals in cross culture. Emily can make
use of various techniques so as to make trade setting with the client of Japan. There is the proper
explanation of Japanese Business Etiquettes which will assist her in knowing about key points of
Japan business meetings.
Different strategies can be recommended to Emily for effective business communication
with Japanese client. It is suggested there must be proactive communication during cross cultural
dealing and should deflect reactive communication. There should be proper management of pre-
existing perceptions of culture, avoid conflict and cultural sensitivities must be understood, more
use of nonverbal communication there must be increase in self-awareness. Emily should plan
her meeting agenda well in advance and take care every minute business etiquettes.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bovee, C.L., 2010. Business Communication Today, 10/e. Pearson Education India.
Conrad, D. and Newberry, R., 2012. Identification and instruction of important business
communication skills for graduate business education. Journal of Education for
Business.87 (2). Pp .112-120.
Decarie, C., 2010. Facebook: Challenges and opportunities for business communication students.
Business Communication Quarterly.73 (4). Pp .449-452.
Griffin, E.A., and et. al., 2010. A First Look at Communication Theory, Em Griffin. Details:
Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2009.Pp.230-265.
Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2010. Business communication: Process and product. Cengage
Learning.
Hynes, G.E., 2012. Improving employees’ interpersonal communication competencies: A
qualitative study. Business communication quarterly. 75(4). pp .466-475.
Schaper, M.T and et.al, 2014. Entrepreneurship and small business.
Schoop, M., Köhne, F. and Ostertag, K., 2010. Communication quality in business negotiations.
Group Decision and Negotiation.19 (2). Pp .193-209.
Sharp, M.R. and Brumberger, E.R., 2013. Business communication curricula today: Revisiting
the top 50 undergraduate business schools. Business Communication Quarterly. 76(1).
pp .5-27.
Welch, M., 2011. The evolution of the employee engagement concept: communication
implications. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. 16(4). pp .328-
346.
Online
Communicating effectively for business, 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/marketing-sales/managing-
relationships/communicating-effectively>. [Accessed on 12th August 2017].