Cultural Differences Underlies in American―Japan Corporation.docVIP

Cultural Differences Underlies in American―Japan Corporation Cultural shocks are easily found in multinational companies. MNEs nowadays are confronted with various cultural differences which， undeniably， are detrimental to corporate development. Thus， it’s necessary to conduct an analysis of cultural differences. Hence， this paper selects a representative example to identify the cultural differences underlies in American-Japan corporate. This case setting in the joint venture of Health Snacks and Toka Foods relates to many intercultural business communications. To analyze the cultural factors underlying this issue， let’s turn to those ample examples. A.Cultural Values： a）Collectivism： Mr. Ota has worked for 20 years in Toka Foods， and his position are made by the board of the company. However， Cater came to Health Snacks 9 months ago. b）Power distance： the leader in Japan environment should have an appropriate stature and seniority to represent the company well. Japan has high power distance， which determines seniority is superior to ability. c）Uncertainty avoidance： high uncertainty avoidance makes Japanese to resist making change and following many protocols. However， America is a low uncertainty avoidance country. Americans regard change as advancement. d）Science and technology： Health Snacks is the leader of adaption to the new technology and has many patents. B.Business Negotiations： the negotiation had been very difficult between the two companies. The Japanese is very slow and deliberate in their approach in the negotiation. C.Leadership： Carter thinks Toka should consider one’s ability as for the position arrangement. However， Mr. Sony thinks it’s proper to arrange Ota to be the president as he is senior than others. D.Verbal and non-verbal communications： Carter thought it was ineffective to negotiate indirectly， he decided to change into face-to-face encounters. Mr. Sony thought it was losing face and he didn’t be well prepared for the confrontation. Japan