A handy, practical manual for understanding cultural differences from a business perspective.
An exploration of the unique aspects of the Japanese business world.
Western executives who attempt to do business in Japan without reading this excellent guidebook do so at their own risk. This updated edition of a 2005 work comprises just five chapters, but each comprehensively covers its subject, helpfully segmenting the material into small, digestible chunks. The first chapter’s general description of Japanese culture demonstrates an intimate understanding of the country’s hierarchical society and the importance that its citizens place on work. Chapter 2, “Japanese Social Etiquette,” should prove a vital safety net for any foreign businessperson, offering helpful pointers about such basics as bowing and presenting business cards. Just as importantly, Takei (Sociology/Nihon Univ.) and Alston (co-author: Flock of Dodos, 2007, etc.), a professor emeritus of sociology at Texas A&M University, provide insider information about Japanese etiquette regarding eating and drinking, including common courtesies that differ from American conventions. They even show how to craft an email properly: “the normal U.S. American way of writing emails will be interpreted by Japanese as too direct, impersonal, and even unfriendly.” Readers will likely find the book’s third and fourth chapters to be particularly useful, as they deal with “Work in Japan” and “Negotiations.” The former contains insightful information about how decisions are made and meetings are run: “From the Japanese perspective, there is never an acceptable excuse allowing a participant to show anger or lose his temper. Meetings are also not the places to argue vehemently.” The latter chapter offers on-target advice on how to negotiate with Japanese businessmen, warning that a failure of negotiations is “primarily the result of cultural misunderstandings rather than a lack of attractive economic offers.” It bears mentioning that the text is occasionally a bit repetitive, and the final chapter may have a more limited audience, as it concerns working directly for Japanese executives. After each chapter, the authors suggest additional readings, and an aptly titled “Glossary of Useful Words” explains the complexity of several Japanese terms.
A handy, practical manual for understanding cultural differences from a business perspective.Pub Date: May 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5320-4818-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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