1 It means peace and harmony; calmness, a reconciling of conflict. This concept pervades all relationships: family, business, government, and employee-employer. In business it is best seen in the consensus form of decision making. Anything that breaks the harmony of a relationship is terribly wrong. Negativism is bad, which explains why the Japanese have such a difficult time saying no in almost any circumstance. Furthermore, a lack of impoliteness is a form of discord and therefore shunned. Japanese strive for total professionalism in whatever they do. All tasks are taken seriously and normally are done with careful dedication. Employees at all levels are expected to seek perfection. This is true even in lower grade positions. The general rule is that there is only one way of doing a job properly and it will be followed. Zen Buddhism encourages this view, seeing the world in terms or either right or wrong. A person should not be wishy-washy and fudge things, but do things properly. If a foreigner does something the right way they might see it, but if the foreigner does it the wrong way you can guarantee that they will notice it at once. In Japan, training and education are highly valued, as is the quest for professionalism and perfection. Training and retaining of workers is a constant feature of many Japanese firms.
Saruta, M. (2006). The Toyota Way and Labour Management. Asian Business Management, 5(4), 487-506. Retrieved from Liberty University Library Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.abm.9200198
2 The Japanese people usually regard their culture as unique, but it is surprisingly eclectic and open to outside influences. The written language came from China and the Buddhist religion from KoreaAlthough less than 1% of the population is Christian, Christian lifestyles, moral codes, and ethics have become part of Japanese life.