...BUSI604: International Business Global Cultural Analysis: Japan Liberty University June 24, 2013 Abstract This paper provided an opportunity to take a deeper look into the country of Japan by conducting a Global Cultural Analysis. Throughout this paper the following four research areas were explored: 1.What is the major elements and dimensions of culture in Japan? 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in Japan? 3. How does U.S. culture and business compare with the elements and dimensions of culture integrated by the locals conducting business in Japan? 4. What are the implications for U.S. businesses that wish to conduct business with Japan? Japan has the third largest economy in the world. Having one of the largest economies comes with many rewards as well as challenges. Japan’s main reason for success is their culture. “Japan’s culture stems first from bushido, an ancient code that exalts loyalty to one’s superiors” (Emery, 2001, para.1). Japan has also been successful in part because of their superlative electronic and Information Technology industries as well as a very strong automotive industry. Imports and exports have been in instrumental in Japan’s success. “Japan is the 5th largest importer and exporter in the world,” (Japan Export, & Trade, 2013, para.1). Despite Japan’s prominent position, they have been experiencing major financial issues just like the rest of the world. Japan’s...
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...transmitted to generations and generations thereafter. I chose Japan because they appear distinctly different in business interactions than the United States, and as an accounting major, I have an interest in how various cultural traits may or may not determine a way a country conducts business in the global community. My research will include analysis of various dimensions of culture to include: communication, religion, ethics, values and attitudes, manners, customs, structures and organizations within Japan’s culture, and education. The analysis should reveal how the elements and dimensions of culture influence businesses conducted with locals of the region; how do the elements and dimensions as well as the local business interaction compare to the United States’ culture and local businesses; and, implications for United States’ businesses who wish to conduct business in Japan. Although the fore mentioned are the basis of the cultural analysis, I hope to unfold how past/ current political constraints limits Japan’s maturity within the global community, for example, the limitations imposed by the signing of Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Over fifty years ago, Japan and the United States signed the “Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security,” to assist in the containment of Communism that was overtaking the Asian community. The cooperation between the two countries is still strong, and with Japan being the third largest economy, how does this treaty limit its...
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...Case Study Analysis: Case 10-2 La Jolla Software, Inc. Kenneth Schiff BUS 600: Management Communication with Technology Tools Professor Sherrie Lewis 12/ 12/2011 Case Study Analysis: Case 10-2 La Jolla Software, Inc LaJolla Software recently received a fax from Masahiro Fudaba, a senior Vice President of Ichi Ban Heavy Industries in Japan. For several months LaJolla Software Inc. executives were targeting several Japanese firms for a joint venture that would permit the company to distribute its famous "S-4" supply chain management software in Japan and, perhaps, throughout much of Asia (O'Rourke, 2010, p. 293). The fax explained that the multiple stakeholders of Ichi Ban have an interest in a joint venture with La Jolla Software Inc. However, before proceeding, Ichi Ban will send Kazushi Yakura and a team of eight managers from Ichi Ban to visit LaJolla. While Yakura will leave in a few days, the team of eight managers will remain in the United States until we have reached an agreement. We have limited information regarding our visitors; age, education, prior work experience, and job titles is all we know. We do not know how long the transition team will be in the United States, because we do not know how long it will take to reach an agreement. We do not know how much English, if any, they know, or if they will have a translator. Since we don't have access to this information our ability to maintain cultural sensitivity (O'Rourke...
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...case in relation to the recruitment and selection processes followed by the company. How effective have the firm’s processes been? The HR department of Kline & Associates was clearly neglectful in many aspects on the assignment of Fred Bailey moving to Japan. The way this whole recruitment process occurred was not well managed from the beginning, since the opportunity appeared because the person managing Japan had been promoted, so Fred would just take his place. That is the first evidence that shows why things where not working. The company should have been involved in the selection and training process for the expatriate in advance. Fred did not know many basic differences between these two cultures, and lacked the knowledge to handle it, therefore, he committed many mistakes with wrong assumptions. Somehow he thought that United States should not be very different from Japan, he was in charge of 7 Americans and 33 Japanese, and thought people had the same motivations, so he could apply the same strategies and behaviours when conducting business. As shown in the case, the company did not provide him with the appropriate training that an expat should have to take the position on managing director. HR should contain cultural awareness programs, preliminary visits, job training, practical assistance and language training (Dowling, Festing & Engle 2013). The human resource managers must have training programs before an expat is sent to his assignment. What often happens is that...
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...Global Financial Management FIN630 AIU Abstract This paper will have a comparative analysis of starting operations on establishing a Greenfield production facility overseas. This comparative analysis will include the countries’ currencies, trade policies, culture, and a recommendation with a supporting rational for the country selected. Global Financial Management Introduction Acme, a U.S. multinational enterprise, is planning the stages of establishing a Greenfield production facility overseas. Acme is expanding its international program. The two selected foreign countries for which the steering committee has proposed to start operations in are Germany and Japan. A comparative analysis between the two counties will include the currency of each country, trade policies, and cultural variables that can affect the operations and profitability of the production facility. This paper is meant to discuss which of the two countries are recommended to begin the production facility in. Germany Germany, a federal republic, has the largest population of all the European Union, or EU. Germany has the world’s third largest economy, and it produces automobiles, engineering products, electronic equipment, communications equipment, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The most widely spoken language in the EU is German (Germany, Europa, 2013). Currency / Trade Because Germany is a part of the EU, its currency is the euro. Germany has relatively few non-tariff barriers...
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...STUDENT ID: 13000357 | ER3S72 | GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT REPORT ELECDYNE | | PROFESSOR JOHN DAVIDSON | JANUARY 2014Abstract This report is meant for Japanese SME Elecdyne and by the use of analytical frameworks to analyse the internal and external business environment of the electronic industry, aims to provide Elecdyne with and conclude the most suitable country to internationalize in. The later part of the report will cover the different types of FDI and through critical evaluation, the most suitable type of FDI will be decided on. In this report, academic references are used to provide a basic understanding of internationalization and the purpose of analytical frameworks such as the STEEP analysis, the SWOT analysis as well as the PEST analysis. Abstract This report is meant for Japanese SME Elecdyne and by the use of analytical frameworks to analyse the internal and external business environment of the electronic industry, aims to provide Elecdyne with and conclude the most suitable country to internationalize in. The later part of the report will cover the different types of FDI and through critical evaluation, the most suitable type of FDI will be decided on. In this report, academic references are used to provide a basic understanding of internationalization and the purpose of analytical frameworks such as the STEEP analysis, the SWOT analysis as well as the PEST analysis. Key words: internationalization, STEEP, SWOT, PESTAL, electronics industry,...
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...Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior Brad Lytle PSY/322 March 12, 2012 Chawn Williams Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior When a company makes the decision to market their product or service to multiple cultures, they must be very aware of the intricacies and differences between each of the cultures. While some customs or traits associated with a particular culture are very overt or obvious, others may not be. Detailed analysis must be done to ensure that all of these traits have been considered. Failure to do so could result in a lack of profits at best and a negative hit to a brand name at worst. Two case studies give examples of companies attempting to market and sell their products and services in new cultures. Case One: Japan to Apple’s iPhone: “No Thanks!” When Apple unveiled its much anticipated iPhone to the United States the response was overwhelming. The iPhone broke new ground in smartphone technology with its touch display, 3G data network capability and internet-based applications and utilities. Apple enjoyed huge sales and revenue in the United States. Similar success was enjoyed when the iPhone was released in other countries around the world as well. Overall, the feedback was very positive. So when it came time to release the iPhone in Japan, analysts estimated a million sales. Revised estimates after the release, however, were a staggering 50% lower at 500,000 units sold. There was initially much confusion as to why actual sales were so much lower...
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...Case Study Analysis PSY/322 Monday February 24, 2014 Mary-Lynne Ament Case Study Analysis Consumer behavior determines how and why a person makes a purchasing decision. Marketers try to understand this behavior so that they can adjust their marketing strategies to increase their brand loyalty and profit. There are social, cultural and psychological factors that influence these behaviors. Some social factors include lifestyle, personality, family, peers, and life roles. The psychological element includes attitude, perceptions, beliefs and motivation. Some cultural factors include basic values, ideals and behavior. When a business is going to “go global”, they need to understand their target audience and interpret their buying behavior. Apple iPhone in Japan case study In 2008, Apple released the latest version of the iPhone. The release of the iPhone did well in most places except in Japan. Apple had estimated on selling a million units there but had later changed that estimate to 500,000. There consumer behavior in Japan was much different from the behaviors of other countries. These other markets were happy to welcome the new iPhone and all of its capabilities, but the people in Japan were not impressed. In the case study of Japan to Apple’s iPhone: “No Thanks”, there was a hard lesson learned by Apple. It is fair to say that they did not do their research on Japan and the need for the iPhone. First there is cultural opposition because Japanese have high, complex...
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...Cochlear is one of Australia’s most successful ‘born global’ companies. Choose one overseas market and discuss how macro-environmental factors (otherwise known as PEST – political/legal/regulatory; economic; social/cultural; and technological) would impact Cochlear’s global marketing mix. So far as we know Cochlear is one of Australia’s most successful ‘born global’ companies, with its core product of implantable hearing solutions. Still, it is unknown to the others how Cochlear works in Japan will. This research will be based on how the macro-environmental factors affect Cochlear’s global marketing mix. Cochlear can control their marketing mix, 4P based on the influence on uncontrollable factors like politics, economic, social, and technological. However, that’s not it there are more to covers when one doing global business. First of all, let’s look at the legal and political environment over Japan. Japan foreign policy practice a high security policy upon any risk they may face even for direct over sea investment or setting up firms in the country, every international company were put under an observation period before they can actually pull their profit from the country and take it elsewhere. (Suzuki, 2011) It is believe that, such precaution taken was to avoid disruptive activity to their financial environment, creating massive disturbance to local market. Therefore, in order to set up firm to operate their business in Japan, Cochlear have to get permission from the government...
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...Economic Stagnation: 2020 Tokyo Olympic, Establishment of Foreign Companies and Cultural Reform/Cultural Ramification Before Japan was globalized it was secluded from the rest of the world for nearly two centuries from1603 to 1868. This time period was called the Tokugawa Period. Even though Japan closed its ports to foreign trade, it was self sustainable and independent. This self sustainable society was maintained through its unique producer-consumer relationship and the "reuse recycle" practice in commerce due to the island's limited resources. Repair merchants such as tinker, ceramics repairers and truss hoop repairers supported a society where nothing was thrown away but instead carefully repaired and reused until the products were truly un-amendable. For example, tinkers used special techniques and charcoal heat to weld holes in pots and kettles with other metals; ceramic repairers glue broken ceramic pieces together with sticky rice and applied heat; paper makers buy used papers and blend them to make a variety of paper from writing paper to toilet paper (Staff). The Tokugawa Period served as a model of a flourishing sustainable society to the Japanese. After Japan was introduced to globalization during the Second World War, the nation benefited from becoming a export driven economy, business policies such as the lifetime employment policy promoted the efficiency of the company, and the cultural influences on business management such as respect for authority and reserved...
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...Comparative Criminal Justice Essay 1 The goal of comparative studies is to extend a person’s knowledge of people and cultures beyond his or her own groups. Some comparative scholars have a better understanding of their own society and of ways that society might be improved. When thinking about research in comparative justice, there are two questions that we should ask ourselves; what is it that we want to compare? What are the strategies of comparison or the perspectives of comparison? There are issues and problems that when comparing you have to deal with both internal and external to the system of criminal justice. There are multiple perspectives that are to be used: historical, systematic, relativistic, and cultural perspectives. First is the Historical perspective, which is the perspective of understanding the history and the evolution of criminal justice. Before the rise of the nation states in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most of the world societies were ruled for centuries by different monarchies, kingdoms, and colonial powers. China, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, all had some kind of historical or traditional law. As for China they were under a traditional law that demanded that any offender must confess and voluntarily surrender. But this somewhat changed when the Qing law was reinforced, this caused the obligations to change by making provisions for alternative sentencing for those who surrendered and by lengthening the limitations...
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...Product and Brand Management Ikea Assignment 1 Is Ikea a successful global brand? Why has it been successful? Ikea is a very successful global brand, not because it has 226 stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States with 410 million shoppers a year, not because other global brand like Wal-mart stumbled in Brazil, Germany and Japan but for Ikea’s unique cultural branding that merges the value and fashionable design to ensure the creation of an affordable contemporary household goods (not just the furniture with 5-10% sales in each country with Ikea stores) for the middle-class. This uniqueness of its corporate DNA is the main reason why the Ikea is so successful globally. The frugality of the founder of the Ikea with his desire to create “better life for many”, these two tenets are deeply embedded into Ikea’s corporate DNA. The frugality combining with the obsession with design forming a unique brand that became a global cult brand. As a global brand Ikea stands for 1) Unique household products with contemporary design, affordable prices that will inspire consumers 2) A gathering place the global tribes that are sensible in cost, design, and green environment. 3) Egalitarianism. The Ikea as a corporation is very flat, the executives performs first-line employees’ job in an “Anti-bureaucracy Week” 4) High Competitive. Constantly dropping the price (2-3% annually) to provide the best values for customers (consumers). What is the relationship between Ikea’s...
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...and Education Cross-Cultural Etiquette and Communication in Global Business: Toward a Strategic Framework for Managing Corporate Expansion Ephraim Okoro1 1 School of Business, Howard University, Washington, USA Correspondence: Ephraim A. Okoro, Department of Marketing, School of Business, Howard University, 2600–Sixth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20059, USA. Tel: 1-202-806-1545. E-mail: eaokoro@howard.edu Received: March 22, 2012 doi:10.5539/ijbm.v7n16p130 Abstract The expanding scope of business corporations in the first decade of the twenty-first century is drawing much scholarly attention, and the trend has been described as a fact of life that defies the stretch of human imagination. The concept of global economy has expanded consumer awareness, defined new standards and rules of operations, and increased the need for national and corporate interdependence. Multinational organizations are exploring opportunities around the world, demonstrating sensitivity towards cultural differences in order to gain from the proliferation and growth of international enterprise. Recent studies indicate that while some corporations compete successfully in the global marketplace, others have failed to sustain their competitive advantage because of cultural imperialism or inadequate acculturation of their managers on international assignment. Corporate analysts argued that the key to global business success depends on effective cross-cultural etiquette and global workforce diversity management...
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...Week 1 Case Analysis BUSN427: Global Issues in Business Summary The case analysis for week one was about a large company in Japan and the changing culture in which Japan has faced since the 1920’s. Panasonic was one of Japans largest and most sought after jobs in the 70’s and 80’s. Panasonic is a company that was known to take care of its employees as long as the employees were willing to take care of Panasonic by putting in the best effort they could for the company. Panasonic gave many perks to those who would work for Panasonic as a life time employee but soon came to realization that the culture in Japan during the 90’s was changing. Panasonic had to undergo many different structural changes to ensure the survival of the company during the global recession in 2009. Questions 1) Some of the cultural changes that were triggered in Japan during the 1990’s included a generation of employees that no longer wanted to work for a lifetime employment system. The generation saw that the culture around them was a much wealthier culture and they could make more money working for a company that didn’t have that lifetime employment system implemented. In the 90’s Japan was in an economic slump causing people to look for jobs that didn’t require them to work as a lifetime employee. The cultural change is affecting Japan and its traditional values today because people now understand that there is no guaranteed job. A company could be as strong as ever, but as soon as an economic...
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...Variations In Human Resource Management Based On Cultural Dimensions Tyrone Kelly Saint Leo University We recognize that we exist in a global economy. Advances in telecommunications and Internet technology have literally placed connectivity with the world at our fingertips. This evolution is a catalyst for people of various nations who would not ordinarily interact, to collaborate, work much closer, more intimately and more frequently than ever before. This is a very stimulating time, yet it is also challenging for Human Resource Management teams in administrations all over the world. Questions such as, what are the cultural business norms or taboos that one should be sensitive to, or how to interact in a business setting with someone of another culture will inevitably arise. Thus, learning the people, culture and work ethic of a host nation is just as important, if not more so than learning about its business, finance and engineering infrastructures. The requirements of developing strategies, organizing projects, and motivating individuals to achieve and maintain competitive advantage for joint ventures is essential. Just as important is the development of sincere relations with people from around the world. Understanding key element of cultural diversity will be critical in this endeavor. No matter where you are in the world, people expect to be treated with respect and honor when you are guests in their country. Attempts to change others to fit your paradigm, e.g....
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