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Review focus: Accountability, responsibility, Japan, management style, decision-making, management approaches, communication, working relationship
Asian Business Code Words Index NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine
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In Western countries there is almost always one person who has final authority and responsibility, and it is easy to identify this person. All you have to do is ask, "Who is in charge?" In Japanese companies, however, no one individual is in charge. Both authority and responsibility are dispersed among the managers as a group. The larger the company, the more people are involved. When there are mistakes or failures, Japanese management does not try to single out any individual to blame. They try to focus on the cause of the failing in an effort to find out why it happened. In this way, the employee who made the mistake does not lose face, and all concerned have an opportunity to learn a lesson. Highly placed Japanese executives advise that it is difficult to determine who has real authority and who makes final decisions in a Japanese company. Said a Sony director: "Even a top executive must consult his colleagues before he 'makes' a decision because he has become a high executive more by his seniority than his leadership ability. To keep harmony in his company he must act as a member of a family." Sony's co-founder Akio Morita adds that because of this factor, the traditional concept of promotion by seniority may not have much of a future in Japan. He agrees, however, that it is not something that can be changed in a short period of time. In approaching a Japanese company about a business matter, it is therefore almost always necessary to meet and talk with the heads of several sections and departments on different occasions. After having gone through this procedures, you may still not get a clear-cut response from anyone, particularly if the various managers you approached have not come to a favorable consensus among themselves. It is often left up to you to synthesize the individual responses you receive and draw your own conclusions. It is always important and often absolutely essential that outsiders (foreign or Japanese) starting a new business relationship with a Japanese company establish good rapport with each level of management in the company. Only by doing so can outsiders be sure that their side of the story and their needs and expectations will get across to all the necessary management levels. Earle Okumura, a Los Angeles-based consultant, and one of the few Americans who is bilingual and bicultural and has had extensive business experience in Japan, suggests the following approach to establishing lines of communication with a Japanese company when the project concerns the introduction of new technology to be used by the Japanese firm: Step I - Ask a director or the head of the Research and Development Department to introduce you to the kacho (section chief) who is going to be directly in charge of your project within the department. Take the time to develop a personal relationship with the kacho (such as eating and drinking with them) then ask them to tell you exactly what you should do, and how you should go about trying to achieve and maintain the best possible working relationship with the company. Step II - Ask the R&D kacho, with whom you now have a least the beginning of an amae relationship, to introduce you to the counterparts in the Production Department, Quality Control, and Sales Departments, etc., and go through the same get-acquainted process with each of them, telling them about yourself, your company, and your responsibilities. In all of these contacts, care must be taken not to pose any kind of threat or embarrassment to the different section managers. Step III - After you have established a good, working relationship with the various kacho concerned, thoroughly explained your side of the project, and gained an understanding of their thinking, responsibilities, and capabilities, the third step is to get an appointment with the managing director or president of the company for a relaxed, casual conversation about policies, how much you appreciate being able to work with the company, and the advantages that should accrue to both parties as a result of the joint venture. Do not, Okumura cautions, get involved in trying to pursue details of the project with the managing directors or presidents. They will most likely not be familiar with them and, in any event, will be more concerned about your reliability, sincerity, and ability to deal with the company. Before American business executives commit themselves to doing business with another company, they check out the company's assets, technology, and financial stability. Japanese executives are first interested in the character and quality of the people in the other company and secondarily interested in its facilities and finances. The Japanese put more stock in goodwill and the quality of interpersonal relationships in their business dealings than most Western executives do.
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Boye Lafayette de Mente is one of our regular monthly columnists at the 
| This month's column is excerpted from Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, by Boye Lafayette De Mente available from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company |
© Boye Lafayette De Mente & the Asia Pacific Management Forum 2000
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