Wgu Egt 1 Task 4 Cultural Issues Essay Example
Cross Cultural Issues with Japan
Cross Cultural Issues with Japan
Having a brother in law who married a Japanese girl, Japan seemed a fitting choice for this assignment. The Japanese culture is a world apart from the United States literally and figuratively. Barriers to Operating In Japan
The first barrier that comes to mind is Language. Either the Company employs someone who is well versed in Japanese and from that Country or it forces the Japanese to speak English. As English is a more common language in the business world, it would seem as if that forces the Japanese to speak English.
Language
Certainly, there is a language barrier, namely because most Americans don’t speak Japanese and the Japanese aren’t fluent in English although most school teach English to the children in their early years in Japanese schools. Both of my sister in law’s parents had English for two years as children but never used the language and neither one of them understand more than 5 English words. It doesn’t seem to just be a matter of learning our language, just as much a matter of pride in their country. This will be discussed further down. Even with a translator present, our language doesn’t translate well because we use many slang words and colloquialisms. This might be even more so in the South where I live. Even in a business setting, Americans use slang and refer to things in other than correct terms. The first barrier is simply the language, they are very different, Japanese is one of the most complex languages to understand and it does not translate well back and forth.
Another area involving language is what the Japanese say and what they mean. The Japanese very seldom say no. When pressed they tend to still avoid the word. This could be a sign of respect or courtesy, part of their “honor”. This will be discussed further in detail in a later paragraph.
Americans are also very direct in communication. In business, we say what we mean and
Cross Cultural Issues with Japan
Having a brother in law who married a Japanese girl, Japan seemed a fitting choice for this assignment. The Japanese culture is a world apart from the United States literally and figuratively. Barriers to Operating In Japan
The first barrier that comes to mind is Language. Either the Company employs someone who is well versed in Japanese and from that Country or it forces the Japanese to speak English. As English is a more common language in the business world, it would seem as if that forces the Japanese to speak English.
Language
Certainly, there is a language barrier, namely because most Americans don’t speak Japanese and the Japanese aren’t fluent in English although most school teach English to the children in their early years in Japanese schools. Both of my sister in law’s parents had English for two years as children but never used the language and neither one of them understand more than 5 English words. It doesn’t seem to just be a matter of learning our language, just as much a matter of pride in their country. This will be discussed further down. Even with a translator present, our language doesn’t translate well because we use many slang words and colloquialisms. This might be even more so in the South where I live. Even in a business setting, Americans use slang and refer to things in other than correct terms. The first barrier is simply the language, they are very different, Japanese is one of the most complex languages to understand and it does not translate well back and forth.
Another area involving language is what the Japanese say and what they mean. The Japanese very seldom say no. When pressed they tend to still avoid the word. This could be a sign of respect or courtesy, part of their “honor”. This will be discussed further in detail in a later paragraph.
Americans are also very direct in communication. In business, we say what we mean and