Lakshmi Sirisha Palakurthi 10/04/2013
1. Did Stan do anything wrong before his presentation?
In my opinion Stan did not create any friendly environment with the Japanese team. He doesn’t how to build the relationship with the team. He didn’t learn anything about the Japanese culture .There is heightened sense of formality in Japanese interaction. When doing business in Japan, your suitability in respect to conducting business will be assessed during a first meeting, so always maintain a sense of professionalism. The bow is an integral part of Japanese society. It is used when meeting, getting attention, to show gratitude, to express sympathy or as an apology. Whilst doing business in Japan as a Westerner, you would not be expected to bow. You will most likely be greeted with a handshake combined with a slight nod of the head.
Introduce yourself with your full name followed by your company name. It is important to use proper titles when addressing someone, so always establish the position of the other person.
The exchanging of business cards when doing business in Japan involves a degree of ceremony. The card is seen to represent the individual, so should be treated with respect. Before travelling to Japan, ensure you have ample cards and have one side translated into Japanese. When exchanging, offer your card with both hands or just the right hand. Present Japanese side up. Ensure there is no barrier between you and the recipient such as a table, chair or plant. When accepting always use two hands as this shows deference.
Stan did not do any of the above mentioned things. Since he entered the room, he was in a hurry to present his presentation. He did not have any friendly conversation with the team before he started the presentation. For a good leader the most important thing is to establish a friendly environment and to make the other person feel comfortable with the rest of the meeting. If one doesn’t interact with the other people it always creates a negative impression that the other person is reserved and they may feel discomfort to work with in future. In this case the same has happened. Stan from the starting he wanted to give his presentation and get the work done which he made a big mistake.
2. Did Stan make inappropriate assumptions about the nonverbal behavior of the Japanese executives?
Yes definitely Stan has made inappropriate assumptions about the nonverbal behavior of the Japanese executives. Western communication style relies heavily on words. We expect communicators to be clear, precise, and skilled in expressing themselves verbally. We value people who have good presentation skills and are good at discussing and debating. Much of the training we receive in education and in business is aimed at honing these skills for verbal self-expression.
In contrast, Japanese communication relies less on verbal manipulation, and more heavily on non-verbals. Words are important, but so are body language, gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, posture, and "non-word sounds" such as the hissing sound that Japanese often make when confronted with an unappealing proposal or situation. Japanese speak of haragei, the art of silently communicating "belly to belly," through intuition rather than with words. Stan should know initially how to communicate with the Japan team.
3. Is there anything that Stan or his company can do to rectify the situation?
Here in this case the Japanese team had made the decision to look for another supplier and they planned to go back. In future if they want to do business with the Japanese company in future they need to know the culture of the Japan