Japanese Companies in Germany - Case Study Example

Japanese Companies in Germany Name: Tutor: Subject: Date: Q1. Institutional contrast Institutional contrasts are seen as less fundamental and more amenable to adjustments that allow for common ground than societal values and customs. From the case study, it is crystal clear that there is a huge difference between the culture of German and that of Japanese. when you look at the cultural dimensions by Hofstede, it explains how these two countries differ in terms of their way of handling their day to day activities whether in the institutions or in their communities. They value their values such that it is depicted from the case study that where there is a contrast in both the societal and organizational cultures of these two countries. Take a look at the cultural dimension of power distance whereby the Japanese are seen to be more absorbed towards equality in power such that decision making process is inclusive of all the members and therefore makes decision making process slow and more of hierarchy. When we look at the Germans, they do not regard power distance and they therefore there is inequality in power as from the case study where the decisions making process is done by the chosen few. When it comes to organizational culture, we find that the two countries will differ on how they conduct their duties because they are determined by their cultures and values. They therefore have to perform organization duties and operations while considering their cultures. When it comes to culture diffusion in such organizations where there are mixtures of two countries, it is difficult because each individual will want to stick to their cultures and how the cultural dimensions dictates their culture. Other culture dimensions such as Masculinity and uncertainty avoidance shows a great disparity between the Germans and the Japanese. Q2. Social and cultural barriers The two countries differ when it comes to the rating of Hofstede cultural dimensions, they therefore have culture that differs and each cultural dimension is perceived differently. Japanese based German firms, there is an issue concerning the cultural barriers such that there is no smooth flow of operations in the firms due to disparity in culture. Let’s look at the power distance for example, we find that the Japanese are always conscious of their hierarchical structure of their organization and they believe that there should be equality in power, such that decision making process should be participative and inclusive of all the subordinates. Germans on the other hand are so strict and do not have equality in their power, their decision making process is decentralized. This therefore has resulted to social cultural complications when it comes to handling cultures of both countries. When it comes to the culture of Masculinity, we find that Japanese are the most masculine among other societies while Germans are less masculine, this cultural difference is an issue when it comes to operating the firms because there will be no equality in the job performance. Disparity in cultural dimensions has therefore resulted to a number of barriers such as communication, personality issues and being responsible. When there are cultural barriers, there will be no cooperation among the employees working under Japanese based German firms. The barriers will cause misunderstanding among these two countries and it will result to conflicts, however, there is the issue of politeness where Japanese are more polite than Germans and this has earned them a good reputation because they treat their employees with politeness and together with the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, they are able to avoid any conflicts in order to secure resources that will o to waste as a result of conflicts. This has resulted to competition to the Germans who do not have good reputation when it comes to treating their employees. Q3 English at work place The case study reveals how English has been a major barrier in communication among Japanese firms operating in German. One of the major reasons that causes this barrier is the fact that the firms are engaged in business with other diversity such as North America and European countries, therefore the use of English is an important aspect because it is known to be the appropriate language, however, Japanese have been facing this problem and has resulted to poor communication. Another reason fall under insufficiency proficiency of English experience among the Japanese graduates, they are equipped with skills especially English communication skills but they lack experience on how to use English language. This is an issue that affects them while working in the firms in German. The third reason is that these German Based Japanese corporations lack employees who are from Japan or German origin, when this occurs; it becomes difficult for the workers to operate in a firm where there is no proper flow of communication among the employees and the employers. Lack of English proficiency has therefore become a barrier to communication among the firms because the workers develop a fear since they are not able to figure out the requirements of the organization if not communicated properly. Apart from the English barrier, there is also culture influence on information flow such that from the study of culture dimensions we find that for example Germans are more Individualistic than Japanese, therefore when it comes to operating their firms, they will link their culture values to their day to day handling of their activities. This has resulted to complications in the flow of information from one person to another and thus resulting to poor performance of the firms. Q4 Difference in politeness Politeness is one of the cultural norms that have been seen to be an issue between the German-Japanese culture. From the case study, it is depicted that there is a huge disparity on the way the two perceive politeness. You find that Japanese are known for their extreme politeness whereby they poses the values that are attributed to politeness such as; bowing, avoiding conflict, respecting people by addressing them with their surnames and engaging in good communication with other people. When we look at how Germans perceive politeness, it is clear from the case study that they do not possess the values of being polite. They are arrogant and do not treat people with respect, they do not care about any other individual and therefore their means of communication with other people is poor. This culture norm has been a great problem when it comes to their organizations, from the case study, workers in the German organizations have experienced the situations where they are treated with arrogance and therefore the communication process is difficult between the workers and the managers because of the rude nature of Germans. Japanese on the other hand are known to treat their workers in a more polite manner and they do not display any form of rudeness, this is a virtue they posses and has been able to earn them a good reputation. Assessing the character of the two countries brings us to a limelight on which country can make good manager globally. The aspect of arrogance is greatly influenced by the cultural values and how they perceive these cultures. From the case study, it is evident that communication is one of the aspect that result from arrogance whereby the Japanese have been able to benefit from how they handle their workers and this poses a fear of competition to the Germans. Q5 Not all problems are culture related Even though the culture is the major contributor of barriers in engaging in Japanese Based German firms, we find that these firms have always been successful when it comes to rating globally. Some factors that contribute to success is the fact that these two countries balance their weaknesses, for example power distance is a culture that differs for both of them but because there is the need to make decision in organization, there will be no contemplation on who should make the decision because the end objective is to achieve the company goals. Therefore the ability to contain each other’s culture has enabled them to succeed. These two countries have devoted themselves to achieve their goals despite their cultural disparities, for example Japanese are known for having the attributes of good management in many firms, they therefore channel the employees towards achieving the organization goals. The German have submitted to the Japanese because of the same reason which is to work together while putting aside the culture disparity. The case study reveals how Japanese are social in their businesses and tend to influence more people because they are friendly, German managers on the other hand will always remain as mediators since they are best known for poor level of interaction and therefore they cannot influence people easily. The Japanese therefore use the structure and policies formulated by Germans in their firms because these policies are inclined towards enhancing cooperation and enabling the employees to devote their efforts. Therefore despite the cultural differences, these two countries are known for their success as a fact that they contain each other’s strengths and use them to gain success. Reference Atkinson, Rick. 1994. “Germany’s Maze of Business Regulation Challenges U.S. Companies.” Wash- Bartlett, Christopher A, and Sumantra Ghoshal. 1989. Managing across Borders: The Transnational Clark, Rodney. 1979. The Japanese Company. New Haven: Yale University Press. Cole, Robert E., and Donald R. Deskins, Jr. 1988. “Racial Factors in the Employment Patterns of Japanese Auto Firms in America.” California Management Review 31:9-22. Dore, Ronald. 1973. British Factory, Japanese Factory. Berkeley: University of California Press. Endo, Koshi. 1994. “Satei (Personnel Assessment) and Interworker Competition in Japanese Firms.” Industrial Relations 33:70-82. Florida, Richard, and Martin Kenney. 1992. Beyond Mass Production. New York: Oxford University Press. Goodhart, David. 1994. “There’s Still Life in the Old Model: Despite Economic Woes, Germany’s Social Market System Has Proved Resilient and Flexible.”Financial Times, 12April. Read More