Business Ethics And Behavior In Japan

In Japanese business it is considered as a fundamental element during the beginning of a meeting to exchange professional cards (meishi), considering a discourteous act not to offer them. They must be written even if only on one side in the language of the country. They must be delivered and received standing with both hands without writing any annotation on them and leaving them on the table during the term of the meeting.

When they begin a meeting, it is courteous to focus their first words on the older member as a sign of respect. And then go to the rest of the hosts. You should never start by going straight to the point. And it's always a good idea to start by apologizing for not mastering Japanese.

It is very probable that the Japanese ask about their personal life regarding family, education, and salary, since they are issues that they value very much. In the event that you do not want to answer, you should never lose the focus of respect and thank politely. In need to refrain from discussing during the first minutes of the conversation a business. It is essential to maintain cordial relations, take protective measures of appearances, that is, pretend many times that your Japanese colleague understood what you meant.

The Japanese have a very formal relationship with their work relationships. They show a lot of respect towards each other. They never call them using their own names, they always treat them by their last name, which is preceded by "Mr." or "Mrs." and when they enter a more trustful climate they use the suffix "San" (sir) after the last name. It is highly valued that in the presentations, they are given information with many details, figures, technical characteristics, among others. All the numerical data that are offered should be well calculated since errors could be detected.

Negotiation strategies

It is usually they who take the initiative in a meeting. They have a particular person on their team who will be in charge of starting and intermediating the business. It is considered essential to be able to establish a good relationship with him, since he knows very well the market, its competitors and goes deep into the negotiations of prices and figures.

In the meetings they are governed by a pre-established agenda, determining the topics to be discussed. They do not like improvisation and they are not characterized by being flexible in front of other issues to deal with, since only the previously established topics are discussed. The use of time is absolutely rigid.It is convenient to know their idiosyncrasy, since to negotiate with them it is necessary to know their customs, their way of working and establish relationships. Patience and trust are required in order to form a good base in your business relationships.

The active presence in fairs and very important to demonstrate the interest and commitment in the market. Hardly get an important business if you do not know personally before, therefore it is necessary to establish relationships. An unavoidable requirement points to the quality of the service and the presentation of the product. This means, meet deadlines, maintain contact, fast and continuous assistance, among others.

Courtesy rules

The predominant mode of greeting, saying goodbye, expressing gratitude or apologizing is, even now, reverence. They are characterized by thoroughly studying each offer they consider interesting, so they are very reflective and patient.

The reputation of the company is very important in the Japanese market. This begins with punctuality, which is the first indicator of seriousness of the company. It is important, therefore that you are also punctual because they value time and this could cause important damage to your image. Clothing also plays a very important role, so it is convenient to dress appropriately, as they are sober and like dark colors. Avoid very flashy colors as it is considered bad taste.

It is considered courts to give small gifts for your contacts, for example promotional material of the company. This will achieve a good predisposition towards his person.