U.S. and Japan

1. U.S. and Japan History/Psych Collaborative 4th Quarter Project

2. Cultural Differences Between the U.S. and Japan • Japan • Collectivistic culture • Strong ties to family and group/country • Respect family (especially elders) • Group decisions (consensus) valued • Behavior is governed by social norms • Team accomplishments valued • United States • Individualistic culture • Flexible ties to family and group • Respect immediate family • Individual decisions valued • Behavior ruled by self-interest • Individual accomplishments valued

3. Cultural Differences (Continued) • Here are several noticeable cultural differences between the US and Japan: • The traffic lights in Japan are horizontal instead of vertical • In Japan, citizens do not make appointments to see the doctor/dentist but, they are made on a first come first serve basis. • In schools, the academic year begins in April, during the spring, instead of the fall in the US. • In restaurants, it is not Japanese custom to leave a tip or pay at the table.

4. Historical Differences • By: Carey Price • Differences in Fighting

5. Historical Differences (Continued) • By: Carey Price Work Ethics • The U.S. citizens work for vacation and a luxurious life style. • The Japanese people work themselves to death for perfection. Their economy puts pressure on families to work long hours in order to keep up with payments. • Typically, the Japanese worker stays at the office for longer hours and has lower wages than the American worker. • Furthermore ,Japanese products are better made than American products. • http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/2/8/6/p102860_index.html • http://search.live.com/images/results.aspx?q=american+business+men&form=QBIR#focal=267391bae7f2c74bf9dbc10dcd677272&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haloimages.com%2Fimgs%2FMK00161_FPO_PREV.jpg • http://search.live.com/images/results.aspx?q=japanese+workers&form=QBIR#focal=158c539b72878c4404e2831582c893f3&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Folmedia%2F1480000%2Fimages%2F_1483839_japan_workers_bbc_300.jpg

6. Social Conversation • Americans love to talk. We talk constantly to fill in awkward silences that can happen in a conversation. Japanese people are quite different. They believe actions speak louder than words and prefer the silence in a conversation to random babble. • Japanese people also like to “beat around the bush” and talk indirectly so that the listener can come to their own conclusion. Americans just want to get the point.

7. Matt P. Slide

8. Citations • Slide 2: • Gaumer, C., Shah, A. (2004, January). Television Advertising and Child Consumer: Different Strategies for U.S. and Japanese Marketers. The Coastal Business Journal. Volume 3, Number 1. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from http://www.coastal.edu/business/cbj/pdfs/articles/spring2004/gaumershah.pdf • Slide 3: • Cultural Differences in Life Between Japan and the US. Ball State University. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from http://www.bsu.edu/web/clubjapan/learning/culture_files/frame.htm • Slide 5: • Pic.- (2007, November 1). Quality Assurance Management & Technologies Conference. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from http://www.bbjtest.com/qamt/people_talking.jpg • Info.- (2004-2007). American-Japanese Communications 101. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from WIN Advisory Group, Inc.: http://www.winadvisorygroup.com/AmericanJapaneseComms101.html