What Japanese business values?
As you may already know, politeness is a key word in Japanese culture and it is same in the Japanese business world. Politeness include greeting, punctuality, caring others, showing appreciation and any kind of preparation (We call this "Omotenashi" in Japanese). Here is some examples of them through my experiences. This is a common sense of "sales person" in Japan.
Some example of "politeness" in Japanese business culture
-When a Japanese business person meet a new customer, it is better to introduce themselves first. (This include changing business cards. Lower position or sales person should pass their business cards first. )
-Being on time is one of the basic Japanese business manners. When a Japanese sales person have an appointment, they should be at the meeting place at lease 5 minutes earlier. (I was usually at a meeting place 15-20 minutes earlier if I was meeting my customers.)
-Japanese sales people prepare a meeting very well. The flow of a meeting is like this;
Before the meeting
Send an email to people who are involved with the meeting (The purpose of the meeting, who need to be in the meeting, when we plan to have meeting, where/how we want to have the meeting, what kind of data/paper we need to prepare, etc)
At the meeting
- Introduce the attendees
- Clear the goal of the meeting and when we finish the meeting
- After the discussion, double check the conclusion and next action including the due date
*Administrator or secretory will bring tea or coffee 10-15 minutes after the meeting started.
After the meeting
We send an email attached with a minutes of the meeting. We should not forget to include our appreciation for the people who attend the meeting
-We usually have a welcome/farewell party whenever new person join the group. (Most of the occasion, company will pay money for the party.)
-The person who are welcomed/farewelled should send a thank you email to all of the participants.
There are another examples of Japanese sales person beside politeness.
-It's important to have a good relationship with bosses. One of the reasons is because Japanese people respect elderly people, but main reason is because it is important to get promoted. A lot of companies in Japan still rely on the hierarchy, so having a good relationship with your boss is the key to success your career.
-A lot of Japanese sales people think that drinking alcohol together is one of the best ways to know each other. If you want to be liked your boss, it's better not to deny their drinking offer.
-Even though the situation is getting better, a lot of Japanese sales people still work until late at night. Japanese sales people think that working until late at night is one of the ways to show their effort and contribution to the company. (and I hated this idea.)
I didn't like old Japanese hierarchy society when I worked in Japan because I felt like I was just a replaceable parts of the company and there were very few motivated people around me. However, I can say that Japanese people are one of the most hard working and trust worthy people in the world. I really wish the day will come when Japanese realize the important of employees' happiness.
