Moto: Coming to America from Japan Essay Example

country, and you can not treat a person of a different country with a different ulture and customs as a person but in your own country, because they may feel displaced. Question 2 What communication problems were there between Moto and Crowell? Nowadays intercultural communication is the foundation of effective communication. This is the basis on which underscores the complex realities of the XXI century, as the encounters between citizens of different cultures are much more common than in earlier times, it is necessary to know the different beliefs affect understanding between people of different cultures .

For this reason, the main problem between Moto and Crowell is the lack of understanding towards each other, when they handle their business affairs, since both come from very different cultures and customs, each of them should understand and know before to establish a meeting as serious as is the trading company. So it is clear that there is a danger of generalizing when ascribed to members of a nation identical patterns of behavior. But when negotiating, humans are pretty much the same everywhere, so it does not seem to be something that depends on the nationalities.

However, they can appreciate cultural differences between nations or geographic areas worldwide, although they have less to do with the core and substantive aspects of negotiation with the environment or context thereof. Well, from the point of view the context in which negotiations are carried out can be distinguished from each other, communication between members is clear and explicit. The meaning fits exactly what it says, leaving little room for subjective interpretation. Or Rather, communication is more art is ambiguous, subtle and indirect.

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non-verbal communication and personal relationships take on a new importance. With all this we realize that the situation described in the text corresponds to this last point, which should both Moto and Crowell to know something more about them before making the meeting. Question 3 What was the sagnificance of the dolls? What went wrong? Kokeshi dolls are traditional Japanese dolls that are originally from northern Japan. They are handmade from wood. Kokeshi dolls don’t have arms or legs and the body has a floral design painted in red, black or yellow.

The significance of the dolls was that they originally were from northern part of Japan, the area which Moto comes from. It was important for Moto to give the dolls to Crowell because they were a souvenir and therefore a part of his culture. Exchanging gifts in Japan is strongly rooted in tradition. Part of the tradition is the gracious style used to present and receive them. It’s very important to only use both hands, to offer or accept a gift. Moto felt offended when Crowell didn’t appreciate his gift and said that his daughters would like them.

Crowell didn’t realize that the dolls were not for playing but bore another, much more important meaning. He didn’t know that they were souvenirs and should be treated gently and accepted with respect and gratitude. In this misunderstanding it’s a little bit of both parties not knowing the cultural differences of each other. Crowell, who is an American, is used to do business when he meets somebody for this matter and leaves everything else aside. Moto, coming from Japan, shouldn’t have expected Crowell to know what the

dolls meant and how they should be handled.

The thing is that Crowell and Moto are coming from two different cultures. American culture is a low context culture, where people spell things out and where communication is explicit. Japanese culture is a high context culture. In such a culture many things are not discussed but assumed, and the communication is implicit. Knowing this it becomes quite easy to understand what went wrong. Being an American, Crowell is very straightforward and wants to talk about business. He acts “aggressively” by promoting his company and convincing Moto he made the right decision by choosing him.

In this case Crowell doesn’t bother much about being very polite about the gift because this isn’t about business and the reason they met. Moto, on the other hand, expects Crowell to accept the gift and express his gratitude. Instead he gets “Hey, thanks a lot, my daughters will love them”. In our opinion Moto chose a wrong moment for giving the present and that’s why it went so wrong. A better moment would be in a more relaxed circumstance, maybe after the meeting in a restaurant or in a bar. This whole situation could have been solved by an “honest” communication.

The very moment there is a misunderstanding it has to be cleared out. Both parties have to talk about it and explain how they are thinking and why. In this way they can learn from each other, gain experience and knowledge. Question 4 Why did Crowell’s remarks about Allmack threaten a loss of face from Moto’s perspective? In Japan employees are proud to be working in a company and they stay loyal to

their employer and usually have a lifetime employment. Long-term relationships create very strong bonds between a company and its empoyees and of course between co-workers and managers.

If a graduate from a university at the age of 22 joins a company he’s expected to retire at 65. All his life he’s going to stay truethfull and loyal to his employer and the company. This is why Moto is very surprized and even shocked when Kubushevsky talks about leaving Allmack for a better job in California. ”Let me tell you a secret, Moto-san. Crowell’s wife is a dog. Crowell is a dog. I’m going to leave Allmack, just as soon as possible…” This statement seemed very disrespectful towards Crowell for Moto and he assumed that Kubushensky was very drunk and didn’t know what he was talking about. Question 5

How did Moto feel about Kubushevsky’s behaviour early on? How did their relationship change? We have identified three different contexts: Firstly, Crowell introduces Moto to Kubushevsky. George will be responsible for introducing Moto to all of Allmarck’s suppliers and business relations. Also we can check that again the issue of the business card did not even reciprocate with him, Kubushevsky merely said “thanks, never carry those”. As in the case of Crowell, Moto expected Kubushevsky to read it and acknowledge that he was dealing with an important person but he found the same answer: indifference.

We think that Moto felt hurt and quite confused at the same time. Moreover, Kubushevsky did not appreciate the present, a KKD pen. This is the reason why he wondered himself if Kubushevsky was a real American because he didn’t understand the differences between both

cultures and he tried find an answer. Then, over the next weeks from the business meeting, Kubushevsky introduced Moto to all of the necessary business relations in the American context. However, when Moto asked Kubushevsky about the records for the past five years, Kubushevsky responded by telling him to not worry about the past and to trust him.

This situation made Moto quite uncomfortable as he was required to get figures and did not understand what trust had to do with it. Finally, the relationship between Kubushevsky and Moto improved after the first night out. It is clear that the alcohol made a friendly environment and they could talk about different issues: family, life, etc. Moreover, Kubushevsky informed Moto that he would be leaving the company in the near future. After that, everything would be different, for four months the worked great together and Moto was supplied with any information that he needed.