Customer Reviews

American and Japanese Business Discourse: A Comparison of Interactional Styles (Advances in Discourse Processes)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book examines the differences in communication strategies between Japanese and American Business people. Comparisons are made in terms of who initiate the interaction, who speaks the most, backchannelling in communication, and how their speech strategy differ from each other. Yamade concludes that Americans usually speak direct to the point and speaks the most in an interaction when he/she initiate the conversation, while Japanese try to familiarize themselves before getting into business. Other notable Japanese conversation strategies include bringing in examples, silent shifts in conversational topics and frequent backchannels. Yamada makes reference to other authorities in cross-cultural communication between American and Japanese business people, and criticise them in mentioning "talk things over" when communication with Japanese businessmen fails. This is not a wise move as Japanese people prefer silence over talking, and the attempts to "talk things over" may farther complicate the situation. I recomment this book to business people who need to deal with Japanese clients or trying to make a new relationship with Japanese business partner(s). I also recommend this to students and researchers alike who are studying the differences in communication strategies between American and Japanese. This book is not an 'introduction to business' type book like one by de Mente, but is a result of a detailed research into American and Japanese communication styles. The quality of insights into Japanese culture is also helped by the author's background, who is a second-generation Japanese living in America.