The concept of Humility Japan vs Western cultures

Thèmes abordés

Japanese - Western cultures

Résumé du document

In Japan, a form of respect can be seen through the act of being humble. The sense of humility is extremely developed in the Japanese culture. Compared to Westerners Japanese people will not be afraid to put themselves down in order to raise the other person up. The self discrediting will be extremely insistent.
Examples of Japanese form of humility can be found through experiences such as when complimenting Japanese on their English level or while receiving a gift from Japanese. Even though when a Japanese speaks very well English he will deny strongly the compliment.

Westerns will respond to a compliment in a humble way by a simple “thank you”. For Japanese, accepting a compliment is synonymous to not showing humility and can even be interpreted as a form of bragging. Another example of putting oneself down as a form of humility is during gift-giving moments from a Japanese. A polite formula in Japanese commonly said while offering can be translated by “this gift is a little boring but…”. Once again they discredit themselves.

Extraits

[...] The concept of Humility Japan vs Wetern cultures. In Japan, a form of respect can be seen through the act of being humble. The sense of humility is extremely developed in the Japanese culture. Compared to Westerners Japanese people will not be afraid to put themselves down in order to raise the other person up. The self discrediting will be extremely insistent. Examples of Japanese form of humility can be found through experiences such as when complimenting Japanese on their English level or while receiving a gift from Japanese. [...]

[...] All forms of disagreement to the superiors can be interpreted as a sign of rebellion or disloyalty to the group. Concerning the western corporate culture, group unity is an important issue to. Constant questioning can be unproductive but can also be productive if it is done in a clever way. Criticism is well accepted if there result in discussions and improvement. Moreover, in some cases in the West criticism is encouraged. Those organisations are then considered to be more horizontal hierarchical relationship oriented. [...]

[...] The importance of being humble in Japan is essential to maintain group cohesion. It is part of the Japanese culture to lower yourself and raise the other party. Applied to the business environment, the respect of humility is extremely important to stay in the main stream and not being an outcast of the group. In a Japanese company, humility must not be seen as hesitancy but as a sign of not being demanding which is rude. Furthermore humility is also accepting partial responsibility when something went wrong in the company. [...]

[...] Every firms and corporations throughout the World is funded on a respect of hierarchy which gives an idea of how responsibilities are distributed. Understanding hierarchical relationships is essential in Japanese Business. In Japan there is a clear distinction in terms of title depending on whoever you are in the company. President, managers and subordinates are clearly differentiated and the way to refer to them as well. Harmony in hierarchy comes along with respect in relationship codes. The obsession in group harmony can lead to undesired side effects. [...]