Short Presentation of cultural differences for preparing a foreign visitor coming to Romania From Outside Europe -Japan case

studyBased on a concrete example that I encountered, I would like to point out the cultural differences between Romania and Japan. When working in a company with strong roots in Japan, one day a japaneese delegation came. Our corporate affairs team gathered and the person responsible for meeting them was in front. Not knowing how to act, she started hugging all the members and kissing them, as the Romanian custom says. After doing this with a couple of members, the others started backing off and trying to avoid being kiss and hugged. This is why I started looking a little bit further into this problem in order to see where the differences are between the two cultures. Firstly, I started by looking at Geert Hofstedes values for both countries:

PDI- Power Distance IDV- Individualism/Collectivism MAS-Masculinity/Femininity

UAI- Uncertainty Avoidance LTO- Long Term Orientation As we can clearly see, the power distance for Romania is higher than Japans one, the last one being a hierarchical society. There is a strong notion in the Japanese education system that everybody is born equal and anyone can get ahead and become anything if he (yes, it is still he) works hard enough. The fundamental issue addressed by IDV dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether peoples self-image is defined in terms of I or We. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to in groups that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. Japan scores 46 on the Individualism dimension. Certainly Japanese society shows many of the characteristics of a collectivistic society, the same as Romania. Masculinity / Femininity A high score (masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. A low score (feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the UAI score. At 92 Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries on earth. When talking about business, Japan has some strict rules: they bow, they dont hug and kiss, they show respect by doing that. Moreover, time is essential for them, being very punctual. On the other hand when talking about japaneese culture we use white for funerals and red for weddings. On the other hand, talking about Romanians, they usually communicate through a slowly speech mode and though, occasionally raising the voice to emphasize a point of view or idea, generally,

in business meetings, they dislike blatant and loudly behavior. For example, in restaurants, in particular in those where business meetings take place, the conversation is taking place at a reduced voice level. As a general rule, Romanians avoid to communicate very directly, considering such an attitude contrary to good manners. At least at first, the communication can be even indirect, individuals demonstrating restrain and caution. Later, during the discussions, there appears gradual speech relaxation and an opening towards the other party, gaining a direct character, including direct contradiction or refusal responses. In terms of physical distance, Romanians do not show a preference for either one of the known distances, body language and gestures being extensive, individuals can exhibit emotions and attitudes openly. Although Romanian culture is generally group oriented, business meetings usually take place between two people. With regard to course of the meetings, some aspects can be highlighted in peoples introduction is made using first name, thereafter last name in case academic or professional title exists, it should be used the introduction is followed by the raising of hands exchanging business cards is practiced in business meetings discussion begins with topics that have little importance, with the aim of establishing personal relationships often in negotiations with Romanians, the first meeting is formal and reserved For a foreign partner who enters for the first time in contact with the Romanian business environment, most often it is preferable that he appoints a local intermediary so that initial contact with a Romanian partner is an efficient one. In addition, using the intermediary in terms of organizing activities prior to the business meeting may be very important in the context of an often chaotic Romanian business environment.