The assignments
due this Friday are fairly straightforward. Send me a memoformat as an attachment
analyzing the cultural differences between Canada and Japan and how those
differences are contributing to the communication impasse described in the
exercise.
You
represent a Canadian toy company that’s negotiating to buy miniature truck
wheels from a manufacturer in Osaka, Japan. In your first meeting, you explain
that your company expects to control the design of the wheels as well as the
materials that are used to make them. The manufacturer’s representative looks
down and says soſtly, “Perhaps that will be difficult.” You press for agreement, and to emphasize
your willingness to buy, you show the prepared con- tract you’ve brought with
you. However, the manufacturer seems increasingly vague and uninterested. What
cultural differences may be interfering with effective communication in this situation? (Canada is
considered a low-context culture; Japan is high-context.) In a brief email
message to your instructor or a post on your class blog, share your analysis.
