Running head: Japanese and Egyptian

Japanese and Egyptian Intercultural Communication Analysis

Benjamin Workman
BUS 600: Management Communications with Technology Tools
Dr. Neil Mathur
June 12, 2014

Japanese and Egyptian

Interculturual communication is an essential piece in regard to the business environment

in the 21st century. With communication barriers being broken down by technology, it is rather
easy for countries to form new and profitable relations with unlikely companions. Analyzing
both Japanese and Egyptian cultures provides an example of how two different walks of life can
find a middle ground. By observing Hofstedes five cultural dimensions, Japanese and Egyptian
individuals have far more differences than similarities when it comes to their everyday lives. If
one has a positive outlook on business relations, pointing out these differences makes it easy to
understand how these two cultures can prosper by working together.
The five cultural dimensions brought forth by Hofstede include power distance,
individualism/collectivism, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and short/long-term
orientation. Analyzing the criterion referred to as power distance provides the first difference
between Japanese and Egyptian culture. Japanese individuals are conscious of a hierarchy
present within their society, but they arent completely governed by this ideology. Egyptians on
the other hand are completely aware that any established hierarchy is to be abided by at all costs.
Cynthia Dunns account on politeness in Japanese culture provides more insight into the
borderline hierarchal society present in Japan. While observing Japanese business etiquette,
Dunn (2013) stated, In corporate business manners training, instructors engage in meta
-pragmatic discourse with the aim of controlling both expressive politeness and classificatory
politeness (p. 227). The importance of respecting your superiors bridges the borderline
hierarchal society in Japan.
Shifting focus to individualism and collectivism provides another instance of Japanese
culture remaining relatively close to the fence with Hofstedes cultural dimensions. With a score
of 46, Japan is classified as an individualistic society that also possesses some collectivist

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principles. Egyptians find themselves being definitively collectivistic with a score of 25 on the
scale created by Hofstede. In collectivistic societies, trust is such an important factor due to the
long-term connections established at an early stage. It is important to note that this collectivistic
approach is being challenged by the new generations coming of age in Egypt. Tarek Osman
provided a scholarly perspective on young Egyptians and the implications they will have on
Egypts society. This collectivistic nature may be changing Osman (2012) states that The fading
generation is carrying off with the classic compositions of Egyptian characterwhile the
incoming, increasingly dominant generation is hardly receiving any cultural heritage (p. 304). It
will be interesting to see how this criterion changes as time progresses.
The role that masculinity continues to play within a society is where the biggest contrast
between these two cultures can be examined. With a score of 95, Japan is most definitely one of
the most masculine societies in existence. This high score demonstrates that Japanese individuals
are competitive in nature throughout the entirety of their lives. This competition is present in
their personal and business dealings that involve two or more groups in opposition. Egypts score
of 45 on the hand makes Egyptian society a relatively feminine one. There is a lot more
flexibility and cooperation in regard to the relations that these individuals experience throughout
their lives. The masculine nature present in Japan has had and continues to have a negative
impact on women in the workplace. John Benson, Masae Yuasa, and Philippe Debroux took it
upon themselves to observe the economic growth within Japan and observed if this would lead to
gender equality within the workforce. Unfortunately, a lot of damage has already done as the
multiple authors (2007) found that, Women workers became afraid of, or had little confidence
in, promotion because they had neither the training nor enough experience for the position (p.
898).

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With masculinity being the measure in which these two countries demonstrated the
biggest difference, both Japan and Egypt have cultures that tend to avoid uncertainty whenever
possible. The Japanese received a score of 92 and the Egyptians received a score of 80 on the
scale created by Hofstede. While these countries both received high scores, their reasoning was
quite different. Japan wishes to avoid uncertainty due to it being a country that is susceptible to
natural disasters that can change their fortune overnight. Egyptians arent necessarily worried
about natural disasters, but they enjoy sticking to what has already shown to be successful in the
past. They continue to follow old belief systems in order to be certain of the future that awaits
them.
The final cultural dimension in Hofstedes model provides another similarity between the
Japanese and Egyptian cultures. Both of these cultures place quite a bit of emphasis on long-term
orientation, but once again, have this emphasis for different reasons. The Japanese place this
long-term orientation on business and this is shown by how widely regarded research and
development is in Japan. They are constantly seeking long-term gains as opposed to any
marginal profits that they can make in a quarter. As aforementioned in this analysis, Egyptians
establish long-term commitments from a very young age and this translates into every aspect of
their life. Long-term orientation in Egypt is primarily reserved for personal dealings, but this
ideology does eventually transfer to business operations as well.
A contractual business agreement between a Japanese and Egyptian organization can
certainly benefit both parties if they are willing to accommodate the others cultural differences.
When the terms are being drawn up, it is likely that both organizations will want to be as certain
about the process as possible. This mutual agreement from the beginning will enable these two
organizations to then address the long-term goals of this agreement. The Japanese organization

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will most likely be interested in taking on any potential research and development opportunities.
The Egyptian organization will seek to establish a long-term plan that ensures that both
organizations are communicating effectively and cooperating on all fronts. If the competitiveness
of the Japanese and the cooperativeness of the Egyptians can meet in the middle, this will most
definitely be a successful endeavor for both parties.

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References

Baack, D. (2012). The Interpersonal Communication Process . Management Communication (p.

68). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc..
Benson, J., Yuasa, M., & Debroux, P. (2007). The Prospect for gender diversity in Japanese
employment . International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(5), 890-907.
Retrieved June 14, 2014, from scholar.google.com
Dunn, C. (2013). Speaking politely, kindly, and beautifully: Ideologies of politeness in Japanese
business etiquette training . Anthropology & Criminology , 32(2), 225-245. Retrieved
June 14, 2014, from scholar.google.com
Osman, T. (2012). Young Egyptians: Their Society and Future . Social Research, 79(2), 299-324.
Retrieved June 14, 2014, from scholar.google.com