日本人は長期の関係を好む。会社関係も人間関係も長期のつきあいが信用の基礎となる。欧米では、長期のつきあいにそれほどのメリットはない。会社関係でも、価格の安いところにすぐ取引先を移動する。原理は効率であり、契約であり、人情ではない。
日本の企業も外国の資本が入るようになってから、行動規範が変わってきている。欧米並のドライな契約観念に基づき、効率のよい経営になっている。だが、それでも日本の「長期のつきあいを好む」風習は、いまでも日本企業の基本となっているようだ。
PART TWO:
How do we achieve and maintain harmony? (6)
By Shun Daichi
8. Believe in Long Term Relations
We believe in harmonious long-term relations. Therefore if you have business dealings with any Japanese companies it most likely implies long-term relations.
If we employ a person we expect them to stay as long as they can.
With Japanese companies one does not have to worry too much about getting sacked because the Japanese company tries hard to educate workers. In other words, the Japanese company in Japan initially does not expect too much from you. They look at you in long term.
We seek long-term relations because it means less conflict and more harmony. If you know you get orders from the same company continuously, then you will be more co-operative to that company, won't you? This is a good way to maintain relative harmony in society. However, Japanese companies may not take the same attitude outside of Japan, especially toward foreign companies.
Therefore it is hard for newcomer to get into a Japanese business circle. It is not impossible for outsider to establish a business relationship with a Japanese individual or with companies; however, it will take a long time.
Long-term relation is like a Contract system of the Western society. We do not believe in contracts but in long-term relations. We developed the system of long-term relations, for we do no believe in contracts. Or, I may say that Westerners and Chinese people also appreciate long-term relations, however, there were too many different ethnics in the society and invaders from outside that Westerners created Contract system and Chinese people only believe in their own families. Japanese were lucky and enjoyed island culture for long time that we need not to develop a system of contract.
9. Suppress women and the weak.
The weak and women tend to be suppressed in the society of Harmonism. There is some logic to it.
When the Tokugawa regime started, the main aim was to keep the country in peace. And it appears as if we realized that there is an order of importance in the society. The Tokugawa regime placed priority on harmony to achieve the most important factor in anybody's life, which is "PEACE."
I believe we learned from the bloody civil war that war is the worst thing we can have in a society. "Peace" is the next stage, followed by economic success and finally individual freedom. So, there are four stages in the status of any nation, as follows.
- Engaged in WAR
- Having PEACE
- Prosperous ECONOMY
- Grant individuals FREEDOM
Japan has reached the third stage. However, the fourth stage is still far away. The United States may be placed between stages three and four. Countries like Israel, North Korea are at stage one. I may say most of the other countries are located at stage two, and between one and two.
When you are in stage one and two, the weak and women are more likely to be discriminated against. When any country gets economically rich, then the status of the weak and women improve.
In Japan with prosperous economy, women are getting more power in every field. However, women are still not treated as equal to men in many ways. This will change soon provided that the power of women won’t damage Harmonism of Japan.
(To be continued)
