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1、Source:adapted from Diversity Case Study:Culture Shock,accessed date:10thJuly,2020,https:/ Shock AUS-Japan Cultural RideWarren Oats was a highly successful executive for American Auto Suppliers(AAS),a Chicago-based company that makes original-equipment specialty parts forFord,GM,and Chrysler.Rather
2、than retreat before the onslaught of Japaneseautomakers,AAS decided to counterattack and use its reputation for quality anddependability to win over customers in Japan.Oats had started in the company as anengineer and worked his way up to become one of a handful of senior managers whohad a shot at t
3、he next open vice-presidential position.He knew he needed todistinguish himself somehow,so when he was given a chance to lead the AAS attackon the Japanese market,he jumped at it.Oats knew he did not have time to learnJapanese,but he had heard that many Japanese executives speak English,and thecompa
4、ny would hire a translator anyway.The toughest part about leaving the UnitedStates was persuading his wife,Carol,to take an eighteen-month leave from hercareer as an attorney with a prestigious Chicago law firm.Carol finally persuadedherself that she did not want to miss an opportunity to learn a ne
5、w culture.So,armedwith all the information they could gather about Japan from their local library,theOats headed for Tokyo.Known as an energetic,aggressive salesperson back home,Warren Oats wastedlittle time getting started.As soon as his office had a telephone and well before allhis files had arriv
6、ed from the States Oats made an appointment to meet withexecutives of one of Japans leading automakers.Oats reasoned that if he was goingto overcome the famous Japanese resistance to foreign companies,he should getstarted as soon as possible.Oats felt very uncomfortable at that first meeting.He gott
7、he feeling that the Japanese executives were waiting for something.It seemed thateveryone but Oats was in slow motion.The Japanese did not speak English well andappeared grateful for the presence of the interpreter,but even the interpreter seemedto take her time in translating each phrase.Frustrated
8、 by this seeming lethargy andbeginning to doubt the much-touted Japanese efficiency,Oats got right to the point.He made an oral presentation of his proposal,waiting patiently for the translation ofeach sentence.Then he handed the leader of the Japanese delegation a packetcontaining the specifics of
9、his proposal,got up,and left.The translator trailed behindhim as if wanting to drag out the process even further.By the end of their first week,both Oats and his wife were frustrated.Oatssoffice phone had not rung once,which did not make him optimistic about his meetingwith another top company the f
10、ollowing week.Carol could scarcely contain herirritation with what she had perceived of the Japanese way of life.She had been surethat a well-respected U.S.lawyer would have little trouble securing a job with aJapanese multinational corporation,but the executives she had met with seemedinsulted that
11、 she was asking them for a job.And the way they treated their secretaries!After only a week in Japan,both Carol and Warren Oats were ready to go home.A month later,their perspective had changed radically,and both looked back onthose first meetings with embarrassment.Within that month,they had learne
12、d a lotabout the Japanese sense of protocol and attitudes toward women.Warren Oatsbelieved he was beginning to get the knack of doing business with the Japanese intheir manner:establishing a relationship slowly,almost ritualistically,waiting througha number of meetings before bringing up the real bu
13、siness at hand,and then doing socircumspectly.It was difficult for Oats to slow his pace,and it made him nervous tobe so indirect,but he was beginning to see some value in the sometimes humblinglearning process he was going through.Perhaps,he thought,he and Carol couldbecome consultants for other executives who needed to learn the lessons he wasbeginning to understand.
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