U.S. COMPANY IN JAPAN.   Term Paper ID:25708 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines marketing challenges for Amer. firm expanding to Japan. Cultural overview, product, pricing, distribution.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines marketing challenges for Amer. firm expanding to Japan. Cultural overview, product, pricing, distribution. Paper Introduction: This paper examines the challenge facing an American company seeking to do business in the Japanese market. Historically, Japan has remained one of the most culturally separate countries in Asia, carefully guarding its way of life against foreign incursions. In recent years, as a significant portion of its population has begun to travel abroad, the Japanese market has started to open itself to international business in important ways. Nevertheless, the culture remains a distinct challenge to the American marketer, as many large corporations have been dismayed to discover. Penetrating this market requires a clear understanding of the Japanese character and the cultural elements which are important to introducing new products effectively. Among all the countries of the Pacific rim, Japan has always represented a unique case with regard to the Western nations. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The customer has thepower" (p. Penetrating this market requires a clear understanding of theJapanese character and the cultural elements which are important tointroducing new products effectively. This relationship is dramaticallydifferent from the Western model, in which the salesforce and the selleroften become adversaries, struggling for power and attempting to get thebetter of one another during the transaction. (1991). Some of themost important have been in the food and beverage industry, where limitedJapanese resources (including limited land for food production) haveallowed Westerners to introduce new products, rather than differentversions of products already available, or to bring in familiar products innew forms; for instance, 92 percent of the dry soup mix market in Japan iscontrolled by foreign firms. 5). A 1992 study by Business Week magazine notedthat only 3 percent of all professional positions in blue-chip companies inJapan were open to women (Brannen, 1993, p. Johansson and Nonaka (1996)write, "Most Japanese marketers are price takers rather than price makers.They find where in the market similar products lie on the price line" andset the new product's price accordingly (p. . (1993). Cohen (1991) argues that the differences extend tonational character: The United States as a whole maximizes consumption and recreation, pursues instant gratification, extols the spirit of the individual, and adheres to a belief in the glory of the free market. 255). DeMente, B. Promotional techniques commonly used inAmerican markets appear alien and offensive when transferred to Japan,while "Japanese advertising is 'weird,' often not even making clear whatproduct or brand is being advertised" (Johansson, 1996, p. . Johansson and Nonaka (1996)observe, "In Japan, the buyer with money is the master, the one with aproduct or service to sell is the servant. 1). 4-5). In recent years, as asignificant portion of its population has begun to travel abroad, theJapanese market has started to open itself to international business inimportant ways. . One of the keys to understanding the Japanese market is comprehendingthe Japanese view of the marketplace itself. K., & Nonaka, I. 1 6). In recent decades, this normalization has been attributablein significant part to the willingness of the Japanese to open theirborders truly for the first time in their history, "to step outside oftheir cultural confinement and finally relate, in some way, to other peopleand other countries" (DeMente, 1993, p. Marketing in any situation is a complex and difficult art which mustbe flexible enough to adjust to new situations and demands. Berkeley: Stone Bridge. D. As Japanese goodsstarted to capture significant shares of many Western markets, Americanbusiness had to consider that Japanese management techniques might provideuseful models for the West. 1 5). Although price is a less significant component of the marketing mixin the artificially inflated Japanese economy, price still must be aconsideration in any marketing strategy. 1 5). Stephen D. The empire'srulers kept Japan closed to Westerners until they were forced by AdmiralPeary's arrival in the mid-185 s to admit foreigners and begin trading withthe West. At this level, the presence ofsolid Japanese partners can be especially important, since they can helppenetrate the market and ease the suspicions of the vendors at all levelsregarding the foreign marketers. Cowboys and Samurai: Why the United States islosing the industrial battle and why it matters. Johny K. The seller becomesa kind of consultant to the buyer, providing knowledge and guidance withouttaking power away from the buyer. The four primary components of a successful marketing mix, product,price, place, and promotion, are usually analyzed as distinct elements inWestern marketing. This paper examines the challenge facing an American company seekingto do business in the Japanese market. 1 5). Mistakes can be costly. Companies must be willing to makeadjustments in their products, using the advice of their Japaneseparticipants, to adapt the cultural preferences. Therefore, the marketer's decisions about howto get the product to the buyer has to penetrate an extraordinarily denseseries of levels. In the decades following World War II, Japanese goods (especiallycars and electronics) began to flood Western markets, gaining a reputationfor being better made than their American counterparts. Johansson and Nonaka (1996) write, "Given the lack offunctional specialization in the Japanese corporation, such separation isnot considered useful. A strong hierarchical relationship among the fourP's makes it necessary to take the decisions in the correct order" (p.1 4). However, this mindset does not lead to the Western conceptthat "The customer is always right," since "Who is right or wrong is acompletely irrelevant issue" (Johansson, 1996, p. Christalynn Brannen and Tracey Wilen (1993), in their handbookshowing American businesswomen some of the pitfalls of working in a male-dominated society, caution, "Extrapolating from one's own culture toanother is a big mistake" (p. In addition to introducing the right product, using important inputfrom Japanese partners, the marketer must pay attention to packaging.Although Western markets require the consideration of price as the nextstep, Japanese consumers "demand unfailing quality not only in the productsthey buy, but in the packaging as well" (DeMente, 1993, p. Although this is changing rapidly as Western influence begins tobring the women's movement to Japan, the tradition remains extremelyimportant and must be acknowledged. However, the Japanese market remains a separate case for Americanmarketers. Relentless: The Japaneseway of marketing. Among all the countries of the Pacific rim, Japan has alwaysrepresented a unique case with regard to the Western nations. New York: HarperBusiness.----------------------- 6 12). DeMente (1993) observesthat Johnson & Johnson's Japanese division "changed one of its toothbrushesseven times before releasing it" (p. New York:HarperBusiness. References Brannen, C., & Wilen, T. Johansson and Nonaka (1996) observe, "The main difference in themarketing manager's decision mix is the relatively minor role played bypromotions and the peculiar nature of media advertising" (p. (1993). How to do business with the Japanese.Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing. DeMente (1993) details the American success stories in the Japanesemarket, noting the common patterns in each story (pp. Doing business with Japanese men:A woman's handbook. Japan offers remarkable opportunities for those willing totake the time to understand this fascinating culture and the ways in whichit differs from Western markets. Even then, foreign travel and immigration were carefullycontrolled processes, regulated first by Japanese restrictions and later bythe American government's attempts to keep down the numbers of Asianimmigrants coming into the United States. Historically, Japan has remainedone of the most culturally separate countries in Asia, carefully guardingits way of life against foreign incursions. Place, the choice of distribution channels for the product, is muchmore significant in the Japanese market because of the "many-layered systemof gradually smaller wholesalers and a large number of mom-and-pop stores"(Johansson, 1996, p. One of the results of this extensive nationalexposure to other cultures has been a new Japanese willingness to acceptWestern approaches to doing business and a new Japanese hunger for Americanproducts. Boye Lafayette DeMente (1993)notes, "During the 198 s, almost half of the entire population of Japantraveled abroad" (p. Since World War II, Japan and the United States have graduallydeveloped a more normal working relationship, including a businessrelationship. 1). Johansson, J. 3).These aspects of the Japanese character are vital to creating an effectivemarketing plan. 118). Cohen, S. Japan's involvement with Axisforces during World War II, starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor, madeAmericans especially wary of the Japanese on their shores; the internmentof thousands of Japanese immigrants and American citizens of Japaneseancestry during this period was the most blatant and shameful example ofthis distrust. 17). This requires the marketer to conduct extensive testmarketing in close association with the company's Japanese partners to findthe best combination of colors, graphics, and text to attract the Japanesepalette. Nevertheless, the culture remains a distinct challenge tothe American marketer, as many large corporations have been dismayed todiscover. The overwhelmingly male bureaucracywithin Japanese business is one important facet important to anyunderstanding of the culture. Johansson and Ikujiro Nonaka (1996)point out one of the main differences between Japanese and Americanmanagement: "The Japanese have long considered marketing a business foreveryone in the company, not a professional pursuit of some specialists"(p. xv). This imbalance reflectsthe traditional Japanese division between the sexes: men work, women keepthe home. He emphasizes, "A very significant factor inall of these success stories was the role that key Japanese managers playedin helping to bring them about" (p. 5), packagingwhich guarantees freshness and which has been designed to appeal toJapanese tastes. L. An Americanmarketer faced with the challenge of introducing products into adramatically different culture must take care to study the new market,learn from mistakes, and engage assistance from those who are part of thetarget market. (1996). 18). Japan as a whole opts to work, to save, to sublimate the self to the interests of the larger group, to plan and to sacrifice for the long run, and to adhere to an economic system based primarily on enhancing the size and power of entrenched domestic interests (p. 1 5).Promotions, from mass media advertising to coupon offerings and point-of-sale displays, "play a much smaller role in the Japanese market than in theUnited States because of tradition more than outright prohibition"(Johansson, 1996, p. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.