Cross-culture essay (Cross-National Work Experience Interview)

Cross-culture (Cross-National Work Experience Interview) - Essay Example rst, according to Melissa Honda, the major glaring difference between the Japanese and the USA workplace culture is the cooperation aspect of the workplace. This cultural difference is referred to as the collectivism vs. individualism difference (Yūki and Brewer, 136). In the USA, there is the tendency of most workers within a working environment doing their tasks on their own, and only engaging others when there is a need. Thus, to the extent that an individual in the USA workplace environment is able to accomplish all the required tasks by him/herself, then there is little engagement with the rest. However, the case is very different in Japan, more especially in the project management related industries, where the workplace mostly constitutes working groups as opposed to individuals. Individuals in Japan collaborate in every aspect of accomplishing their tasks, such that by the end of the project, the work is a product of various contributions, as opposed to being the product of individual specialty. In the high individualistic cultures, self-determination is highly valued (Gudykunst, 241). Thus, the USA work environment comprises of an environment where self-determination plays the biggest role in the accomplishment of tasks, such that there is a high level of segmentation and division of labor within organizations, based on the individual worker’s specialty. On the other hand, Japan presents a collaborated work environment where the tasks are more attributed to group work and group collaboration, such that the individual workers will work well in groups as opposed to working as individuals (Yūki and Brewer, 147). Thus, Melissa initially faced the challenge of accomplishing the designated tasks single-handedly when she joined her organization in the USA in 2012, and had to take a few months to get used to this different culture of working. Nevertheless, having worked for the organization for three years now, Melissa is now capable of working both as an