Tuesday, December 2, 2008

内と外 Inside and Outside - The Key to Understanding Japanese Culture and the Business Scene

I want to write about the Japanese concept of “内と外 (Inside and Outside),” which is one of the keys to understanding Japanese culture and society. To be familiar with the concept of “内と外” helps one grasp the mentality of Japanese business people. “内と外” postulates that individuals belong to one or more groups, and each group has clear boundaries that separate its members from those of other groups.

Japanese has many words of the same pronunciation with (slightly) different meaning. For example, these three words are all pronounced "uchi":“内” (inside), “家” (family/home), and “うち” (a female word for "I" in the Kansai area and some western country sides. Maiko, an apprentice in Kyoto, calls herself "uchi").

Japanese has different words to refer to others' family members and those of their own. For example, in a formal setting or conversation with strangers, I call my father "chichi" whereas I call him "otousan" when I am with my family. Although I will use "otousan" when I talk with friends in a casual setting, I never call others' fathers "chichi" because it specifically refers to "my" father. You can see the same phenomenon in the business world. "Tousya" refers to a company in which you are employed, while "Kisya" is addressed to companies with which you do business.

Japanese business personnel call their co-workers/employees “内の者”(Uchi no mono) which means "person inside/our person." On the other hand, they call people from another company “他社の方” (gentlemen/ladies belonging to another company/outside). I think it is interesting that they use different words to refer to a "person." As for the person inside their own company they use “者” (mono), the lowest word with which to refer to a person. They use “方” (kata), the highest word, when referring to people in other companies. Even more interesting, “者” shares its pronunciation with the word “物” which means "thing."

The Japanese do have their good points in business. They think of their performance as representing their company. If they make a mistake, it will be viewed as the company's mistake. If they do something unethical, it will disgrace their co-workers, bosses, and the company. For example, if you are dissatisfied with the service from a clerk and you complain to a different clerk or the supervisor, you will receive an apology at the beginning of the discussion, even though it is not that particular person's fault. This is unlikely to happen in America, where individuality is the first and the all.

I had an interesting incident recently at a café. The café was pretty busy, but everything seemed to be under control. I ordered a cup of green tea and when I took it back to my seat and sipped it, I smelled mint. That was the last thing I wanted, as to say, in my café life. First, I thought, "I smell mint, but am I right?" Self-doubt is common in Japanese. My second thought was, "Should I have to tell them that I just wanted a regular green tea and not a flavored one?" Even though I was the customer, I took into consideration the service provider's situation. Because Japanese culture is based on inter-dependence and harmony is very important, it is natural to care about others' situations and stances. Finally, I went back to the counter and said, "Although I ordered a green tea, I think it's mint tea."

The young lady at the counter started telling me what was happening to her at the time she gave me the mint tea, who passed the mint tea to her, that the customer after me actually ordered the mint tea, blah, blah, blah. What I expected was a simple "Sorry," and then she would correct my order. This is America, so of course she thought she was just an individual doing her own work and never thought of herself as representing the café. If I had an interpreter from the television show "South Park," what I was thinking while I listened to her excuses, with my archaic Japanese smile, was "Shut the fu*k up and just give me a dumb a** green tea!"

Please, don't worry. I got my green tea eventually.