Cultural Similarities and Differences between China and Japan (Essay Sample)

GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
by Student’s name
Course code+name
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission
Cultural Similarities and Differences between China and Japan
According to Oetzel, et al. (2001) China and Japan have similarities in their religion, mentality, language and arts and cuisines. Confucianism significantly influences both cultures; both Chinese and Japanese embrace collectivism as opposed to individualism and their main food is rice and nodules. The countries’ languages also overlap in that one of the main languages in Japan, Kanji, is adopted from China. However, the countries have several differences. For example, Chinese speak several dialects but have only one written language unlike Japan which has several written languages but has one dialect. Most of the names in Chinese are monosyllabic whereas a majority of names in Japanese are polysyllabic. On mannerisms, the Chinese people are loud in public places contrary to Japanese who take it as impolite. Another difference is in cuisines. Chinese food is oily and mostly from domesticated animals whereas Japanese food is mainly from the sea and not oily. Furthermore, the Chinese wear the ‘Qipao’ while Japanese put on ‘Gofuku.'
Why it is Importance for Managers to Understand Culture in which they do Business
Morden (1995) states that understanding the culture that prevails in their area of operation is important since it determines how business operations, strategies, and policies, goods or services to be offered, interaction with people, negotiation, mergers, and acquisitions. For instance, he says you cannot use an owl in an advertisement in India as it is believed as a sign of bad omen. In general, understanding culture is paramount for sustainability of any business since the acceptability of the company’s products or services offered must resonate with the community’s culture to earn reasonable profits.
Impact of Economies of Scale on International Business Dealings
Economies of scale in production increase trade between countries especially those with similar characteristics (Krugman, P.R. 2008). The author argues that shifting production of the goods that exhibits economies of scale to another country where it is combined with other products with similar characteristics has the potential of increasing productivity of those goods without a change in the resources employed. This shift will lead to price differentiation hence more trade between countries. However, the trade between countries will depend on the existing market structures. For instance, a monopolistic competitive market which is associated with differentiated products triggers demands across the border leading to high productivity at a lower price. The reduced cost of production coupled with strong demand increases production further lowering priced due to the high supply.
How Economic Blocs affect the Economic Growth for the Region
Economic blocs are facilitating free trade, market access and trade creation, economies of scale, job creation and protection of local industries to the member States (Frankel, et al. 1997). The free trade is aided by the elimination of barriers to trade leading to a comparative advantage. As seen in the previous section, trading blocs contribute towards economies of scale resulting in low production cost and lower prices. Due to the free movement of people, more job opportunities are created for citizens in the member states. The total net effect of the above said variables is the increase in gross domestic product. Most importantly, trading blocs’ regulations protect member states against cheap imports. The member countries must, therefore, produce enough goods and services to meet the growing demand for products and services. The net effect is growth in national income and per capita GDP.
Factors to Consider when moving from Conservative Approach to Debt to more Unconventional Solutions
According to Werner (2014) available funding options, macroeconomic sustainability, operating fiscal and monetary policies and debt management regulations in place should be considered when transiting from conventional to unconventional debt approaches. He states that screening of available financing options will give the most economical solution. He further says that unique approaches to debt will lead to non-inflationary growth, sustainable government budgets and national debt, stabilize the banking system and induce domestic demand.
Why is debt such a critical factor to a country’s overall stability?
Government debt is mostly sophisticated and its financial composition risky. Reduced debt structure in aspects such as maturity, currency, interest rate and unsecured contingencies is a major contributor to continuing economic crisis (Werner 2014). Poor debt management, especially on government's side, will destabilize the private sector. However, with proper debt management policies and keeping contingencies in check, countries will reduce their vulnerability to contagion and financial risk. The author argues that the standard debt management policies have significantly led to the economic crisis in the Eurozone. For instance, most countries in the Eurozone have borrowed heavily from foreign sources. The interest burden has become unbearable for many countries something that even compromises their sovereignty since some of the loans they are given have unfriendly terms and conditions. Besides, the country’s GDP to debt ratio is too low such that every time they budget they must borrow to finance the budget deficit. This trend renders the country economically unsustainable.
Steps taken by General Motors to Recover from Vehicle Recalls
General Motors sales have been on a downtrend since the vehicle recall of 2011 through 2014 that was attributed to the failure in engine ignition switch (Jennings and Trautman 2015). The once global automotive giant is losing substantially to Volkswagen and Toyota. However, the comp...