Abstract For North Americans, business dealings with many Asians, generally, are challenging to conduct and sometimes difficult to conclude satisfactorily. The obstacles are cultural in nature. Negotiation, as an idea, is unique, and culturally specific. Also, the Japanese emphasize the relationships involved as well as specified goals during negotiations. They really want to know who they are dealing with, who sent them, and what the future of this relationship might hold.
Age can be an important factor in Asian communities.
There is far more reliance on non-verbal signals for the Chinese and Japanese in acquiring information than for North Americans. Even when North Americans know about a particular set of cultural differences, they do not know how to use the information. It can take some time before they find out. Confusion exists due to a real lack of experience in working with people having different values. Making the assumption, that any single person is going to reflect the group or even the group norm, can lead to terrible misunderstandings.