What influences Japanese decision making and why does the decision-making process take so long?
Typically, decision making at large Japanese firms is participatory. Depending on the significance of the decision being made, many different staff levels and several departments and sections can become involved. Japanese individual managers usually do not have the authority to make decisions unilaterally. This fact partly accounts for the “longer” decision making you may be experiencing in Japan. In addition to the numbers of people involved, the process itself can be time-consuming because it is consensus based. A lower-level team typically is assigned to evaluate a particular project or proposal. They gather and analyze information, and gradually arrive at a recommendation for action. In order for that recommendation to be promoted and accepted, consensus must be reached within the organization, potentially all the way to the top. Reaching consensus involves extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying to sway all parties towards the recommendation. Of course there will be dissention, but t
