hem in front of others. The best action to take if you are not pleased with some ones work is to talk to them in private. You must try to be very gentle in your explanation of your dissatisfaction and emphasize on the person’s strong points. If you do not take extreme care in this you are sure to upset the person and could possible earn a lifetime enemy. The last two concepts that one needs to understand is that of giri (duties) and on (obligations). To help understand the importance of these two concepts one must comprehend one fact about the Japanese. The Japanese tend to take every debt and obligation received during life as a personal weight on their shoulders. Although through repayment of favors and help, these debts can be somewhat repaid but they can never be fully restored. A more accurate description of on is the obligation incurred by giving and granting major favors, such as giving birth or taking care of some ones education. When one receives on from another it is expected that they spend most of their life trying to repay it in some form, although the Japanese feel that you can never fully repay the debt. Of the two concepts, giri seems to be the less serious of the two (Ibid, p.64). Giri is the exchange of small debts and obligations that occur on an everyday basis. Such examples would be the giving of a small gift to another. Giri even takes into consideration the welcome that you receive when walking into a Japanese restaurant. You are not expected though to spend your life trying to repay this gift though. It is taken that everyone gives and receives giri several times throughout a normal day. One must keep in mind that in the Japanese society one cannot escape the massive web of obligation created by giving and receiving gifts. It is very important to also remember that next to insulting ones kao is to refuse a gift.Japanese and American negotiating styles are a study in contrast (Tenhover, p.22...
