RWESTERN NEGOTIATORS. WESTERNERS WILL OFTEN FIND THEMSELVES REPEATING ESSENTIALLY THESAME MAJOR POINTS TO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GROUPS OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT PEOPLE WITHINTHE SAME COMPANY. MANY OF THE JAPANESE IN SUCH MEETINGS WILL REMAIN TOTALLY SILENTTHROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MEETING, AND ONE MAY WONDER WHAT ROLE THEY PLAY IN THEMEETING THEMSELVES. IT'S ALL PART OF BRINGING DIFFERENT GROUPS IN SO THAT ALL OF THE KEYFIGURES IN THE COMPANY CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR PRESENTATION. IT'S ALSO FOR THEPURPOSE OF ENABLING THESE GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS TO GET TOGETHER TO EVALUATE YOU ANDYOUR TEAM MEMBERS FROM A PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW, THAT IS TO SAY, TO ESTABLISH HOWWELL THAT JAPANESE COMPANY WILL BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITIESTHEMSELVES WHO COMPRISE YOUR TEAM. STRICTLY SPEAKING, THE TERM RINGI DOES NOT MEAN "DECISICION BY CONSENSUS" BUT RATHERDESCRIBES A PROCESS BY WHICH A PROBLEM ITSELF IS MUTUALLY DEFINED BY ALL THE PARTIESWHO WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLUTION. IN OTHER WORDS, THROUGHRINGI THE JAPANESE SEEK TO ASSURE THEMSELVES THAT THEY ARE NOT JUST SOLVING A PROBLEMBUT THAT THEY ARE SOLVING THE RIGHT PROBLEM. IT'S NOT A POINT WORTH BELABORING,HOWEVER, SO FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE RINGI CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS MAKING THEDECISION ITSELF IN A GROUP. WESTERNERS ARE QUICK TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SEEMINGLY INORDINATE LENGTH OF TIME THATIT TAKES TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION BY THIS JAPANESE METHOD. THE OFFSETTING ADVANTAGE,HOWEVER, IS THAT ONCE THE DECISION HAS BEEN MADE ALL OF THE PARTIES TO THAT DECISIONHAVE BEEN FULLY INFORMED AND-MORE OFTEN THAN NOT-AGREE WITH THE DECISION, SO THATTHE IMPLEMENTATION CAN BE MUCH FASTER THAN IN THE WEST. IN THE WEST, WHEN A DECISION ISMADE BY TOP MANAGEMENT RATHER QUICKLY, IT MUST THEN BE "SOLD" DOWN THE LINE TO THELOWER LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT, AND THIS DOES NOT OCCUR IN JAPAN WITH THE FREQUENCYTHAT IT DOES IN THE WEST. THE RESULT IS THAT IF YOU WERE ATTEMPTING TO PERSUADE JAPANESEMANAGEM...
