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Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and ScientistsThe advent of global markets elevates the role and importance of culture as a mitigating factor in the diffusion of knowledge and technology and in product and process innovation. This is especially true in the large commercial aircraft (LCA) sector where the production and market aspects are becoming increasingly international. As firms expand beyond their national borders, using such methods as risk-sharing partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing, and alliances, they have to contend with national and corporate cultures. Our focus is on Japan, a program participant in the production of the Boeing Company's 777. The aspects of Japanese culture and workplace communications will be examined: (1) the influence of Japanese culture on the diffusion of knowledge and technology in aerospace at the national and international levels; (2) those cultural determinants-the propensity to work together, a willingness to subsume individual interests to a greater good, and an emphasis on consensual decision making-that have a direct bearing on the ability of Japanese firms to form alliances and compete in international markets; (3) and those cultural determinants thought to influence the information-seeking behaviors and workplace communication practices of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists. In this article, we report selective results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on workplace communications. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communication, use of libraries, use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports.
Document ID
19980010260
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Pinelli, Thomas E.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA United States)
Sato, Yuko
(Pittsburgh Univ. Pittsburgh, PA United States)
Barclay, Rebecca O.
(Knowledge Management Associates Portsmouth, VA United States)
Kennedy, John M.
(Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN United States)
Date Acquired
August 17, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1997
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Air Transportation World Wide
Volume: 2
Issue: 1
Subject Category
Communications And Radar
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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