77: Dr. Parissa Hagiharian, Professor of International Management, Sophia University

Originally from Austria, Dr. Parissa Haghirian is a renowned
expert on international and Japanese management. Her studies
include a Masters in Japanese Studies, a Masters in International
Management, and a PhD in Business Administration from the Vienna
University of Economics and Business. She has been a visiting
Professor of International Management to numerous universities,
Adjunct Professor of Japanese Management at Keio University and
WASEDA Business School and since 2015 is the Professor of
International Management at Sophia University.


Dr. Haghrian started learning Japanese when she was 19 and still
takes lessons 30 years later. She recalls enjoying studying
Japanese, but thought she needed to study something a bit more
‘practical’ and went to business school at the same time. This
led to her first job at Kyushu Sangyo University as an Assistant
Professor where she was the first foreign woman the university
had hired. Dr. Haghirian believes that, even today, not enough
foreign business leaders working in Japan speak Japanese and that
there is much to be gained from speaking the Japanese language.


According to Dr. Haghirian, communication is a significant point
of difference between Japanese and Western cultures and something
that foreigners living or working in Japan need to mindful of. In
Western cultures Dr. Haghirian argues communication tends to be
focused on the speaker trying to get information out with
listeners free to do what they please with the information. This
contrasts with Japan (and many Asian cultures) where Keigo, or
honorific speech, means communication is dictated by the listener
and a speaker must first assess who they are talking to and adapt
their way of speaking.


When discussing Western and Japanese team dynamics, Dr. Haghirian
highlights the differences in responsibility and accountability.
Western teams emphasise responsibility for individual tasks or
roles, while Japanese teams emphasise the group’s responsibility.
This can be challenging for cross-cultural team members and
leaders, and she emphasises the importance of leaders working in
Japan to not only understand their own leadership style but to
also understand the ‘Japanese way’ of leadership which may have
less executive power and relies on consensus building but carries
enormous emotional weight with junior staff members.


Talking from her extensive experience working in Japan, Dr.
Haghirian believes that in Japan teams are most motivated when
working together towards a common goal. She explains the goal
should be clearly communicated to the team and should be one that
allows the team to work collaboratively. Dr. Haghirian points out
that the best way for managers to find out what works for their
teams is to ask. Even in her work with university students, when
asked if they would rather work alone or in groups her experience
is that teamwork is the preferred option.


Finally, when asked for final pieces of advice to foreigners
coming to Japan to work, Dr. Haghirian offered; preparation by
reading, asking as many questions as possible upon arrival, be
mindful of the stresses in working overseas, and engage in
self-reflection.