Interactive workshop · not a lecture deck

Sell the platform. Read the room.

US Google Advertising managers entering Japan: how cultural models change the way advertising space and platform solutions are proposed.

Room votesScenario decisionsModel labsFacilitator prompts

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); World Values Survey Association (n.d.).

0 Workshop map

Seven steps. Four models. One operating guideline.

1–2US + modelsHow home assumptions enter platform sales.

3–4Japan + modelsHow context and risk change the proposal path.

5–6Compare + diagnoseWhere managers misread the room.

7GuidelineMake speed visible as control.

Facilitator cue: ask participants to name one thing that usually makes their sales process fast — then test if it survives the Japan context.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018).

1 Home culture + sector

Home base: US platform sales, not campaign production.

Google sells advertising space, audience access, bidding, measurement, and platform solutions. The advertiser owns the full media execution.

US reflex

Say it clearly. Decide fast. Assign an owner.

Sales reflex

Turn platform capability into measurable client value.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976).

2 Apply models to US

What US managers may carry into the room.

Hofstede

Lower hierarchy, lower uncertainty avoidance: debate and pilots feel normal.

Hall

Low-context: meaning should be explicit and written.

Trompenaars

Universalist/specific: rules, KPIs, owners.

WVS

Voice and autonomy are expected to be positive.

Pair exercise: mark which of these assumptions helps in Japan, and which becomes risky.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); World Values Survey Association (n.d.).

3 Host culture

Japan: context, consensus, control.

A good recommendation may still fail if the alignment path, risk boundary, or face-saving channel is missing.

indirect signalsseniorityconsensuslong-term trust

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); The Culture Factor Group (n.d.).

4 Apply models to Japan

Japan model profile in one screen.

HRisk controlHigh uncertainty avoidance → make the pilot safe.

HContextSilence and hesitation carry meaning.

TRole/contextCorrect rule, wrong channel = friction.

WVoice channelDissent needs protected routes.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018).

5 Compare · Hofstede

Risk tolerance is the big operational gap.

USJapan

Power distance

40/54

Uncertainty avoidance

46/92

Long-term orientation

26/88

Indulgence

68/42

Room prompt: which row most changes how you present an advertising-space proposal?

Sources: Hofstede (1984); The Culture Factor Group (n.d.); Taras et al. (2010).

Live vote diagnosis

What will break first?

Vote options map to Hofstede, Hall, Trompenaars, and WVS.

5 Compare · Hall

Translate the signal before you answer.

Client says

“This may be difficult.”

Low-context trap

“Okay, difficult but possible. Let’s proceed.”

High-context move

“Which concerns should we resolve before we move forward?”

Sources: Hall (1976); Nishimura et al. (2008).

5 Compare · Trompenaars

Sort the move: rule-first or context-safe?

Click each phrase:
Global policy says launch.Who must be aligned first?The KPI owner decides.How do we protect face?

US rule-first reflex

Japan-safe channel

Sources: Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); Smith et al. (2002).

5 Compare · WVS

Voice is useful only when the channel is safe.

Advanced societies still differ in how public disagreement, authority, restraint, and self-expression are balanced.

In this meeting, how safe is public disagreement?

4/10

Sources: World Values Survey Association (n.d.); Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018).

6 Problem areas

Six model-grounded failure modes.

Loose pilot

No risk boundary.

False yes

Silence read as consent.

Wrong channel

Policy beats relationship.

No dissent path

Voice requested publicly.

Short-term pitch

Trust logic missing.

Public correction

Face loss blocks learning.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018).

Live vote protocol

What must every proposal include?

Protocol options derive from Hofstede, Hall, and Trompenaars.

7 Recommended guideline

Make speed visible as control.

Final instruction: every team writes one concrete sentence they will use in a Japanese client meeting.

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); World Values Survey Association (n.d.).

Workshop handout final exercise

Turn a model into a behavior.

Hofstede

“To reduce uncertainty, I will…”

Hall

“To check context, I will…”

Trompenaars

“To route the rule safely, I will…”

WVS

“To protect voice, I will…”

Sources: Hofstede (1984); Hall (1976); Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997); Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018).

References

Model source base

Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Hall (1976). Beyond Culture.

Hofstede (1983). Journal of International Business Studies.

Hofstede (1984). Asia Pacific Journal of Management.

Nishimura, Nevgi, & Tella (2008). High/low context communication cultures.

Smith et al. (2002). Cultural values and managerial behavior.

Taras, Kirkman, & Steel (2010). Meta-analysis of Hofstede dimensions.

The Culture Factor Group (n.d.). Country comparison tool.

Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997). Riding the Waves of Culture.

World Values Survey Association (n.d.). WVS wave 7 documentation.

Full details remain in the report PDF.