Why "I'm Sorry" Doesn't Always Translate

In the June 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review (Page 26), professors William W. Maddux, Peter H. Kim, Tetsushi Okumura and Jeanne M. Brett share their research on how apologies are interepreted based on your country of origin. The piece highlights how Americans associate apologies with an admission of personal blame and therefore culpability in the situation for which an apology is being offered. Japanese, however, offer apologies in order to repair the damage done to a relationship even if the one offering the apology is not the person directly at fault. "Even after decades of cooperation in business and politics, America and Japan still trip over a seemingly simple concept: the apology" Neither culture appeas to fully understand what the other means or expects" write the authors. The report goes on to describe the research methodology used, the interpretations of offered apologies based on culture, and briefly touches on apologies in other cultures. The article concludes with the recommendation that managers need to be attuned to the nuances of culture that can be lost in translation in order to maximize business relationships and minimize miscommunication and misunderstandings. You can read the full article at http://hbr.org/2012/06/why-im-sorry-doesnt-always-translate/ar/1