Focusing upon the interactive work-group communication patterns of employees classified as "managers," this paper compares such communication observed in Japanese and United States business and industrial organizations. The paper first describes several models of decision making within American and Japanese organizations, highlighting the normative communicative behaviors of employees in both cultures. It then compares the decision making systems of the two countries, focusing on five elements: (1) authority, (2) timeliness, (3) conflict, (4) problem solving, and (5) participation. After identifying communication differences in organization decision making in the two countries, the paper concludes that the typical organizational environments found in the United States and Japan foster distinct patterns of employee decision making behavior and concomitant communication practices. (FL)