INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION

AND CROSS-CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

BASICS OF CROSS-CULTURAL BASICS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE AND CULTURELANGUAGE AND CULTURE

•The Whorf hypothesis

HIGH CONTEXTHIGH CONTEXT

•Communications have multiple meanings interpreted by reading the situation

•Asian and Arabic languages are among the most high context in the world

LOW CONTEXTLOW CONTEXT

•The words provide most of the meaning

•Most northern European languages including German, English, and the Scandinavian languages are low context

Swiss

Germans

Scandinavians

North Americans

Arabs

French

Italians

Latin Americans

British

Japanese

High Context: MeaningImplicit Languages

Low Context: MeaningExplicit in Language

SurroundingInformation

Necessary forUnderstanding

EX 3.1 High Context andLow Context Countries

Exhibit 3.2 Cultural Differences in

Communication Styles

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20

40

60

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100

% Direct % Formal

NONVERBAL NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION - COMMUNICATION -

COMMUNICATING WITHOUT COMMUNICATING WITHOUT WORDSWORDS

KINESICSKINESICS

• Communicating through body movements

• Facial expressions• Body posture

PROXEMICS PROXEMICS

• The use space to communicate• The personal bubble of space - nine

inches to over twenty inches • North Americans prefer more

distance than from Latin and Arab cultures

TOUCHTOUCH

• Basic human interaction • In greeting - shake hands,

embrace, or kiss • Latin European and Latin

American cultures-more touching than Germanic, Anglo, or Scandinavian cultures

PRACTICAL ISSUES IN CROSS-PRACTICAL ISSUES IN CROSS-CULTURAL VERBAL CULTURAL VERBAL

COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION

INTERPRETERSINTERPRETERS

• Provide simultaneous translation of a foreign language

• Require greater linguistic skills than speaking a language or translating written documents

• Insure the accuracy and common understanding of agreements

COMMUNICATION WITH COMMUNICATION WITH NONNATIVE SPEAKERS NONNATIVE SPEAKERS

• Use the most common words with most common meanings

• Select words with few alternative meanings

• Follow rules of grammar strictly• Speak with clear breaks between

words

Communication with nonnative speakers,

continued

• Avoid “sports” words or words borrowed from literature

• Avoid words that represent pictures • Mimic the cultural flavor of nonnative

speaker’s language• Summarize• Test your communication success

AVOIDING ATTRIBUTION AVOIDING ATTRIBUTION ERRORSERRORS

• Attribution - process by which we interpret the meaning and intent of spoken words or nonverbal exchanges

• Attribution errors

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONNEGOTIATION

• More complex than domestic negotiations

• Differences in national cultures and differences in political, legal, and economic systems often separate potential business partners

EXHIBIT 3.4: STEPS IN THE EXHIBIT 3.4: STEPS IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION

PROCESSPROCESS

STEP 1: PREPARATION

STEP 2: BUILDING THERELATIONSHIP

STEP 3: EXCHANGINGINFORMATION/FIRST OFFER

STEP 5: CONCESSIONS

STEP 6: AGREEMENT

STEP 4: PERSUASION

STEP 1: PREPARATIONSTEP 1: PREPARATION

•Is the negotiation possible?•Know what your company wants •Know the other side •Send the proper team•Agenda•Prepare for a long negotiation •Environment•Strategy

DIFFERENCES IN DIFFERENCES IN CULTURES IN KEY CULTURES IN KEY

NEGOTIATING NEGOTIATING PROCESSES (EXAMPLES)PROCESSES (EXAMPLES)

• Communication styles—direct or indirect

• Sensitivity to time—low or high

Cultural Differences in Key Negotiating Processes,

Continued

• Forms of agreement—specific or broad (EX 3.5)

• Team organization—a team or one leader

Exhibit 3.5 Preferences for Broad Agreements

0

10

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30

40

50

% Preference for Broad Agreements

STEP 2: BUILDING THE STEP 2: BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIPRELATIONSHIP

• No focus on business • Partners get to know each other• Social and interpersonal exchange• Duration and importance vary by culture

STEP 3: EXCHANGING STEP 3: EXCHANGING INFORMATION AND THE INFORMATION AND THE

FIRST OFFERFIRST OFFER

• Task-related information is exchanged

• First offer

STEP 4: PERSUASIONSTEP 4: PERSUASION

• Heart of the negotiation process• Attempting to get other side to

agree to a position• Numerous tactics used

VERBAL AND NONVERBAL VERBAL AND NONVERBAL NEGOTIATION TACTICSNEGOTIATION TACTICS

• Promise• Threat• Recommendation• Warning• Reward• Punishment• Normative appeal

Negotiation Tactics, Negotiation Tactics, ContinuedContinued

• Commitment• Self disclosure• Question• Command• No• Interrupting

““DIRTY TRICKS” IN DIRTY TRICKS” IN INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONSNEGOTIATIONS

Dirty tricks are negotiation tactics that pressure opponents to accept unfair or undesirable agreements or concessions

PLOYS/DIRTY TRICKS - PLOYS/DIRTY TRICKS - POSSIBLE RESPONSESPOSSIBLE RESPONSES

• Deliberate deception - point out what is happening

• Stalling - do not reveal when you plan to leave

• Escalating authority - clarify decision making authority

• Good guy, bad buy routine - do not make any concessions

• You are wealthy and we are poor - ignore the ploy

• Old friends - keep a psychological distance

Ploys/Dirty Tricks, Continued

STEPS 5 AND 6: STEPS 5 AND 6: CONCESSIONS AND CONCESSIONS AND

AGREEMENTAGREEMENT

• Final agreement: The signed contract, agreeable to all sides

• Concession making: requires that each side relax some of its demands

STYLES OF CONCESSIONSTYLES OF CONCESSION

• Sequential approach

–Each side reciprocates concessions

• Holistic approach

–Concession making begins after all issues are discussed

BASIC NEGOTIATION BASIC NEGOTIATION STRATEGIESSTRATEGIES

• Competitive– The negotiation as a win-lose game

• Problem solving– Search for possible win-win situations

COMPETITIVE OR COMPETITIVE OR PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEM SOLVING

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONNEGOTIATION

• Cultural norms and values may predispose some negotiators to one approach (EX 3.10)

• Most experts recommend a problem solving negotiation strategy

EX 3.10 Preferences for Problem-Solving

Negotiation

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% Win-Win

THE SUCCESSFUL THE SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL

NEGOTIATOR: PERSONAL NEGOTIATOR: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICSCHARACTERISTICS

• Tolerance of ambiguous situations • Flexibility and creativity • Humor• Stamina • Empathy

• Curiosity • Bilingual

Personal Characteristics, Continued

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS

• Successful negotiators: – Understand the negotiation steps– Build cross-cultural communication

skills– Understand nonverbal communication– Avoid attribution errors