Cross Cultural Negotiations

Negotiation is a fundamental form of dispute resolution involving two or more parties (Michelle, M.2003). Negotiations can also take place in order to avoid any future disputes. It can be either an interpersonal or inter-group process. Negotiations can occur at international or corporate level and also at a personal level. Negotiations often involve give and take acknowledging that there is interdependence between the disputants to some extent to achieve the goal. This means that negotiations only arise when the goals cannot be achieved independently (Lewicki and Saunders et al., 1997). Interdependence means the both parties can influence the outcome for the other party and vice versa. The negotiations can be win-lose or win-win in nature.

In a lot of negotiations, it is generally expected that the two parties will stand in two different camps in terms of price or other conditions and that both parties will meet somewhere in the middle. This is not always the case but it is certainly a common

Therefore, it is important to increase our knowledge of Asian cultures, languages, negotiation styles, and business practices to further develop business relations that are favorable to the continued growth and development of our own country and the global marketplace. The Asia countries make a massive impact on global economics and trade relations which also affects the political aspects related to international relationships.

Being successful at negotiating requires one to consider the various styles: win-win, win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose, no deal and compromise negotiation. Each is unique in its outcome and business associates must consider their end goal of the negotiation and when each style of negotiation is

Negotiation is one important part of both the professional and personal life in our everyday situations. It is critical for people to resolve disputes, distribute limited resources, and/or create something new that neither party could achieve on his or her own. Negotiations can range from coordinating project timelines with clients to asking for a raise to discussing holiday plans with family members.

Everybody negotiate in his or hers personal and professional lives and it is an important part of the competitive modern life. Negotiations can occur over dealing with people, business contracts, official matters, service, buying products and relationships. As James Poon (1998, p. 41) expressed that negotiation is a basic human activity. The world is like a giant negotiating table that person can negotiate many different things in different situation.

climate, strategy to use and at the same time knowing BATNA of both parties to

However, beneath the iceberg, we have value, beliefs, norms and assumptions. These are all important factors of the negotiator that a negotiator who is unfamiliar with the culture would not be aware of if they simply showed up to the negotiation without first conducting research (Thompson, 2014).

In this negotiation, we learned that it is important to research your opponent, to understand their culture, not only of their country or backgrounds, but also their company culture. When we are able to understand our opponent’s way of thinking about business and doing business we can then understand how to approach a negotiation situation with them. In this exercise, we learned that it is difficult for us to adjust when it involves breaking or acting in a way opposite of what we are accustomed to. We also learned that although my classmates live in the same country as we do, their upbringings may have similarities to their origin country and will therefore help them to communicate and adjust to that country’s norms and standards. We were surprised how we were able to stay in character although it was hard and it was surprising how people responded when they were unaware of your intentions and strategies. If we had to do this exercise again, what we can do is do more research on our opponents so that we would have an idea of what to expect in the negotiation table.

Communication styles in negotiation are probably one of the most important skills or characteristics one will develop over a lifetime. From the point a human being begins to develop cognitive skills, the process of learning and understanding situations become more apparent. One will learn from a very young age the dynamics and characteristics of communication and its role in negotiation. To better understand the communication process, one must be able to recognize how they communicate, whether it is on an assertive, aggressive, passive, or passive-aggressive level of communication. The manner in which one conveys his/her message is critical, and the many methods in which they do it is

Although emphasis usually lies on being a competent speaker, listening is a key skill that many business personnel do not exercise enough. For cross cultural communication, attentive listening is critical to be able to understand meanings, read between the lines and enable to empathize with the speaker.

An effective negotiator is a strategic negotiator, who is able to switch back and forth between different phases of a negotiation without losing the goal in mind. An effective negotiator takes time to process what is happening during the negotiation and ensures that the right problem is being resolved while taking into consideration other party’s intrests to finding a common ground. Concequently those type of actions facilitate in the process of a negotiation by creating a cooperative environment and enhance the furture relationship between the parties (Fells 2012; Sebenius 2001). An effective negotiator aknowledges that no party is the same and as every negotiation, every negotiator is different from one another. These variations explain the DNA of negotiation that requires an effective negotiator to take into considerations the strands of the DNA, such as “reciprocity, trust, power, information exchange, ethics, and outcome” that vary from person to person (Fells 2012, pg 8).

In life there is always some type of give and take amongst others. Some exchange may be beneficial and some can be regretful. This is all the same with negotiation, either is to negotiate a divorces decree, price of a new home, or a NFL or NBA contract deal. The world today is full of negotiating situation in and can be executed at any given time. There two common characteristic of a negotiation or bargaining situation. Negotiating parties have separate but conflicting interest.

At this stage negotiators stop focusing on their opponent’s needs and priorities and state their own needs and priorities. It is about creating value for your side and asking for the value that you want in exchange. It is the most highly competitive stage of negotiation. Arguments often take place about the value of items on either side of the equation and whether sufficient value is being offered from the opposing side in exchange. It is important that these arguments are handled even handedly even when negative tactics such as threats are used to move one or the other side to action (Craver, 2004).

When dealing with businesses there are always going to be cultural barriers and obstacles. This is because no two countries are the same and each person is different. Cross cultural communication looks at how people from various backgrounds interact and communicate and this is what this report will cover. It will look at how people from different backgrounds pass information and make negotiations despite the barriers of culture between them. The case study ‘Journey to Sharahad’ displays the cross cultural exchange between the Americans who have just arrived in Sharahad are completely oblivious to the culture and people of Sharahad and what