Culture in Negotiation

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.

Retrieved from http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/differences-in-business-culture-between-japan-and-west Viswat, L., & Kobayashi, J. (2012, March 28). Negotiation Styles - Similarities and Differences between American and Japanese University Students. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 1404(28). Retrieved from

Cahn and Abigail (2014) define negotiation as “a particular type of conflict management—one characterized by an exchange of proposals and counter proposals as a means of reaching a satisfactory settlement” (p. 229). Negotiation is a fact of life. Subsequently, we spend a substantial amount of time negotiating for something every day. The fact of the matter is that life is full of conflict situations. Whether in our personal or professional lives and whether or not we are aware of it, we are often engaged in conflict situations that require tapping into our conflict negotiation skills. From deciding what movie to see, where to eat, to asking one’s boss for a raise, we are all engaged in some type of negotiation. These real-life

North America’s culture certainly affect international business activities, the same happen among all countries and continents in the world. Culture and tradition have a particular role in person’s critical thinking, communication barriers and behavior. In the business environment negotiation is an important skill in where all parties needs to be pleased, at the end you have to give for you to be able to receive, either is entering into a contract or building a

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.

“Stella Ting-Toomey’s face negotiation theory helps explain cultural differences in responses to conflict (Griffin, 2009). People do not respond to conflict in the same manner. Reponses vary according to culture, goals, desires, and self-image. According to Fullerton, “a communication professor at California State University, Ting-Toomey assumes that people of every culture are always negotiating face. Face is “the projected image of one’s self in a relational situation, the way that we want others to see us and treat us” (Griffin, 2009). Simply, the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

Conflicts and disputes in negotiations arise because of a number of reasons. Opposing interests, cultural, gender, personality, and emotional differences are contributing factors as well. Culture is an important dimension of international negotiations. According to Vochita (2008), it is an ingrained behavioral influence which affects the way collective groups approach, evaluate, and negotiate opportunities for international business. This paper will evaluate how the influence of the aforementioned differences will play in cell phone

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

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).

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself." How ever true this might be, it is human nature to feel fear, and more importantly fear of the unknown. Often fear leads to mistrust, which can finish a negotiation before it has even begun. IN today’s increasingly globalised world, being culturally prepared and culturally aware allows negations to at least commence smoothly and efficiently. Globalisation has brought everyone on earth closer together, we can be chatting to someone in Argentine, and emailing someone in Shanghai. Organisations have tapped into the global work force and cross-cultural negotiation is by-product of this. How ever when negotiating across culture, negotiators must always remember that the cross cultural differences are not the issue up for debate, and through many social cues we can see how different cultures and behaviours different to our own can insight fear, and fear of the unknown, nearly hijacking the negotiations. This is evident through many things, whether it is almost superficial concepts, such as language, gestures and eye contact. It is also evident through more profound explanations such as time orientation. Despite the overwhelming amount of literature asserting the major differences in cross-cultural negotiation, there are many experts in the field who disagree. We contrast the pre-discussed notions and can see that cross-cultural differences are also a smokescreen for many negotiators to hide behind for many reasons. This contrast to the

Explain each stage of the negotiation process and the role that culture plays in each stage. Give example to support your answer

Many businesses aren 't fully aware of these cultures and when encountered with them, they fail to communicate or negotiate effectively. According to Jeswald W. Salacuse, who wrote the book The Global Negotiator: Making, Managing, and Mending Deals Around the World in the Twenty-First Century found that there are ten major elements that complicate international business. A few that stand out are “Negotiating Goals: Contract or Relationship?” My interpretation is that when dealing business, it is sometimes hard to figure out how to act or speak. One side may think strictly business, while the other side may want to get to know you and then talk business. Salacuse states that as a general rule, it is safer to act formal instead of informal. Some cultures think that part of the negotiation is more about forming a relationship between both sides instead of forming a contract. It can be harmful to a business to expect one thing when they need to be open to more options and expect the unexpected. It is important to try to understand how the other business does business. Business is very tricky. You can go into a meeting expecting to form a relationship with the other business, when they could not care less and want a contract formed. A common goal is an ideal way to go about things. In a survey conducted of 400 people from 12 different countries, 74% of Spanish people said the goal of negotiation was a contract and 33% of Indian

In all honesty, the negotiation need to be imbedded in the company social operating mechanisms, which, transact through the company as well as, the individual decisions have to be recognized. According to Charan (2013) conquer of a culture decision begins with dialogue, innovation, viewpoints, equipped for action, and being passionate about the decision. Furthermore, you have to be ready to execute your decision, move with tenacity, review the situations, and have an honesty dialogue, which, incorporate

In this literature, most of the literature collected is through online platforms, such as UWE online library and Google Scholar while hardcopy books that were used for this study was obtained from the UWE Library. All the collected literatures in this literature is well establish by referring to the journal metrics and at least cited by 50 times. 28 of theoretical literatures were collected to understand and support the theory of culture and negotiation. On the other hand, 42 of empirical literatures were collected to illustrate the relationship between culture and intercultural negotiation in business context. The timeframe of the theoretical literature is not an issue as long as the theory is still relevant but the empirical literature is not more than 20 years old so it may still be relevant in today’s culture and business environment.