How culture affects negotiation styles?
Comparing New Zealand with Thailand in business negotiations
15066443 Maria Mishell Albores
Assignment 3 Literature Review
219.703 Advanced Business Communication
Lecturer: Mingshing Li
Semester One 2015
Abstract
This literature review paper will review the effects of culture on negotiations, using New Zealand and Thailand as the key countries of comparison. It will first cover how culture general affects negotiations. Then, it will compare the general culture in New Zealand and Thailand in summary. After that, using Hostede’s cultural dimensions, the cultures New Zealand and Thailand will be analyzed, and further analysis of the culture will be done using Schwartz’s cultural values. In the end, review will include the problems of cross-cultural negotiations and a brief on how it can be overcame. To conclude, the review will summarize the topic altogether.
Key Words
Cross-Cultural Negotiations, International Negotiations, New Zealand, Thailand, Hofstede’s Model, Schwartz’s Model
Introduction
“Negotiation is a process by which two or more parties attempt to resolve their opposing interests” (Lewicki & Saunders, 2011, p. 6), thus, it is “a complex emotional decision-making process aiming to reach an agreement” (Thompson, 2005). In addition, according to Pruitt’s chapter of Social Conflict in Handbook of Social Psychology (as cited by Maude, 2011), negotiation is a discussion to reach a mid-point between conflicting parties.
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.
Negotiation is a fundamental process used in resolving conflicts, making business deals, and in managing working relationships with others. Negotiations occur for two reasons: (1) to resolve a problem or dispute between parties, or (2) to create something new that neither party could do on its own.
Why is it important for you to increase your knowledge and skill in Asian cultures, languages, negotiation styles, and business practices?
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
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.
Kozicki (1993, pp. xiii - xiv) views negotiation is a simple procedure that basically a solution of two sides sitting down to reach a mutually satisfying agreement, and sees negotiation as being the art of reaching an agreement by
2. Discuss the relative use of nonverbal behaviors, such as silent periods, interruptions, facial gazing, and touching, by people from various cultural backgrounds. How does this behavior affect the negotiation process in a cross-cultural context?
Negotiation: Is a method by which people decide differences. Developing this skill can be great benefit in resolving any differences that arise between you and others. (skillsyou need, n.d.)
Negotiation is the route in which two individuals or businesses go through in order to reach an outcome or result that is mutually beneficial, this is usually done through either compromise or agreement. Negotiation can be used when a business is buying/selling products/services staffing or compiling contracts. Businesses will try to get the best outcome for themselves, however it is important to be able to compromise or give and take as occasionally a deal could be lost as the business has stood firm. All businesses will need to negotiate at some point, without negotiation discontent or conflict may occur, and the main reason negotiation is used is to avoid this, and to
Whether it is at work, church or in our private relationships, negotiations are a necessary tool for reaching an agreement. They are made by discussing each parties point of view with the aim being to reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial. For the most part, negotiation is the process by which those people involved successfully adopt or abandon their respective position through the use of positional bargaining. There are different types of approaches for the negotiation process - some hard and others soft in their manner of approach. The desired outcome of
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
According to Lewicki, Saunders, and Barry (2005), “…negotiation is a form of interpersonal communication. Communication processes, both verbal and nonverbal, are critical to achieving negotiation goals and to resolving conflicts” (p. 162). Furthermore, Szpakowiez (2003) with Concordia University and Carleton University indicates, “Negotiation is—mainly—communication. Communication, very often, is negotiation…human language is the principal tool in face-to-face negotiations. Language allows the negotiator to learn about the problem and participants, or indeed define the problem dynamically” (p. 1).
Explain each stage of the negotiation process and the role that culture plays in each stage. Give example to support your answer
Negotiation is the process of two individuals or groups reaching joint agreement about differing needs or ideas. Oliver (1996) described negotiation as "negotiators jointly searching a multidimensional space and then agreeing to a single point in the space." Negotiation is a form of conflict resolution. When we negotiate, the first thing that needs to be established is whether we have two or more parties that have a common objective, but also differ in ideas when it comes to how they achieve the objective. The principle behind negotiating is to finding the middle ground that is suitable for both parties involved. Not all negotiation ends in satisfactory compromise, sometimes negotiations can take a long time to conclude
Negotiation is all about a strategy. The end result is usually to end a problem that someone is having, whether it is personally or