The Influence of Culture on 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.

This paper shows cultural differences between Iranians, Chinese and Indians in business negotiations based on interviews with three businessmen: an American citizen who set up a general trading company in China, an Iranian Canadian citizen who has a trading company in Iran, and an Indian America who set up a business in India. The interview questions focused on cultural elements based on Hofstede’s research: power distance, low-high context, and general business behavior in these countries.

Why is it important for you to increase your knowledge and skill in Asian cultures, languages, negotiation styles, and business practices?

Pre-negotiation preparation is essential for the optimal outcome of a negotiation, as it allows one to design a strategy and plan that can increase the probability of a beneficial agreement. Good preparation means thorough understanding of one’s own and the other party’s relevant information, including interests, constraints, and tradable resources. An effective negotiator should know one’s own best

It is a complex social process which already becomes part and parcel of our society.

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.

When Anne Burns, an American expatriate, moved to Jordan with her husband to promote female entrepreneurship through the non-profit organization ExportJordan, she had no idea that her American style of communication and negotiation would clash so severely with the Jordanian culture. As she settled into her new office aided by a western educated female employee named Hayat, she quickly ran into a number of minor differences such as men not shaking her hand. Major issues soon started happening, as evidenced by her less than warm welcome by Jafar, a male employee who warned her about her attitude and actions with cryptic phrases and obvious disapproval.

“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.”

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).

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

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

Another element of the American culture is the egalitarianism. The high regard of equality can be seen in the pursuit of equal opportunities, in the refusal of authority and paternalism, the requirement of participation as well as in the preference of informal behavior. (Stahl/Langeloh/Kühlmann, 1999: 57)

Negotiating is something that has been around since the beginning of mankind. We all start off negotiating as little kids, even for little things such as candy and toys. When we grow up, negotiating becomes sort of the norm. We negotiate consciously and subconsciously every single day. When you think about it, negotiation takes up most of our lives. We are always trying to see what we can get as a benefit without giving up much. It always comes down to the pie, how big is the pie and who can get the biggest slice. As we become adults with careers, there are ever some that become flat our ‘Negotiators’. This means that all they do for a living is negotiate. They are master negotiators and are praised for being so. When it comes to negotiation, persuasion is also within that talent. You have to be able to get what you want from people without them feeling like they are being taken advantage of and that they are also getting just as big a piece of the pie as you are getting, although in reality they are not.