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The Microsoft Nokia Negotiation

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There are several factors that are important to examine in the Microsoft-Nokia negotiation. The first factor is that this was a cross-cultural negotiation because Microsoft is an American company, while Nokia is a Finnish company. Both countries have very different values, so it was extremely important for representatives from both companies to understand each other’s cultures before the negotiations began. Another reason that I feel this negotiation could be successfully completed was due to the fact that Microsoft and Nokia’s priorities aligned well at the time. Both companies saw the other’s products and capabilities as being complementary to what they already offered, which gave executives from both companies further incentive to…show more content…
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). An example of how the iceberg has come into play with the Microsoft - Nokia negotiation is that a key challenge of the deal was that Nokia was a huge source of Finnish pride and selling the brand’s best known division would hugely diminish that pride (Moen, 2011). This presented a challenge for Microsoft to overcome because Microsoft is an American company and America is a country that places less value on patriotism than Finland (Thompson, 2014). If Microsoft had undervalued Nokia’s Finnish routes and the importance of Finland to Nokia, then the Nokia board may not have agreed to sell the company to Microsoft. This is one of the reasons why Microsoft agreed to make Finland a research hub for the company and keep a significant portion of Microsoft’s mobile development work in that country. Having a company like Microsoft invest in Finland provided to be a large boon for the country and was one of the considerations of the deal. This deep sense of Finnish pride was also one of the reasons that Microsoft committed to keep using Nokia name even after the merger (Telegraph Reporters, 2016). If Nokia was an American company, the concern of
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