1、CulturalBarriersinInternationalBusinessNegoti ations【】 Cross cultural communication plays an increasingly significant role in international business negotiations ， and cultural factors play a decisive role in the success of business deals. Therefore， it isnecessary for us to correctly understand the

2、 cultural background and barriers between different countries and launch effective negotiation strategies to avoid conflict and failure in global business activities ， and eventually succeed in international negotiations.1. IntroductionInternational business negotiation is not only about communicati

3、on and cooperation in economic field ； it is also a process of intercultural communication. Concerning parties are sparing no efforts to reach an agreement through exchange of information and consultation ， thus meeting their respective needs. With different languages and customs ， unique cultural b

4、ackgrounds， differentvalues ， various philosophies worshipped and distinct behavior styles ， both parties are striving to get their mutual benefits and these cultural factors will directly determine the success or failure of international business negotiations.Some negotiators made great efforts in

5、businessnegotiations to get more favorable results at the price of having made a lot of concessions. In order to make their negotiations successful ， they paid little attention to the cultural aspects of the other party. The results will be expressed in terms of wording or negotiating skills ， thus

6、， one may probably fall into the trap of misunderstanding，at the end， pay a heavy price. Such example is not rarely seen in business negotiations. Therefore ， in the business negotiations ， negotiators should not only pay attention to the verbal commitment ， but also to pay attention to non-verbal f

7、actors as well.2. Cultural Barriers in International Business CommunicationCultural differences are influencing international business negotiations ， and to some extent ， they are the decisive factors in business activities. Intercultural negotiators should understand and show respect to each other

8、s cultural differences. Of all the culutral factorsthat influence the result of international business negotiations ， three of them are particular eye-catching. These factors are ： barriers of expression， barriers ofvalues and barriers of behavior.2.1 Barriers in ExpressionOf all negotiations ， the

9、core is communication. People from different culture will speak their own language and have distinct understanding of another language. Thus， the expression of both parties will directly determine whether the negotiation will go smoothly or not. Unfortunately ， in most negotiations ， negotiators sel

10、dom pay attention to the expression of language communication ， and they generally assume that language communication is apparent ， so they negotiate hardly with any skills. Therefore，negotiators have to strive to solve the problem of language expression barriers.In some high context society，people

11、who come from the same nation have a lot in common since they have lived together for a long period， andlanguage is the main part of information transmission. Nonverbal communication is also significant since it accounts for a large proportion to know each other.2.2 Barriers in ValuesDifferent natio

12、ns have different cultures ， so nearly all nations worship different degreesof individualism orcollectivism. People in some countries have stronger personal consciousness ， while people in some other countries are more collective. Of numerous cultural factors ， value plays the central part ， which i

13、s permanent ， stable and commonly accepted by members of different communities. Value is not only a part of cultural structure ， but also the result of long-term accumulation of social and cultural development ， and it will constantly affect people s attitude and behaviors.2.3 Barriers in BehaviorPe

14、ople in different nations will present different behaviors ， which they themselves believe to be appropriate in business negotiations. People will show distinct national habits ： for instance ， Americans generally feel proud of their country and have a strong sense of self-respect and honor because

15、the United States is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Therefore ， Americans have a relatively strong sense of self-confidence and self esteem in negotiations. On the contrary ， Chinese attach great importance to relationshipand they rely more on their friends ， relative

16、s and people. Chinese like to deal with people who are known to them，so when conducting business negotiations with Chinese，relationship is fairly important and there must be an intermediary between the parties. However， some nationslike Japan will tend to treat negotiations as wars， andJapanese usua

17、lly hide their real intention with deliberate courtesy and politeness.3. Solutions to Overcome Cultural BarriersInternational business negotiators should realize the influence of cultural differences on the negotiation and the differences on ways of thinking ， negotiating methods and style. One shou

18、ld also overcome the cultural barriers in international business negotiation and take relevant countermeasures.3.1 Be flexible in Cross-cultural CommunicationWe all know that today China is a very open country，and we must know that different countries have different cultures ， and we cannot be isola

19、ted and confined to our own culture. While negotiations ， mutual understanding and respect is always the first factor for us to bear in mind. In international business negotiations， we muststrengthen the awareness of cross-cultural negotiation and recognize the different context of the negotiatorscu

20、ltural needs ， motives and objectives， learning toaccept ， respect and understand each other s culture. All the flexibility is in the case of being legitimate and reasonable ， and if the negotiations are controversial ， people should learn to be flexible and try to find something both parties have i

21、n common. Of course ， this is definitely not a compromise ， but to eventually reach an agreement.3.2 Learn More Knowledge about different Cultures Cross-cultural business is more challenging than single cultural negotiation ， because the former involves in different ways in thinking ， special emotio

22、nal and behavioral patterns oriented from different cultures. The negotiation process is complicated in that it is related to the power of different cultural norms that havent been brought to people s attention ， which may do harm to the effectiveness of business communication.On the one hand ， we s

23、hould be tolerant to different cultural behavior ， but that doesnt mean simply adapting to or copying others cultural form and methods ， but trying to understand the other party and look upon theissues in the eye of others social and culturalbackground. We should be clear in mind that foreigners are

24、 different from us on emotional feelings ， motives ， beliefs and views. What is accepted in our own country is not necessarily effective in other countries.On the other hand ， we have to be familiar and keenly observe others cultural criterion and social norms. Before contacting with foreign busines

25、smen， learn theircustoms and taboos as much as possible and strive to know what kind of persons they are， how they perform in business negotiation to avoid making the other party unhappy， even affecting the process and result of business negotiation.3.3 Prepare for Cross-cultural CommunicationHaving

26、 a good understanding of a nation s cultural and local customs in advance is fairly important. Full preparation is particularly important for international business negotiations ， before the negotiations ， we must keep in mind the culture of other negotiators ， understand their preferences ， do not

27、do anything contrary to their culture ， and we have to learn from the humanities，history ， habits to understand their habits ， for instance ， the Americans do not negotiate so hard ， but do thingsseriously ， while the Japanese and the Chinese people like to engage in cultural exchanges before the ne

28、gotiations between the two countries to enhance the feelings， andthese are things we have to prepare before it.Understanding the cutural customs of the other party is the first step towards successful business negtioation.4. ConclusionCross-cultural negotiation is full of uncertainties and challenge

29、s ， because cross cultural negotiation is a kind of negotiation behavior between different ways of thinking ， different ways of communication and distinct behaviors. Firstly ， people should recognize and acknowledge that different nation has different ethnic culture ； in order to reach a satisfactory result ， people have to continue to carry forward the national excellent traditional culture at the same time， respect otherpeople s cultural traditions， social customs ， localcustoms and practices ， a