1、Impacts of Cultural Differences on InternationalBusiness Negotiations文化差異對國際商務談判的影響I 摘 要隨著我國加入世貿組織中西國家之間經濟貿易飛速發展雙方商務交往活動越來越頻繁國際商務談判的重要性也日漸顯現。然而由于中西方之間存在著巨大的文化差異中西方談判者之間很可能出現文化沖突以及不必要的誤解。因此為了準確把握未來談判桌上的優勢與主導順利的開展商務活動要想成功的走向國際市場各國商務談判者了解中西文化的差異顯得十分必要。各方在商務談判中必須增強對文化差異的敏感性承認文化差異還有必要研究最能體現文化價值觀和思維定勢的談判為

2、突破口詳細的了解談判對象的文化背景與習慣并且超越文化的局限并在此基礎上揚長避短尊重不同文化下商人的不同行為減少因不尊重對方而造成的不必要的沖突應建立相互合作的氣氛制定出合適的談判策略。本文重點討論了中西國家之間的文化差異及其對商務談判的影響并提出了化解文化沖突的幾點建議使中西方貿易談判能順利進行。關鍵詞文化差異國際商務談判文化差異的影響IIAbstractWith China s accession to the World Trade Organization and the rapid developmentof economic trade between China and weste

3、rn countries, the business contacts ofdifferent countries become more and more frequent; the importance of businessnegotiations gets obvious gradually. However, the huge cultural differences betweenChina and western countries may give rise to potential cultural conflicts and unnecessarymisunderstand

4、ings. Therefore, in order to take hold accurately the advantages anddomination on the negotiating tables in the future, carry out business activities smoothlyand walk into international market successfully, it is imperative that negotiators not onlyneed to learn the cultural factors and acknowledge

5、cultural differences in internationalbusiness negotiations, but also have necessity to research the negotiations that can mostreflect cultural values and thinking sets as the breakthrough, understanding negotiators cultural backgrounds, customs and the limitation beyond culture in detail. Then, peop

6、leneed to foster strengths and circumvent weaknesses on the basis of understanding others,respect businessmens different behaviors with different cultures, reduce unnecessaryconflicts caused by the lack of respect for each other, people are supposed to establish anatmosphere of mutual cooperation an

7、d formulate a rational negotiation strategy. Thethesis emphasizes the importance of taking cultural sensitivities into consideration duringbusiness negotiations to make proper negotiation tactics. In view of such a situation, thisthesis makes an effort to highlight the impacts of cultural difference

8、s on internationalbusiness negotiations and puts forward several suggestions in reconciling culturaldifferences in order to make the negotiations develop smoothly.Key words: cultural differences; international business negotiations;impacts of cultural differencesIIITableofContents摘要.IAbstract.II1Int

9、roduction.12TheRelationship between International Business Negotiation and Culture .1 3 Cultural DifferencesinInternational Business Negotiations .23.1Differencesofverbalandnon-verbalbehaviors.23.2Differencesofvalues.33.2.1Objectivity.33.2.2Equality.43.2.3Timing .43.3 Differencesofthinkingpatterns .

10、53.4Differencesofawareness.53.4.1Awarenessofdecision .63.4.2Awarenessofhuman .63.4.3Awarenessofinterests .63.5 Differencesofcustom .63.6Differencesofnationalcomplex and mandarin complex .7 4 Impacts of Cultural Differences onInternationalBusiness Negotiations .8 4.1Impacts of cultural differenceson

11、negotiatingteams .84.2Impactsof cultural differences on negotiatingstyles .94.3Impactsofculturaldifferencesonnegotiatingstructures.95 MethodstoOvercometheCross-culturalBarriers.105.1Doinggoodpreparationfornegotiations.10 5.2 Enhancing cross-cultural awareness ofnegotiations.105.3Overcomingculturalbi

12、as .11 5.4 Beinga keen insightintothecustoms ofnegotiators .11 5.5 Maintaining neutralityon the culturalissues .115.6Overcomingthecommunicationobstacles.116Conclusion.127Bibliography.1311 IntroductionWith the accelerated development of economic globalization, the economiccooperation activities all o

13、ver the word become more and more universal, and theimportance of international business trades are getting obvious gradually. Internationalbusiness communication and cooperation have been all-around spread out. Internationalbusiness negotiations are also much more frequent and closer than before. T

14、hedifferences between Chinese and Western cultures are bound to become the factor whichis most difficult to control. International business negotiation has become an importantlink in international business activities. It is not only an economic exchange andcooperation, as well as the communication a

15、mong cultures. Cross-culture is the biggestcharacteristic of international business negotiations. Because of cross-culture, quite a lotof negotiations fail. With Chinas accession to the WTO, there are more and moreproblems need to be faced by enterprises, business negotiations relate to the success

16、ofbusiness activities and the survival and development of enterprises. Thus, thecross-cultural obstacles in business negotiations are getting more and more attention.Therefore, paying attention to cultural differences is a critical factor in internationalbusiness negotiations. It is of significance

17、that understanding the cultural backgrounds ofthe parties, because it helps to avoid the conflicts brought by cultural differences. It isnecessary for us to understand correctly the cultural backgrounds and their differences ofcountries and regions. Based on that, we are supposed to foster strengths

18、 and circumventweaknesses, and then develop the negotiating tactics in order to prevent the emergence orintensification of conflicts and win the success of the negotiations. 2 The Relationship between International Business Negotiation andCulture International business negotiation refers to one beha

19、vior and process that businessparties in different countries and regions reach consensus through information exchangesand consultations. It has the characteristic of cross-culture. In international businessnegotiations, negotiators are usually from different nations and regions, and they belongto di

20、fferent religions and culture backgrounds. They are great different in communicationways, thinking patterns, customs and values concept, which gives international businessnegotiations the color of cross-cultural communication in the invisible environment. Itmeans that it is very important to underst

21、and different cultures of different countries andbe familiar with culture differences of business activities. If both parties have the hugedifferences on cultural backgrounds and thinking patterns, it will cause thatcommunication cannot be undertaken effectively. Many negotiators often do not payeno

22、ugh attention to the impacts of cultural differences on the outcome of negotiations.Even if some negotiators have noticed the difference of the opposite parties, they think it浙江越秀外國語學院畢業論文2 is not important, which will inevitably affect the negotiation process and results andultimately hinder the in

23、ternational business activities and economic exchanges. Therefore,the impacts of cultural differences on international business negotiations should not beoverlooked.The core of cross-cultural negotiation is to overcome the obstacles of culturaldifferences. The United States sociologist David Popenoe

24、 gives culture an abstractdefinition: Culture is the values and meaning systems owned by a group or community.Culture contains the concrete of those values and meanings in the physical form, andpeople learn the culture of their society through observation and acceptation of othermembers education. “

25、 Culture is mental software; it is the collective programming of themind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another ” (GeertHofsted, 1994). The formation of all national cultures goes through a long historicalperiod, and once forms, it involves in the aspects of people s speakin

26、g, behavior andthinking. With the influence of geographical conditions, political systems and economicdevelopment, the culture has a big difference between China and Western countries. Inthe broader context, culture includes language, customs, and the outcomes of the art andlaw; it also includes the

27、 intangible elements such as thinking patterns and values.Everyone dips in their respective cultural environment for a long time; they willsubconsciously take their own cultural standard to judge other people s actions andopinions when they in a strange cultural environment, thus the cultural barrie

28、rs areformed. 3 Cultural Differences in International Business Negotiations 3.1 Differences of verbal and non-verbal behaviorsThe language used by a nation has a close relationship with culture. In internationalcommunication, intercultural differences restrict the language of use. Edward Hall,profes

29、sor of anthropology, divides culture in different society into high-context cultureand low-context culture based on the direct degree of language expression. Inhigh-context culture society, the ethnic people have the same cultural background;language is only a part of information transmission, non-v

30、erbal communication occupiesa large number of proportions. In international business negotiations, Chinese negotiatorsin high-context culture always express opinions in a subtle and indirect way, they arerarely reject or refute directly, and they regard harmonious as the prerequisite to realizethe v

31、alue, they pursuit permanent friendship and long-term collaboration. On the contrary,western culture belongs to the low-context culture. Western people are enthusiastic andfrank, they like using precise and clear language to express their intention. In addition,western people focus on debate with gr

32、eat passion, their language is confrontational andflat. China belongs to high-context culture in which non-verbal communication andindirect expressions are important to convey and understand information such as usingbody language, eye contact, appearance, tone, location, distance, and environment fo

33、r 浙江越秀外國語學院畢業論文3 communication. So understanding the meaning of the words is necessary. Chinese peopleseem modest; they don t like debate or confrontation; and they always use silence insteadof saying “No ” , because they think silence is a way to show politeness and respect foreach other. Chinese p

34、eople are very patient when they negotiating, it is so-called“ orientalpatience” .Compared with the functions of verbal communication, non-verbal communicationconveys information more truly, expresses emotion more accurately. It plays a decisiverole in daily communication. For Chinese people, smile

35、can not only be used to expressthe feelings of joy, but also used to conceal the emotion of uneasy, awkward and angry.What s more, it is used to render atmosphere and change the conversation. For westernpeople, smile is mainly an expression of happiness; it is rarely used to express otheremotions. D

36、eadlock and conflict inevitably occur in business negotiations, Chinese smilehelps to mitigate the awkward atmosphere and avoid quarrels. In the west, silence meansagreement, while it has the contrary meaning of saying“ No ” in China. Negotiators arerequired to express clearly in business negotiatio

37、ns to save negotiating time. Silenceoften leads to misunderstanding, which is not conducive for negotiations. When talking,westerners seem to have a impromptu speech, they believe that if someone does notunderstand what they say, he/she will interrupt the dialogue during the conversation. Butin Chin

38、a, it is rare to see interruption. Business negotiation in the spirit of the principle ofequality, both two parties have the right to offer perspectives. Gesture language meansexpressing by the movements of hands and fingers; it is the core of Kinesics and theearliest communication tool in the human

39、 evolution. Westerners have much more bodymovements than Chinese people, they used to expressing their attitudes and evaluationthrough gestures. They use hands, arms and exaggerated facial expressions, but these arehabits rather than indicating strong feelings. Reasonably using gestures in businessn

40、egotiations can make the other understand the content of negotiations; it is thecomplementary of the negotiations.3.2 Differences of valuesObjectivity in business negotiations reflects the distinction between human andthings. Westerners especially Americans have strong objectivity, for examples,Amer

41、icans make decisions according to the ironclad facts, Americans don t playfavoritism, and they think the most important thing is economic and performance ratherthan people, Americans always say “ business is business” . Thus, Americans ininternational business negotiations stress the distinction of

42、human and things and areinterested in substantive issues. Conversely, in other parts of the world, the view ofdistinguishing human and things is seen as impossible. For instance, in the oriental andLatin American cultures, nepotism is important and economic development tends to beachieved in the are

43、a of family control. Therefore, negotiators from those countries not浙江越秀外國語學院畢業論文4 only participate in the negotiations as individuals, but also the results often affectindividuals. Personal conduct has close relationship with issues and becomes inseparable.Western society has undergone a bourgeois

44、revolution of equal liberties and equalityconsciousness is deeply into human s mind. In international business activities, countriessuch as Britain and the United States adhere to the egalitarian values and uphold theprinciple of fair and reasonable. They think that both parties should be profitable

45、 in thetrade. Westerners use concrete ways particularly fond of speaking with data inintroducing situations. Americans focus on the practical benefits, but they generally donot ask an exorbitant price, so their quotations and conditions are more objective. In traderelations, American sellers regard

46、buyers as of equal status, and they are more fair thanthe Japanese on the division of profits. Many United States Managers believe that thefairness of the profits division seems to be much more important than the profits. Whileeastern people influenced by obsession of hierarchy deeply, the equality

47、consciousness isinferior to westerners in international business activities. Japanese are good at making bigcakes, but they don t know how to allot the cake and always divide the cake withunfairness. In Japan, the customers are seen as God, sellers are often obedient to buyersneeds and desires. Ther

48、efore, the profit allocation is more conducive to the buyers. Atpresent, Chinas market economy system has been initially established, and the conceptsof Chinese enterprise managers often have some certain characteristics during the earlyWestern market economies. Chinese in business negotiations tend

49、 to be “ single-win ” .When it comes to economic benefits, Chinese consider their own interests rather thanconcerning about others . While the market economy system in developed countries isquite mature, negotiators in western countries make greater use of“ win-win ” strategywhich can basically cons

50、ider the real interests of both sides.Different cultural backgrounds show different timings. Edward Hall divided it intotwo types: Monochronic and Polychronic, the former emphasizes doing one thing at atime and speed, the latter emphasizes doing many things at a time, and people have arelaxed timeta

51、ble and the extension of feedback. Westerners abide by the one-way lineartime habits, so they regard time as a straight line which can be cut into section by section,and they emphasize the timetable and detailed schedules. They are very strict aboutpunctuality, and the plans are highly restrictive,

52、which creates a vigorous and resolutecommercial style of British and American businessmen. They will shorten the negotiationtime in all aspects and strive to make every negotiation be quicker. Chinese people are infavor of Polychronic, they used to working on several things at a time, emphasis onpeo

53、ples participation and tasks completed and de-emphasis on everything in accordancewith the timetable. Plans can be changed at any time, and it is with considerableflexibility on the timing and more humane. But they do not attach importance to make an浙江越秀外國語學院畢業論文5 appointment, and they think punctua

54、lity is not so important. Business negotiations mustbe held within a fixed time, which requires that the negotiating parties should be on timeand be with strong sense of time. Chinese also discuss several issues at the same time,they don t strictly abide by the agenda and disscuss the issues conside

55、red to have beensolved by the other again. In order to establish a long-time business relationship, Chinesepeople always take a long period to understand each other. As a consequence, thenegotiations will be last longer than expected. Westerners Monochronic will giveopponents a good impression of ob

56、serving contracts and rules, which is more conduciveto the conduct of the negotiations.3.3 Differences of thinking patternsThinking pattern as a long-term cultural heritage, it imperceptibly influencespeoples social life. As far as eastern and western cultures are concerned, both show theirown chara

57、cteristics on thinking patterns. Firstly, the oriental cultures lay emphasis ondeductive reasoning, which used to being from general to specific, that is, it derivesindividual conclusions according to general principles. Western cultures lay emphasis oninductive reasoning, which used to being from s

58、pecific to general, that is, it finds thecommon nature of one group from many individuals characteristics. Secondly, orientalcultures prefer comprehensive thinking patterns, which means combining all parts of theobjects such as the properties and relations to a whole union. Western cultures preferan

59、alytical thinking, which separats the whole part into several constituent parts. Thirdly,oriental people focus on unity; British and American focus on opposition. Based on thedifferences of thinking patterns of objective existence, negotiators of different culturalbackgrounds show differences in dec

60、ision-making, and they have formed the conflictbetween two different decision-making methods, one isdecision-making methods inthe order, and the other is overall decision-making methods. When facing with a complexnegotiation task, the westerners particularly the British and American adoptdecision-ma