International

BusinessNegotiations

Chapter6CulturepatternsVSNegotiationpatterns

一家美國公司在南美做一個廣告：廣告中妻子一邊手忙接腳亂的換衣服，一邊用命令的語氣讓其丈夫下樓打電話通知他們要拜訪的客人可能要晚到一點！請說出該案例的至少兩處錯誤！Transcendingculturallimitsisaformidablebutessentialtaskifnegotiationswithforeignpartiesaretosucceed.AnancientChinesephilosopherpointsoutthathumanbeingisidenticalinnaturebutdifferentincustomsandhabit.Whatisculture?Definition:Culturegenerallyreferstotheknowledge,beliefs,arts,laws,morals,customs,habits,andcapabilitiesacquiredbyindividualswhointeractinaspecificareaofsociety.Althoughitisdifficulttodefinespecificallywhatcultureis,severalcoreelementshavebeenacceptedbymanypeople.1.Cultureislearned.

Itisnotinnate,soitispossibleforapersontolearnanewculture.2.Cultureisshared.Thefocusofcultureiswhatissharedbymembersofaparticulargroup.Therefore,itispossibletoidentifyandstudythebehavioralpatternsofdifferentgroups.3.Cultureiscompelling.Behaviorisdeterminedbyculture,sometimeswithoutindividualsbeingawareoftheinfluenceoftheirculture.4.Cultureisinterrelated.Althoughvariousfacetsofculturecanbeexaminedinisolation.Theyshouldbeunderstoodinthecontextofthewhole.Acultureneedtobestudiedasacompleteentity.5.Cultureprovidesorientation.

Generally,aparticulargroupreactsinthesamewaytoagivenstimulus.Thus,understandingaculturecanhelptodeterminehowgroupmembersmightreactinvarioussituation.Mostpeople,unconsciously,usetheirpersonalculturebackgroundasaguideforjudgingtheactions,views,customs,ormannersofothers.Therefore,understandingtheinfluenceofcultureoninternationalbusinessisvital.Otherwise,culturedifferencemaycomplicateandinterferewithournegotiation.1.ValuesDefinition:Valuearethestandardbywhichacultureevaluatesactionsandtheirconsequences.Theyaffectperceptionsandcanhaveastrongemotionalimpactuponpeople.Indifferentcultures,valuemayvarysignificantly.Valuesaffectthewillingnesstotakerisks,theleadershipstyleandthesuperior-subordinaterelationships,etc.Thisistruefortherelationshipsbetweennegotiatorswithineachteam.1)ValuestowardstimeValuestowardstimeandhowtheshapethewaypeoplestructuretheiractionshaveapervasionyetinvisibleinfluenceoninternationalbusinessnegotiation.Differencesinpunctuality,reflectedineverydaynegotiationbehavior,mayprobablyappearasthemostvisibleconsequence.Butdifferencesintimeorientations,especiallytowardthefuture,aremoreimportantastheyaffectlong-rangeissuessuchasthestrategicframeworkofdecisionsmadewhennegotiation.2)Valuetowardsrelationships

Differentpatternsofrelationshipsaffectinternationalbusinessnegotiationsthroughthestyleofinteractionbetweenpeople,theirdecision—makeprocess,andthewayinwhichtheymixhumanrelationshipsandbusinessmatters,etc.Pacific—rimcountriesextendingsocialacquaintancerelationshipareessentialtoconductingbusiness.Rushingstraighttobusinesswithoutpersonalrelationshipwillnotberewarded.Dealaremadeonthebasisofnotonlythebestproductsorpricebutalsothepersondeemedmosttrustworthy.Thefactthatinthewesterncountriesrelationshipseemtobesecondarydoesnotmeanestablishinggoodrelationisunnecessary,butratheritcarriesdifferentconnotation.Correctattitude

respectingdistancebeingreasonablePeople’sattitudestostatusdifferfromculturetoculture.TheOccidentalculture,ignoresstatus,whichifmanifestedbytheirwayofaddressingeachother.Inorientalculture,officialtitlesandeventheirprofessionsareplacedbeforetheirnames.Languageandcommunication

Peoplelongingforcommunicationneedaccesstoconveyingtheirideas.Thuscommunicationisdonethroughtwoapproaches：VerbalNonverbalVerbalcommunicationVerbalcommunication,inaccordancewithculturalpatterns,consistsoftwomodels:HighcontextmodelLowcontextmodelHighcontextmodelInHighcontextcultures,suchasChina,JapanandSaudiArabia,contextisatleastasimportantaswhatisactuallysaid.Thespeakerandthelistenerrelyonacommonunderstandingofthecontext.Oftenwhatisnotbeingsaidcancarrymoremeaningthanwhatissaid.Thespeakercomposeshismessagesinawaysimilarwithtellingariddle,providingmostofcluesofariddle,orleavingagapbetweenwhatissaidandwhatishiddenandletthelistenertomakeupthemissingpart.LowcontextmodelInthelowcontextcultures,however,mostoftheinformationiscontainedexplicitlyinthewords.CountrieslikeUS,CanadaandUKengageinlowcontextcommunication.Unlessoneisawareofthisbasicdifference,messagesandintentioncaneasilybemisunderstood.Asanexample,criticismismoredirectandrecordedformallyintheUS,whereasinJapanitismoresubtleandverbal.

Howthetwoculturemodelvieweachother?Americanpreferasking,“franklyspeaking,whatisthebottomline?”peoplefromhighcontextcultureswouldconsiderthiswayofspeaking“arrogant”,“superior”and“pressing”…Onthecontrary,peoplefromlowcontextculturesregard“riddleguessing”wayofspeakingisnotreliable,cunningandinsincere.Theyabhorambiguityandwantpeopletominimizeuncertaintytheyexpectpeopleto“stopbeatingaboundthebush”and“gettothepoint”.Non-verbalcommunicationMessagesareconveyedeith