商务谈判中的跨文化因素.doc

I 商务谈判中的跨文化因素商务谈判中的跨文化因素 摘要摘要 现在由于世界经济全球化的趋势越来越强势，国家间的合作和关系 越来越紧密。跨文化商务谈判也变得越来越频繁，因此谈判人员在国际商 务谈判的过程中需更关注跨文化因素。此篇论文研究的是与国际商务谈判 关系最为密切的跨文化因素，不同文化背景的国家的谈判者有着不同的语 言表达、风俗习惯、思维方式、价值观、时间观等等。而这些跨文化差异 影响着谈判者在商务谈判中的沟通交流以及谈判风格，并对谈判的顺利成 功构筑一道道壁垒，因此，国际商务谈判中的跨文化因素必须得到重视。 只有当谈判者承认跨文化差异，了解各国文化差异，增强跨文化交流意识， 学会换位思考，克服跨文化沟通障碍，才能在商务谈判中获得成功。 关键词关键词 国际商务谈判; 跨文化差异; 影响; 策略； II The Cross-cultural Factors in Business Negotiation Abstract Nowadays the cooperation and relationship between countries have become closer and closer due to the tendency of economy globalization, the cross-cultural business negotiation has become more and more frequent accordingly. So, during the international business negotiation, negotiators have to pay more attention to the cross-cultural factors. In this paper, we will research the cross-cultural factors which have the close relationship with international business negotiation. Different countries or areas with different cultures have different language communication, manners and customs, ways of thinking, values, time perspective and so on. These cross- cultural differences, however, impact negotiators communication process and negotiating style in the business negotiation, also bring various barriers for the smooth negotiation. Therefore, the cross-cultural factors have to be paid important attention on. Only negotiators admit the cross-cultural differences, understand different countries or areas cultural differences, enhance cross-cultural communication sensitivity, learn empathy, overcome cross-cultural communication barriers, then they can obtain success in the negotiation. Key Words: International Business Negotiation; Cross-cultural Differences; Impacts; Strategies III Contents CHAPTER 1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATION AND CULTURE.1 1.1 CULTURE.1 1.2 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATION.1 CHAPTER 2 CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN BUSINESS NEGOTIATION.2 2.1 DIFFERENCES OF LANGUAGE AND NON-LANGUAGE IN BUSINESS NEGOTIATION.2 2.2 MANNERS AND CUSTOMERS .3 2.3 DIFFERENCES IN WAYS OF THINKING.4 2.4 VALUES AND TIME PERSPECTIVE .5 2.5 INTERPERSONAL RELATION .6 2.6 DIFFERENCE IN THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS AND THE RULE OF LAW.6 CHAPTER 3 IMPACTS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION TO THE INTENATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATION.7 3.1 WORD LANGUAGE AND NON-LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION.7 3.2 IMPACTS TO THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATION .8 3.3 IMPACTS TO THE NEGOTIATING STYLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATION.9 3.4 COMMUNICATION SKILL .10 CHAPTER 4 EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATING STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS .11 4.1 ADMIT THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.12 4.2 MAKE ADEQUATE PREPARATION BEFORE NEGOTIATION.13 4.3 ENHANCING CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS AND SENSITIVITY.14 4.4 SET UP THE SENSE OF CROSS-CULTURAL TOLERANCE, LEARN EMPATHY.14 4.5 OVERCOME THE COMMUNICATION BARRIER.14 CONCLUSION.15 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.16 BIBLIOGRAPHY.17 4 Chapter 1 Relationship between International Negotiation and Culture With the economic globalization and the frequent international business, negotiation becomes one of the most key links in international business. But what is the important factor which impacts the successful negotiation? International business negotiation is one of cross-cultural communication behavior essentially. Cultural factors, which cannot be separated and always flow together like water with international business negotiation, are the most important factors for the successful negotiation. 1.1 Culture Culture is a kind of common behavior model or value system formed in a long history process, which acknowledged and accepted by a special social and group. It includes the visible elements, such as language words, customs, and the fruit of art or law; also includes the invisible elements like the ways of thinking and values perspective. Because of every individual has a long time influenced in their own cultural environment, they have already been accustomed to the familiar thing. When they once be placed into a strange and foreign cultural environment, they will be bound to judge other peoples behaviors or views by their own cultural customs standard subconsciously. Hereby it comes out barriers in the cross-cultural communication. The cultural conflicts appear in the international business negotiation are the evident examples. 1.2 International Negotiation International business negotiation is one kind of behavior and process which come to an agreement through messages exchange and negotiation of the parties from different countries or areas. It contacts cross-cultural nature. Negotiators from different countries or areas have different cultural background, their value perspective, ways of thinking, behavior mode, communication mode, language, and customs are very different. For with these cultural differences, a success of international business negotiation has been influenced more or less. 5 Culture differences will bring about cultural conflicts during the international business negotiation, so most of negotiations have been broken down due to this. Just as the USA academician, PaulAHerbig, said “Even though both sides in the negotiation would like to reach an successful business agreement, but over 2/3 negotiating endeavors between American and Japanese have been fail. The main barriers to a successful contract would mostly come from cultural factors, not the economic or law factors” Chapter 2 Cross-cultural Differences in Business Negotiation As the cross-cultural factors are very important to the international business negotiation, and in the long term historical development, different countries or areas have gradually developed their own distinctive cultures which are quite different in many ways, so negotiators should familiar with these cross-cultural differences before they can obtain the smooth negotiation. 2.1 Differences of Language and Non-language in Business Negotiation Language is a medium of transferring messages and a means of communication, while the business negotiation is a process which exchanging messages to the final agreement of negotiating parties. Everyman would misunderstand the wording messages in the same cultural background, not to say the error of understanding in the different cultural background. Language is one kind of carrier of culture, so there are different languages with their own unique structural models of messages. Besides language, there is another way to transfer messages during communication. Its Non-language which includes speech pause, tone of voice, gesture, eyesight, laugh, as well as the dress language. It takes up the important space of transferring messages via its rich meaning and the advantages compared with the language. For example, people in most of countries express their agreement with nodding head, but the India and Nepal and some of other countries, people express their affirmative 6 meaning by shaking head instead. In another example, if you keep silence in the negotiation, American will feel dislike and uncomfortable, they will think that the negotiations have reached an impasse; but Japanese will think its necessary to keep silence in the negotiation, it can promote the exchange of nonverbal messages and the naturalization of emotion. 2.2 Manners and Customs In the international business negotiation, there are some formal or informal social activities generally, such as drinking tea or coffee, attending dinner or parties and so on. These activities are quite different by different cultures manners and customs which restrain the negotiation progress usually. For example, Arab usually will invite you to drink coffee in a social activity. According to their customs, it is vey impolite if the customer dont drink their coffee. It would bring serious trouble for rejecting a cup of coffee from Arabian. There was once an American rejected a friendly coffee invitation from an Arabian, which was considered as an insult to the inviter. Finally, this American lost this profitable business opportunity. German is always in full dress. But whatever they wear, they dont put their hands into the pockets, because they think thats a rude gesture to others. German is particularly the punctual people. If you are late for the meeting, they may become cold to you from then on. Besides, they are not used to shaking hand with people again and again, because they will feel greatly upset then. Finn will hold a long time party or invite you for a Finnish steam bath after the successful transaction. In Finland, Steam bath is an important etiquette which shows warmly welcome to their customer, so it cannot be rejected. Also, they like to solve important problems and strengthen friendship during the steam bath. In South America, although the hot local weather, it would be better to wear the dark clothing. During the negotiation, South American will sit very close to you, behave warmhearted and speak to you near your ear. Some of countries in South America will even accept small gifts with pleasure. When you are in an intensive negotiation with French, it would be helpful for easing up atmosphere and strengthening friendship through having business lunch or visiting some tourist sites together. But remember never to talk about business at table or during the tour, because it will have them a bad appetite or let them feel very disappointed. In Japan, many deals are closed after spending several hours in hotel, bar and Geisha house. 7 Northern European and American like to have some privacy during talking about the business. In England and German, their secretaries always will hold the new visitors outside the meeting office in order to avoiding any interruption for their managers meeting. But for Arabian, they welcome any visitors at any time. Therefore, People with different cultural backgrounds have different manners and customs. In the international business negotiation, negotiators should understand the other sides manners and customs, thereby to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment or failure. 2.3 Differences in Ways of Thinking Different national cultures have their own ways of thinking, such as different thinking styles and thinking features, which so-called thinking differences. Business negotiation is namely the thinking process of negotiators. For the example of eastern culture and western culture, both these cultural features of the ways of thinking are very different in business negotiation. Eastern culture tends to imagery thinking, stresses importance of integrity, obeys the path of deductive reasoning; but the western culture tends to abstract thinking, emphasizes contrariety and analyticity, always flows the path of inductive reasoning and the consideration of section priority. Therefore, different ways of thinking often comes out the opposite positions and different negotiating principles between the eastern and western negotiators in the international business negotiation. 2.4 Values and Time Perspective The cross-cultural differences in international business negotiation also are reflected on the values and time perspective. Values, exist as intrinsic value, are the behavior standards which is pursuing by the given society or group. It restrains peoples behavior with ethics and social morality. So it often brings about conflicts due to there are different values from different countries or areas in the international business negotiation. Every culture has its own unique value systems. Such as Chinese, they have been being nurtured by Collectivism and Confucianism all the time, so the “altruism” has a long history in China. In negotiation, Chinese usually put their emphasis on the sense of organization instead of the right and responsibility, they value relationship and human kindness very much, and their negotiating style is always mild and roundabout. But as for the westerners, they always 8 believe in individualism, and their group sense has become “egoism”. Like as the American, while having the very strong sense of law and benefit, they often present much strong ego sense to their negotiating style with confident and overbearing in the business negotiation. However, there is no good or bad, and no advanced or backward views for the specific cultural values, there just are differences from culture to culture. Just as, parents in western countries tend to encourage their children to be independent. And parents in eastern countries, however, always spoil their children. They always help their children finish the things that their children have the ability to cope with. And as for the time perspective, “Time is money” is not the golden rule which is suitable for all countries or areas in the international business negotiation. By having the fast paced work and life, people in the developed western countries have a strong concept on time. They are very punctual and believe in “Time is the money”, always straight to the point in negotiation, never do things sloppily. The style of “quickly decided battle” and the effect with short and clear way is what they pursue. For example, in the international business negotiation, American always get into business straightly after the simple pleasantry exchanges and look forward to solve problems in 20-30minutes. But in those countries with backward economy and strong feudal ideology, people do not pay much attention on the time perspective. They are not particular about punctuality in attending business negotiation or party, sometime even to delay purposely, in order to present their high status. For example, you may see that, the Arabian, South American and Asian may spend many hours for some of international business negotiation, they even wont get into the point at the beginning of the negotiation for many times, always will have some necessary politeness such as chitchat, drinking coffee or tea and so on in order to develop a good relationship with their negotiating partners firstly. But for American, they consider this as a waste of time. Edward T. Hall divided the time perspective into two of types: they are “Monochronism” and “Polychronism”. “Monchronism” means that one can only do one thing in a given time. Its emphasis is work effect, which tends to develop the temporary work relationship. This kind of time perspective is popularly adopted and used in the international business negotiation at present. European and American or other western countries are the outstanding evident examples. I once met a German in the “Canton Fair”. In a negotiation of garment business, we almost can close a deal after the previous smooth negotiations on product, price and packing terms. But at last, the negotiation was broken down just because of our late to the last meeting due to the “canton fair” heavy traffic jump. 9 They think that its really intolerable for the late to such an important negotiation, and think that we may have neither the sincerity on this business nor a planed preparation for this business, and hence we may not be a good cooperative partner for their future business. “Polychronism” means that one can do many things in a same time. People allow their plans to be disrupted and often change their plans themselves. They are accustomed to establish a long term relationship with others in business negotiation by spending time for the people according to how close they are. I once met such an example in an Indians office. Although he is a rich businessman with high status, but during the process of our negotiation, he allows many phone calls to disrupt him and allows his office staff to come in for any reporting all the time, and at the same time he was continuously writing or signing something on piles of faxes and LC on the desk in front of him. Thats really amazing. Generally speaking, different cultures of different countries or areas have very different values and time perspective. They infl