The Impact of Cultural Differences on Sino-US Business Negotiations文化差异对中美商务谈判的影响-商务英语

1、 文化差异对中美商务谈判的影响The Impact of Cultural Differences on Sino-US Business Negotiations一、 课题(论文)提纲0.引言1.对中美商务谈判的研究1.1谈判和文化  1.2中美商务谈判目前面临的情形2.文化差异对中美商务谈判的影响 2.1中美商务谈判的语言与非语言差异 2.1.1语言差异 2.1.2非语言差异 2.2中美商务谈判的价值观的差异 2.2.1谈判目标 2.2.2平等观念 2.2.3时间观念 2.3中美商务谈判中的风俗习惯差异2.4 中美商务谈判中的谈判方式3.对中美谈商务判的建议 3.1创立和谐的氛围

2、3.2加强文化意识3.3克服交流的障碍结论二、内容摘要不同文化条件下的 商务文化活动就是跨文化商务谈判。文化是跨文化交际的基础。随着全球一体化的进程不断加快，国际间的商务交往活动日趋频繁。由于文化的差异而引起的误会可能会直接影响商务交往的实际效果，因此了解各国间的文化背景在商务谈判中是非常重要的。目前，中国和美国之间的经济往来日趋频繁，因此两国之间的商务谈判也逐渐增多。然而，由于中美两国之间存在着巨大的文化差异，中美两国谈判者之间很可能会在谈判中出现文化冲突以及不必要的误解，因此两国谈判者了解中美文化的差异是非常必要的。中美双方在商务谈判中必须增强文化差异，了解在语言与非语言行为、价值观、风俗

3、习惯、谈判风格上的差异，为达成协议打下良好的基础。本文通过研究文化差异对中美国际商务谈判的影响，对中美谈判者提出了利于和谐交际的意见和策略，从而使两国的商务谈判能够顺利进行。 关键词：文化差异；商务谈判；影响；策略AbstractBusiness negotiation under different cultural conditions is cross-cultural negotiations. Cross-culture communication is on the basis of culture. With the remarkable growth of indicators

4、 of global integration and frequent business contacts, the unnecessary misunderstandings which are caused by cultural differences may affect the result of the business negotiations. So its very important for people to know the different cultures in different countries in the international business n

5、egotiations. In recent years, the trade between China and United States has developed very fast, so the negotiations between them become more frequent than before. However, the huge cultural differences between the two countries may cause cultural conflicts and unnecessary misunderstandings. So it i

6、s imperative that negotiators should learn the cultural differences in Sino-U.S. business negotiation. The thesis presents cultural differences between the two countries from verbal and nonverbal actions, values, customs and negotiation styles. Its essential for the negotiators to take cultural sens

7、itivities into consideration during business negotiation in order to make preparations for coming to an agreement. This thesis researches the impacts of cultural differences on Sino-U.S. business negotiation and puts forward some suggestions in negotiation process in order to make the negotiation sm

8、oothly. Key words: cultural difference; business negotiation; impact; suggestionIntroduction三、 参考文献1 安冬风.论文化差异对国际商务谈判的影响.商场现代化M 4: 25-26 .20062 曹顺发,冯波.国际商务谈判M.沈阳:辽宁教育出版社. 20013 邓姝琍 如何跨越中美国际商务谈判中的文化障碍.科技信息(科学·教研) M (3): 17. 20074 刘白玉 文化差异对国际商务谈判的影响.商场现代化M (9):103-104. 2005 5刘佳.国际商务谈判中的文化差异及对策分析.

9、商场现代化M (4):203. 2008.6 刘莉芳.2006.文化差异对国际商务谈判的影响.科技情报开发与经济M (9):153-154.7 庞彦杰.中美商务谈判风格差异的文化渊源. Journal of Yunnan Finance & Economics University J (6):116-118 20068 王正元.国际商务文化 M 沈阳:辽宁教育出版社. 2001.9 杨晓慧, 严旭.中美文化差异对商务谈判的影响及其对策. 090102/16180661.html.3/13/200910对外开放三十年:中国与美大地区经贸关系稳步发展.The Impact of Cult

10、ural Differences on Sino-US Business Negotiations 中文摘要：不同文化条件下的 商务文化活动就是跨文化商务谈判。文化是跨文化交际的基础。随着全球一体化的进程不断加快，国际间的商务交往活动日趋频繁。由于文化的差异而引起的误会可能会直接影响商务交往的实际效果，因此了解各国间的文化背景在商务谈判中是非常重要的。目前，中国和美国之间的经济往来日趋频繁，因此两国之间的商务谈判也逐渐增多。然而，由于中美两国之间存在着巨大的文化差异，中美两国谈判者之间很可能会在谈判中出现文化冲突以及不必要的误解，因此两国谈判者了解中美文化的差异是非常必要的。中美双方在商务谈判

11、中必须增强文化差异，了解在语言与非语言行为、价值观、风俗习惯、谈判风格上的差异，为达成协议打下良好的基础。本文通过研究文化差异对中美国际商务谈判的影响，对中美谈判者提出了利于和谐交际的意见和策略，从而使两国的商务谈判能够顺利进行。关键词：文化差异；商务谈判；影响；策略Abstract： Business negotiation under different cultural conditions is cross-cultural negotiations. Cross-culture communication is on the basis of culture. With the re

12、markable growth of indicators of global integration and frequent business contacts, the unnecessary misunderstandings which are caused by cultural differences may affect the result of the business negotiations. So its very important for people to know the different cultures in different countries in

13、 the international business negotiations. In recent years, the trade between China and United States has developed very fast, so the negotiations between them become more frequent than before. However, the huge cultural differences between the two countries may cause cultural conflicts and unnecessa

14、ry misunderstandings. So it is imperative that negotiators should learn the cultural differences in Sino-U.S. business negotiation. The thesis presents cultural differences between the two countries from verbal and nonverbal actions, values, customs and negotiation styles. Its essential for the nego

15、tiators to take cultural sensitivities into consideration during business negotiation in order to make preparations for coming to an agreement. This thesis researches the impacts of cultural differences on Sino-U.S. business negotiation and puts forward some suggestions in negotiation process in ord

16、er to make the negotiation smoothly. Key words: cultural difference; business negotiation; impact; suggestionIntroductionSince China entered into the WTO, its economy and trade with countries around the world have been increasing rapidly. So negotiation plays an important role in the socio-economic

17、life. International business negotiation is not only the exchange and cooperation of economy, but also the exchange and communication of culture. However, the most important factor is culture. Thus people begin to pay much attention to cultural conflicts in cross-cultural communication. Nowadays, th

18、e United States is the leader of economy in the world. It is also one of the most important trading partners of China. But the cultural differences between China and the United States have a huge impact on the negotiations which can not proceed smoothly. So we need to have a correct understanding of

19、 cultures in different countries and regions, and develop a reasonable strategy for negotiation to avoid the conflicts. Therefore, it is necessary for us to research the impacts of cultural differences on Sino-U.S. business negotiation. The research about the impacts of cultural differences on Sino-

20、U.S. business negotiation was mainly put forward by the scholars in North American, particularly in France, Netherlands, Sweden, Argentina and Russia. In the 1990s, the study had focused on several issues: the impact of culture on the negotiation process and result, relations between culture and the

21、 situation of negotiations, the actual recommendations for professionals and questions on research and methodology. In resent years, the study for international business negotiations has been extended to China and Nepal. However, there are huge cultural differences between China and the United State

22、s, and culture is one of the most important factors in international business negotiations, so the research will continue to develop in the future.1 A Survey of Sino-U.S Business Negotiation1.1 Negotiation and cultureNegotiation is a special communication task. It occurs when two or more parties hav

23、e common interests and therefore have a reason to work together, who also have conflicts about their goals and how to accomplish them. Negotiation is the communication that takes place in order to reach agreement about how to handle both common and conflicting interests between two or more parties.I

24、nternational business negotiation refers to two different parties discussing on business affairs. In fact, business negotiation is not only the cooperation and exchange of economic benefits, but also is the collision and communication of different cultures. International business negotiation is infl

25、uenced by the respective country, the nations politics, economy, culture and other variety of factors. However, culture is the most difficult factor to grasp. Culture is an abstract concept, involving the various aspects of human life. It includes beliefs, knowledge, arts, customs, morals and variou

26、s aspects of social life. People learn culture in the course of everyday living by communicating with those around them. Learning culture starts at an early age and generally stays with people for the whole of their lives. In turn, people transmit culture to others, especially for their offspring, t

27、hrough direct instruction and the behaviors they consciously and unconsciously encourage and discourage. Cultural differences mean that different countries, regions and ethnic groups have many differences in history, politics, economy, cultural tradition and custom. International business negotiatio

28、n is not only a cross-border negotiation, but also is a cross-cultural negotiation. Negotiators from different countries have different social, cultural, economic, political backgrounds. Thus cultural differences exist objectively in international business negotiations. The huge cultural differences

29、 between two countries may cause some unnecessary misunderstandings and make them lose the opportunities to succeed in negotiations. Therefore, the negotiations may proceed smoothly if the negotiators have a correct understanding of cultural differences and overcome the barrier of cultural differenc

30、es in international business negotiations. 1.2 Present situation of Sino-U.S. business negotiationsThe formal establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States began in 1979. Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations have normalized since 1979. Looking back to more than 20-years

31、 development, though there are many frictions and disputes in trade between the two countries, we can see that the trade between them is still developing very fast. According to the statistics of Chinese customs, the total amount of Sino-U.S. bilateral trade was 2.45 billion dollars in 1979. And the

32、 total amount of Sino-U.S. bilateral trade was 80.48 billion dollars in 2001. The later is 32.8 times than the former. The average annual growth rate is more than 17.2%. The United States is the principal founding member of APEC and WTO. China was not accepted by APEC until 1991 and officially becam

33、e a member of WTO on December 11, 2001. At present, China and American are considered as two important member countries in the economic organization. They have an extremely important influence on the treatment of international economic affairs.From the present situation now, the United States is the

34、 largest export market in the world, the largest trade surplus original country, the second largest foreign direct investment country and Chinas second largest trading partner. According to the statistics of the Department of Commerce in United States, China is the second largest trade deficit origi

35、nal country and Americas the fourth largest trading partner and the twelfth largest export market in the world in 1999. This shows that the economic and trade relationship between China and United States plays an important role in both of their trade development.At the present time, the government o

36、f China has taken a number of measures to promote the development of the business activities in order to increase the international competitiveness. Some Chinese entrepreneurs who have potential ability are also trying to enter the international market. The economic relations between China and the U

37、nited States are becoming closer than before, thus, China has become one of Americas largest trading partners. As the economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries are getting more frequent than before, so the business negotiations between the two countries are increasing.2. The Impact o

38、f Cultural Differences on Sino-U.S. Business NegotiationThe Chinese culture is the typical collectivism culture. The Chinese cultures collective orientation and the Confucian theory have the inalienable relation. The Confucian thoughts take “benevolence” and “ceremony” as the center. “Benevolence” r

39、efers to the will of the people. It is the core of the Confucianism. Its aim is about how to deal with interpersonal relationships, so as to achieve harmony. A person must bring himself into collectiveness to achieve “benevolence”. “Ceremony” is the ruler of the behavior, is the criterion of peoples

40、 social behavior.Peoples seeing and hearing, words and deeds shall be in conformity with etiquette in order to make the society harmony. Influenced by the collective orientation culture, the Chinese people cooperate mutually and depend on one another. So “relation” is of importance in their view. Pe

41、ople depend on “relation” when dealing with almost everything. The United States belongs to the typical individualism culture. The individualism is the core of American culture. The United States individualism has close relationship with its faith. What the western Christianity emphasizes is the ind

42、ividual, so the Christian claim to sacrifice for the individual. In the doxy of the Christianity, everyone faces to the God individually and directly. The persistent pursuit of the individual soul and the struggle for new life is the core of Christianitys doxy. In the United States, the individualis

43、m began to lie embedded in peoples mind after the European immigrants set foot on the continent of North America. Protestantism is the historical root of the individualism. After that, the American Revolution, the Westward Movement, the Industrial Revolution and many movements of migration strengthe

44、ned this tradition of individualism. It can be said that the individualism is embodied in all aspects of American life. It is embodied in both the American history and the contemporary society of the United States.2.1 Verbal and nonverbal differences in Sino-U.S. business negotiations2.1.1 Verbal di

45、fferencesThe language of one nation has a close connection with the nations culture. In cross-cultural communication, the languages for negotiating are restricted by the differences of different cultures. The United States is a typical low-context language country. In this culture, the majority of i

46、nformation is transmitted by clear and specific language. The U.S. negotiators prefer to use clear, frank and direct ways to communicate; they try to speak clearly rather than ambiguous. In addition, Americans like to debate with others, they often speak in an opposed and drastic tone. These are the

47、 typical characteristics of the offspring of European immigrants.However, China is a nation with high-context culture. In the high-context culture, non-verbal communication and indirect ways are the important factors for people to transmit and understand the information. For example, they use non-ve

48、rbal factors like posture, expression in ones eyes, appearance, tone, location, distance and environment to communicate. It is necessary to understand the implication of discourse when you talk with them. And Chinese people do not like to argue with others, they like to speak in an indirect way. The

49、y prefer to keep silence than say “NO” in order to show their respect for others when they do not agree with some terms. Chinese people are very patient when negotiating, which is called “oriental patience”. In their view, harmony is the precondition for cooperation. So they try to avoid frictions i

50、n negotiations and use courtesy and implicit dictions in pursuit of the permanent friendship and long-term cooperation.People usually use English in the international business negotiations. But its difficult for the negotiators to communicate when their mother languages are not English. Under such c

51、ircumstances, we should use simple, clear and specific English. We should not use Polysindo word, puns, slang and idioms which can easily cause misunderstandings. The majority of the languages in the world can not translate verbatim. The figure of speech in different languages has many differences i

52、n communication. For example, “rain cats and dogs” means “rain heavily” but not “下狗下猫” in Chinese. The word “goat” does not have special meaning in Chinese, it only means “Shan yang”. But for Americans, “goat” also has the same meaning with “Lovelace”. So “goat clock” is considered as “Lovelace cloc

53、k”.2.1.2 Nonverbal differences One of the important issues that influence the atmosphere in business negotiations is non-verbal communication. What may not be readily recognized is that non-verbal communication (also called “silent language” or “body language”) can interfere in cross-culture interac

54、tions. Non-verbal communication includes the values regard to time, space, material possessions as well as body movements, eye contact, hand gestures, friendship and simple nods of agreement. We select one or more of these gestures which are right for the situation, just as we would construct a spok

55、en message. The difference is that quite often the messages received and sent through non-verbal communication are unconsciously done.” In negotiations, we should carefully observe the body language in order to grasp the full message. For example, Chinese people generally keep silence to express tha

56、t they have some views on this question or do not agree with this term in order to show their courtesy and respect. While Americans hold negative views of keeping silence, they consider that keeping silent means refuse to do something. So its difficult for them to accept this view. When Americans sa

57、y “Im sorry”, they often shrug their shoulder and spreads out their hands. It means “I dont know”, “I can do nothing for it”, “This situation is hopeless” and so on. While Chinese people usually express the same meaning mentioned above by nodding their head or shaking their hands. I take staring at

58、people for example, Chinese people will express curiosity or surprise, while the Americans think it is an impolite and embarrass behavior. All cultures represent some certain gestures or actions. Ignorance of these non-verbal or implicit aspects of face to face interactions may create a negative atmosphere and thereby disturb the negotiation process.” 2.2 Value differences in Sino-U.S. business negotiationsThe differences in value is hidden more deeply than the verbal and non-verbal differences in international business negotiat