Brett Simons
Chapter 5: Cross-cultural Negotiation & Decision Making

Negotiation The chapter starts with defining negotiation as the process of discussion by which two or more parties aim for mutually acceptable agreement. It also states that the art of negotiation is widely considered the most important skill in International Business. I find that very interesting and kind of a surprise to me, but when you think about it, all business interactions are based on some type of negotiations (even meaningless stuff like meeting times). Because of this, negotiations also affect the ability for a manager to implement strategy. Finally, just like the running theme of this book, ignorance and poor research of native bargaining rituals, can cause unimpressive result.
The Negotiation Process The process in which proper negotiation occurs is broken down into five stages. The first stage is preparation. This, to me, is the most important stage of the process. Before you can move on to any other stage effectively, you have to have done your homework as a manager. The second stage is building a relationship. You need to get to know your counterpart and their positions. It helps you stay ahead of their responses so you can react to them more effectively. The third stage is the exchange of task related information. This can include presentations and such but can be tricky when dealing with different cultures. As the book points out, researching how different cultures interact in this stage makes for a more productive negotiation. The fourth stage is persuasion. This stage can include a lot of dirty tricks and understanding who you are negotiating with (& how they might act), will help you stay calm and constructive. Finally, the last stage is the concessions and agreement. The research done prior to the negotiations will help you understand if the other side’s