Cross Cultural Negotiations Lecture 3: “The Incredible Shrinking World.” Culture in Negotiations

Cross-Cultural Negotiations: An introduction When two people communicate, they rarely talk about precisely the same subject, for effective meaning is flavored by each person’s own cognitive world and cultural conditioning. When negotiating internationally, this translates into anticipating culturally related ideas that are most likely to be understood by a person of a given culture. Discussions are frequently impeded because the two sides seem to be pursuing different paths of logic; in any cross-cultural context, the potential for misunderstanding and talking past each other is great. When one takes the seemingly simple process of negotiations into a cross-cultural context, it becomes even more complex and complications tend to grow exponentially. It is naive indeed to venture into international negotiation with the belief that “after all people are pretty much alike everywhere and behave much as we do.” Even if they wear the same clothes you do, speak English as well as (or even better than) you, and prefer many of the comforts and attributes of American life (food, hotels, sports), it would be foolish to view a member of another culture as a brother in spirit. That negotiation style you use so effectively domestically can be inappropriate and when dealing with people from another cultural background; in fact its use can often result in more harm than gain. Heightened sensitivity, more attention to detail, and perhaps even changes in basic behavioral patterns are required when working in another culture. Different cultural systems can produce divergent negotiating styles—styles shaped by each nation’s culture, geography, history, and political system. Unless you see the world through the other’s eyes (no matter how similar they appear to