Nonverbal Behaviours Cultural Differences in International Business Negotiations

Nonverbal Behaviours Cultural Differences in International Business Negotiations

Globalization embraces the free-market system which is driven by policies to allow the integration of markets in the global economy. By reducing trade barriers, it has promoted free trade - encouraging competition to spread globally. As a consequence, the global environment of business has become exceedingly challenging as the number of corporations competing in the world marketplace rise. The unprecedented growth of international business has become increasingly dependent on effective face-to-face negotiations between business partners from different countries which often have unique cultural nuances.
Culture influences how people think, communicate and behave, which ultimately affects the way they negotiate. For example, many countries which utilize northern European, German, English, and Scandinavian languages are categorized as low context cultures, and rely on spoken words in order to communicate. Conversely, high context cultures, often pertaining to Asian and Arabic languages, are heavily dependent on nonverbal and situational cues. These differences in culture can lead to misunderstandings during international business negotiations, so it is imperative that all members involved are familiar and sensitive to the culture of the other party.
A key component of successful international negotiation is effective cross-cultural communication. This requires that negotiators understand not only the written and oral language of their counterparts, but also other components of their culture whether it may be values, thinking and decision-making processes or nonverbal behaviours. In business negotiations, body language plays a significant role in the communication. Some studies show that up to 90% of communication is nonverbal and some experts say only 30% of the communication comes from talking. Most nonverbal information is communicated at an unconscious level which gives our thoughts and feelings away before we are even aware of what we are thinking or how we feel. Misunderstandings can occur when our verbal messages do not match the nonverbal messages that our bodies are sending out. People will generally assume that nonverbal actions showcase a person’s true intent and therefore tend to believe the nonverbal message when a verbal message contradicts it. Therefore it is imperative for international business owners to know these differences and leverage them.
We’ll be focusing on 3 types of nonverbal behaviours: eye contact, personal space, and time. Eye contact is a key characteristic of nonverbal communication. In American culture, maintaining eye contact shows respect and indicates interest, however, it means the opposite in Japan. In Japan, prolonged eye contact is considered aggressive and rude, so to show respect, it is common to direct their gaze below the chin. These differences can result in dramatic differences in interpretation to the same situation. For example, in the U.S., if a negotiating business partner closes his or her eyes, a business owner may assume the partner is uninterested, bored or tired. But in Japan, these actions are taken to mean the opposite. It is very common for a Japanese businessman to close his eyes during a meeting to really absorb the information and may very well mean that they’re actually quite interested.
Personal space is another key type of nonverbal communication. America business partners tend to keep an arm’s length between one another. Standing too close is interpreted as being pushy and overbearing but in some European countries such as France standing within inches of a conversation partner creates trust and intimacy. This kind of subtle decision can make the other party feel more comfortable, and therefore more willing to compromise.
Lastly, time and punctuality varies from culture to culture. Most Europeans and North Americans are often perceived as slaves to time since they are time conscious and value punctuality. They follow the monochromic culture where people tend to concentrate on the job at hand and take time commitments very seriously. Alternatively, countries with a slower pace of life which is common in areas with warmer climates such as Latin America, Africa and Asia follow a polychromic culture. Polychromic cultures like to multitask and do not consider promptness to be as essential. These 3 nonverbal communication behaviours should be kept in mind at a time of business negotiations.
SYMPTOMS AND EVALUATION OF KEY FACTORS A. Eye contact: * Maintaining eye contact in North America signifies interests, attention and respect while in Japan, this is considered rude and disrespectful. B. Personal space: * North Americans tend to prefer a larger personal space than do persons of other cultures and back away when people stand too close. * If the amount of space between two people is too great, the person approaching will seem cold, shy or unfriendly while if the amount of space is too small, they will appear aggressive, rude or intrusive. C. Time and punctuality: * Cultures tend to appreciate the importance of time differently. * Germans tend to be punctual and Latin Americans are usually late. Americans tend to place a high value on time and strive to negotiate deals quickly, while Japanese negotiators will spend extra time to analyze a contract before signing it.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
How can we avoid misunderstandings of nonverbal behaviours that occur in international business negotiations due to cultural differences?
ANALYSIS/CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM * International business negotiations have many characteristics that increase their complexity compared with negotiations in domestic markets. * Successful negotiations require an extensive understanding of each party’s culture and may also require adaptation of the negotiating strategy. * Corporate leaders often assume that they can simply extend their successful domestic negotiation strategy to the international setting. DETERMINATION AND EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Alternative 1: Managers will need to become familiar with the differences in international culture, nonverbal communication, and negotiation strategies appropriate to the other party.
Pros:
* Beware of our own behaviour patterns and become observant of others * Imitate the nonverbal of those behaviours we are dealing increase our chances of closing the deal
Cons:
* It requires additional time and money for training * Some managers will reference to one’s own culture values in comparison to others (SRC)

Alternative 2: Companies conducting business internationally can employ a third party negotiator that is familiar with the culture in the appropriate country.
Pros:
* Easy to implement
Cons:
* It would slow down the process as it takes time to find a good negotiator that fits the company * Costly

Alternative 3: All face-to-face negotiations can be eliminated and replaced with electronic communication and internet-based negotiation programs with defined standard procedures.
Pros:
* Avoid any nonverbal communications misunderstandings * Easy to implement
Cons:
* Loose the intimacy of face-to-face contact * May have undesirable effects such as the startup of under-the-table trading or increase in corruption
RECOMMENATIONS
We recommend alternative 1 as the importance of recognizing and interpreting body language in a global economy can mean the difference between success and failure. If managers are not knowledgeable of such differences when interacting with various cultures, he or she runs the risk of insult as well as possible business repercussions.