千真万确的意思-学期工作计划

Hunan Information Science
Vocational College



Graduation Thesis


Subject： Impacts of Cultural Differences on International
Business Negotiation
Name： Chen Xiujuan
Student No.: 0 8 5 1 0 3 4 0
Specialty and Class: Business English, Class 3
Department: Department of Humanities and Arts

Supervisor: Liu Mifan

Date: 2011-3-02

Contents

Introduction ......................... .................................................. ....................................... 1
1. Types of Cultural Differences .................... .................................................. ........... 2
1.1Value View .................. .................................................. ...................................... 2
1.2. Negotiating Style ................................ .................................................. ............ 2
1.3. Thinking Model ........... .................................................. ................................... 2
2. Impact Of Cultural Differences on International Business Negotiations ........... 4
2.1Impact of Value Views Differences on International Business Negotiations ..... 4
2.1.1Impact of Time View Difference on Negotiation. ...................................... 4
2.1.2Impact of Equality View Difference on Negotiation. ................................ 5
2.1.3 Impact of Objectivity Difference on Negotiation. .................................... 6
2.2

Impact of Negotiating Style Differences on International Business
Negotiations. ................................ .................................................. .......................... 7
2.3 Impact of Thinking Model Differences on International Business Negotiation.
......................... .................................................. .................................................. ..... 8
3. Coping Strategy Of Negotiating Across Cultures. ................................................ 9
3.1 Making Preparations before Negotiation. .. .................................................. ...... 9
3.2 Overcoming Cultural Prejudice. .. .................................................. .................. 10
3.3 Conquering Communication Barriers. .......................... ................................... 10
Conclusion ................................... .................................................. ............................. 11
Bibliography .................................................. .................................................. ........... 12
Acknowledgements .............. .................................................. .................................... 13

摘 要

不同文化条件下的商务谈判就是跨文化谈 判。在世界经济日趋全球化的今
天，随着国际间商务交往活动的频繁和密切，各国间的文化差异就显得格 外的重
要，否则将会引起不必要的误会，甚至可能直接影响商务交往的实际效果。这味
着如何化 解各国不同文化背景在国际商务谈判中是非常重要的。文章从文化差异
的类型入手，然后解释了这些文化 差异对国际商务谈判的影响，最后分析了如何
正确解决谈判过程中文化差异的问题。文章强调了这样一个 观点，在不同国家商
务谈判中，谈判员应该接受对方的文化，并试图是自己被对方所接受，然后在有效沟通的帮助下做出正确评估，并找出它们之间的真正利益。此外，们应该尽可
能的清楚的了解并发 现对方的文化。这对文化谈判的成功至关重要。

关键词：文化；文化差异；商务谈判；影响

Abstract

The business negotiations under different cultural conditions come to cross-
cultural negotiations. With the economic globalization and the frequent business
contacts, cultural differences seem to be very important; otherwise they could cause
unnecessary misunderstanding, even affect the result of the business negotiations.
This means it is very important to know the different culture in different countries and
the ways to avoid the culture conflicts in the international business negotiations. The
article commences from the types of culture differences, then it explains the impacts
of these culture differences on international business negotiation and finally it
analyzes how to deal with the problem of the cultural differences correctly in
negotiation process. Such a standpoint is emphasized: In the business negotiations
between different countries, negotiators should accept the other party’s culture, and
try to make him be accepted; then make a correct evaluation with the help of valid
communication and discover their real benefits between them. Besides, we should
know clearly and try to accept the culture differences as possible as we can. It is very
important for the success of culture negotiations.

Key words: Culture; Cultural differences; Business negotiation; Impact

Introduction

Along with the advancement globalization and China’s WTO entry, business
enterprises in China have to face more and more business negotiations with foreign
enterprises, especially with American enterprises. In these negotiations, Chinese
negotiators sometimes feel uncomfortable, puzzled, lost, irritated and the alike,
because of unfamiliar custom and behaviors demonstrated by American negotiators.
Meanwhile, American negotiators confront the same situation. Cult rural differences
between China and west countries could cause many problems. Therefore,
understanding cultural differences and overcoming them is crucial in international
business negotiations.
Although the definition of culture is numerous and vague, it is commonly
Recognized that culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, values, attitudes and
expectations. Culture is a major determinant in business negotiation. So have a clear
picture of culture differences if of great significance.










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1. Types of Culture Differences
The east countries and west countries have produced different cultures on the
different continents. Among the different cultures, value views, negotiating style and
thinking model appear more obvious.

1.1Value View
Value view is the standard that people use to asses objective things. It includes
time view, equality view and objectivity. People may draw a different or even
contradictory conclusion about the same thing. Value view is one of the most
important differences among the many factors. It can influence the attitude, needs
and behavior of people. The value view varies from nation to nation, people know that
the eastern person focus on collectivism, while the western people pay more attention
to individualism.

1.2. Negotiating Style
Negotiating style refers to the tolerance and graces which the negotiator shows in
the negotiation. The negotiators show their negotiating style through behavior,
manners and the method of controlling negotiation process during the negotiation.
The negotiator’s negotiating style has a bearing on their culture background.
According to the culture differences, negotiating style falls into two types: the east
negotiating style pattern and the west negotiating style pattern.

1.3. Thinking Model
Thinking model reflects the culture. Because of the influences of history

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background, continents, words and living method, different nations generate different
thinking models. Surely, there is more than one thinking model of a nation, but one is
more obvious compared with others. As a whole, east people, especially Chinese have
strong comprehensive thinking, image thinking and curved thinking, while analytical
thinking, abstract thinking and direct thinking are possessed by the west people.
















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2. Impact of Cultural Differences on International Business
Negotiations
With the rapid development of economy, we need to do business with
businessmen under different culture background, so in order to reach trade agreement,
it is necessary for us to study the impact of culture differences on international
negotiation in global business activities. The impact of culture differences on
international negotiation is extensive and deeply. Different cultures divide the people
into different group and they are also the obstacles of people’s communication.
Accordingly, it is required that the negotiator should accept the culture of each other.
Furthermore, through culture differences, it is important that the negotiator reveal and
understand the other party’s goal and behavior and make him or herself be accepted
by the opponent to reach agreement finally

2.1Impact of Value Views Differences on International Business Negotiations
Value Views Differences on International Business Negotiations fall into three
types: time view, negotiation style, thinking model. Each has big influences on
business negotiation

2.1.1 Impact of Time View Difference on Negotiation.
The time view which affects the negotiator’s behavior varies from east countries
to west countries. The oriental or the Chinese negotiators are usually cautious and
patient. They need to go through the phrases of coming up with proposes, bringing up
objections and ending the trade which takes a longer time. And they hope to arrange
rich time to go on a negotiation, thus knowing more about the opponent .They are
good at long and continuous battle. While west people or we could say American

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people, consider time is precious. They tend to resolve problems swiftly. So, in
business negotiation, American businessmen often complain about the delay and the
lack of efficiency of negotiators from other countries, while these countries also make
a complaint that the Americans lack patience. There is a popular saying among
American negotiators and businessmen: It is prohibited to steal time. That shows the
time view of Americans. To them, time means money. The time view of Chinese is
cyclic. They use long-term and systematic viewpoints to value the importance of the
topic. A famous people classify the time view into two kinds: straight-line time
viewand cyclic time view. The former pay more attention to concentration and speed,
and the later stress doing many things at one time. That they insist on different time
view leads to different negotiating style and method. The American people represent
the straight-line time view and they have a strong awareness of modern competition.
They look for speed and efficiency. So they value time badly and consider time as a
special commodity whose value could be assessed. They often use minute to calculate
time .They hope to reduce negotiation time at every phrase and want to complete the
negotiation quickly. But the Chinese time view is cyclic and they place emphasis on
unity. Moreover, it is necessary to be punctual at negotiations. West people have a
strong time view, if you don’t comply with the appointment time, they may give you a
punishment and they will regard you as unreliable and irresponsible person. Being
late for negotiation will give the west businessmen opportunities to exert pressure
onyou, and then you will lose the status of being initiative.

2.1.2 Impact of Equality View Difference on Negotiation
America went through the bourgeoisie revolution of striving for the equality and
freedom, so they take equality into their heart. Americans stick to equality and
fairness in business, and hope that both could gain benefit. When introducing the
topic or situation, the west people would like to use concrete method, particularly
data.

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Their negotiating method is that they will describe their viewpoint and propose at
the beginning in order to get initiative. Under this principle, they would come up with
a reasonable resolution which they think is very fair. In business relationship, the
sellers from America regard the buyer as a counterpart. Americans are fairer than
Japanese is sharing benefits. A lot of American managers think fair division of profits
is more important than how much they could get. At this point, the east people are
different. Because of the deeply influence of class view, they don’t pay much attention
to equality. They usually adopt single-win strategy in business negotiations. When
involving economic benefits they think much about their own benefits and profits and
don’t give so much attention to the benefit of their partners. The market economic
system of developed countries is quite mature, so west countries take win-win
strategy more in negotiation; basically, they could take the benefits of both into
consideration.

2.1.3 Impact of Objectivity Difference on Negotiation
The objectivity in international business negotiation reflects the degree to which
people treat any things. West people especially Americans have a strong objectivity on
the understanding of issues. At negotiation table, Americans don’t care much about
relationship between people. They don’t care if the status of the opponent is equal to
theirs. They make decision based on facts and data, not people. The saying that public
things use public ways is a reflection of American objectivity. Therefore，Americans
emphasize that Businessmen should distinguish people and issues, what they are
really interested in is the actual problems. But in the other parts of the world, it is
impossible for them to distinguish people and issues.


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2.2 Impact of Negotiating Style Differences on International Business
Negotiations
The impacts of negotiating style differences on international business negotiation
mainly exist in negotiating method and negotiating structure. Take the negotiation
between America and China as a example, since the oriental care more about unity in
thinking, they method they adopt in negotiation is from unity to parts, from the big to
little, from the abstract to the concrete, that is to say they should each agreement on
general terms, then begin to talk about the concrete terms. And usually not until the
end of the negotiation do they make compromise and promise based on all the items,
and then to reach agreement. The west people are influenced by analytic thinking, so
pay more attention to logical relations between things. They consider more about
concrete things than integrity. And they tend discuss the concrete items at the
beginning of negotiation, so they often resolve the price, delivery and issuance
respectively at first. And they may make compromise at every detail, so the final
contract is the combination of many little agreements. The negotiating structure is
linked with cultures. Negotiating structure mostly refers to the number of the
participants. In business negotiation, the foreign delegation is usually composed by
3-5 people, while the Chinese one could be more 15 people. The foreign negotiators
not only need to negotiate with their counterparts but also need to discuss with related
person in charge or the government. When making the final decisions, the Chinese
negotiators often discuss the results repeatedly from the workers to the board to avoid
being decided by a single person. That results from the influence of collectivism. So
they often said to their partners: Let us think about it. Let us discuss it. But the west
negotiators could make the final decision without going back for discussion. That
because their admire individualism and hard working. They have strong independence.
They would carry on according to the best ways after knowing their goals. What’s
more, most west people think that they have the ability to deal with the negotiation
situation on their own. And truly, they are brave enough to take responsibility.


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2.3 Impact of Thinking Model Differences on International Business Negotiation
The thinking model of Chinese tends to be comprehensive, concrete and curved,
while the Americans are usually analytic, abstract and straight-line. We Chinese are
accustomed to talking about general principles at first and then move onto details. To
Chinese negotiators, the core is the general guideline, and the details are subject to the
guideline. After figuring out the big picture, other problems are easier to resolve. It is
the most obvious feature of Chinese negotiators. But west businessmen, especially
Americans are likely to discuss the details first and try to avoid the principle. They
value details very much and think noting about the unity. Accordingly, they want to
discuss the details at the beginning of negotiation. They are direct and simple in
negotiation. As a matter of fact, many facts show that General principles first have
impact of constriction on the parts and details. For instance, our government insists on
the principle that Hong Kong and Macao are undivided parts of China’s territory. In
the important diplomatic negotiations such as Entering into relationship with America,
Hong Kong’s and Macao’s Coming back into their motherland. It is under such
principle that we established the tone of the negotiation and controlled the skeleton of
the negotiation, thus we get the advantage and prompt the success of negotiation.













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3. Coping Strategy of Negotiating across Cultures

The culture differences in cross-cultural communication have various impacts on
operation of enterprises. These differences will influence negotiation and management
of transnational operation; what’s more, it may have bad effects on the harmonious
relationship between our country and foreign countries. Maybe that will lead to the
missing of market opportunities, the increase of trade cost and the low efficiency of
company management. So, it is really necessary for us all to eliminate and avoid
disadvantageous effects.

3.1 Making Preparations before Negotiation.
The negotiators must make good preparations if they want control the
development of negotiation successfully in the complex situation. Only do they make
good preparations can they make changes freely according to the situation of
negotiation and avoid the happening of conflicts. Because the international business
negotiation involves extensive aspects, more preparations are needed. The
preparations often include the analysis of the negotiators themselves and the
opponents; the constitution of negotiation group, elaborating the negotiating goal and
strategy and going on imitation negotiation when necessary. When making
preparations, you should try to know the opponents while you analyze yourselves.
Analyzing yourselves mainly refers to studying if the project is feasible. To knowing
about the opponents means understanding their strength such as credit status, the
policy、 business customs and regulations of their countries and the
conditions of their negotiating members and so on.


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3.2 Overcoming Cultural Prejudice
Tolerating different cultures and overcoming cultural prejudice contribute to
better communicating with each other and understanding each other. West people
often think that they are powerful, capable and experienced, so sometimes, we need to
recognize then and give then some good comments. We should learn about the foreign
cultures before negotiation and accept and understand their cultures in negotiation,
because every country regard their own cultures as a matter of course and hope that
their culture could be recognized and accepted.

3.3 Conquering Communication Barriers
Two trains running at different railways in the opposite direction will collide
with each other; maybe this is the best arrangement for trains. But to communication
between people, there won’t be communications if people go ahead according to their
own ways. Trains will collide with each other if they run on the same railway at the
opposite direction. But if we measure by the objective of people’s communication,
only we meet each other, can we have communication and friendship. In negotiation,
sometimes we can’t make much progress although we have talked for long time. And
sometimes both parties are not satisfied. After thinking, that is caused by
communication barriers which happen easily in cross-cultural negotiation. We should
make sure if there appear communication barriers, if so, we must overcome them.
Generally speaking, we should pay more attention to the following three
communication barriers in cross-cultural negotiation: the communication barriers
caused by culture background of both; the ones caused by misunderstanding of the
contents and information from the partner; the ones caused by not being willing to
accept the opponent’s contents and ideas.



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Conclusion

“Social Customs varies in different countries”. In a word, cross- cultural
communication will meet the problem of culture differences surely. In turn, culture
differences also influence all aspects of international business communication. To
avoid or to resolve the culture differences is a huge task in international business
negotiation. In order to step into the international market successfully, we must have
the awareness of culture differences, acknowledge culture differences and understand
different cultures. Try to know yourself and know them. What’s more, we should
respect different behavior of businessmen under different culture background, and
then we could reduce unnecessary conflicts resulting from not respecting the
opponents. It is beneficial for both to form an atmosphere of mutual trust and
cooperation, reduce culture differences and turn disadvantages into advantages and
benefits. Thus, we could avoid conflicts and obstacles, then to promote
communication and harmony in international business negotiation.















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Acknowledgements
As acknowledgements for my paper, only I — the writer is responsible for the
shortcomings. I much acknowledges my thanks to all my teachers, especially to Miss
Liu Mifan, my supervisor, who has provides me support, critical ideas and careful
suggestions.
I also want to thank my family who always give me time, encouragement and
secretarial services, especially my parents.
Finally, my classmate and friends, who provided thoughtful and thorough
reviews of my paper, must be acknowledged.


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