The influence of cultural differences on international business negotiations

左德威

【Abstract】In the cross-cultural business negotiations， negotiators should accept the other parties culture differences， and try hard to make themselves be accepted. It needs the help of effective communication， without prejudice to the interests of both sides to make a correct evaluation of the premise. Otherwise， some unnecessary misunderstandings may be caused， impact even the actual effect of commercial activities， this means it is very important how to resolve the influence from the cultural background of different countries to international business negotiations.

【Key words】Cultural Difference； International Business Negotiation； Influence； Cross-cultural Strategy

1. Causes of Cultural Differences

1.1 Regional difference

Regional difference means that people in different geographical regions have different geographical environment， levels of economic development and traditional customs and religions. Therefore， they have different languages， lifestyles and others， and this will impact their behavior. For example， people in Europe and America value the Christmas Day， but people in some eastern countries even dont know what Christmas Day is.

1.2 National difference

National difference means that in the development of different nations， they have their own languages， customs and culture. For example， in the case of China and western countries. Most western countries celebrate Christmas， but Chinese like the Spring Festival very much with many traditional customs. Chinese always eat Spring festival dinner， light firecrackers， visit each other， give Hong Bao to children， write Spring couplets， clean the house and so on. But foreigners always eat in the church， decorate the Christmas tree， apple and turkey is the most popular foods.

1.3 Political difference

Political difference means that in different countries， there are a variety of political systems and laws stipulate peoples conducts. For example， American can use the guns legally by applying the license， but in China， we are not allowed to apply the license for the guns ， this is the big difference of policy， and the difference of policy also caused many other differences.

1.4 Economic difference

Economic difference means a reflection that economic factor causes the cultural difference. Such as， in western countries， they emphasize the quality of life and have strong safety consciousness. But the many Third World countries people care more about having enough to eat and wear. Chinese are easier to satisfy， prefer the steady and comfortable life. But the western foreigners are not， They like to adventure and experience， based on the situation of commerce-favored ideology， their sailing developed so fast that plundered abundant wealth from other countries. The economic difference also leads to many difference of thinking， value.

1.5 Religious difference

Religion means a historical phenomenon appearing at a certain stage of development of human society. It has its own process of happening and development. There are three religions in the world， and they are Christianity， Buddhism and Islam. People from different religions have their own Cultural orientation and discipline. It influences their Cognition， behavior norms and values.

2. Importance of cultural difference to business negotiation

In the practice of negotiation， many negotiators usually dont understand value or mention the important influence of cultural difference to negotiation. On foreign negotiators culture， many negotiators maybe have observed the other sides“different”or“obscure”way of negotiation， but they think thats not important. Someone blindly believes that foreign negotiations depend on facts and data. Similarly， when some negotiators go to other countries to negotiate， for keeping a harmonious relationship， they will pay attention to the cultural factors in common， and ignore the difference.

3. Influence of cultural differences on the international business negotiation

3.1 Process of communication

Influence of cultural difference to the process of negotiation communication firstly shows up in the language communication process. All the companies or individuals that want to hold negotiation must have the language on to this. For instance， Chinese“White elephant”brand battery will cause bad associations after it was translated to English. Because“White elephant”has two other meanings besides， those are“things useless to owner， but maybe useful to others；useless things”. Influence of cultural difference shows not only in language communication process， but in non-verbal communication process. For instance， the vast majority of countries are in favor of ways to nod. But in India and Nepal， they use shaking heads to say“OK”. So they will shake head with smiling face to express affirmation. They often say“You are right. ”But they are shaking their heads. Thats weird.

3.2 Negotiation style

Negotiating style is the main bearing and style that negotiators perform in the negotiating activities. Negotiating style reflects in the negotiators behavior in the negotiation process and the method of controlling the process. Culture not only decides the negotiators code of ethics， but influences negotiators way of thinking and personality. Negotiating style has direct influence on the two parties communication methods， communication relations， and even negotiating structures in negotiation. Of course， in the actual negotiation process you must pay attention to that negotiators from the same culture may have opposite negotiation style influenced by subculture or some other reasons.

3.3 Ethics and Legal

Chinese culture is used to avoid legally considering questions， but focuses on the consideration on the problem from the ethic. Most of the western countries are absolutely opposite. They often consider problems depending on law. In China， the concept“Ethic is supreme”has dominated an important position in peoples thoughts. Once there is a dispute， the first thought is how to win the public support. “A just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust cause finds little”has extremely special connotation and meaning for Chinese people. As a result， Chinese people feel not costumed solving some problems which should be solved by law. They have a habit to make“organization”and the public opinion play the role of moral standard.

4. How to treat the cultural difference in international business negotiation

4.1 Cultural difference that may occur needs to be understood before negotiation

Preparations for negotiation includes：negotiation background， the assessment of the situation， the facts need to be verified in negotiating process， the agenda， the best strategy options and concessions. Negotiation background consists of location， site layout， negotiation unit， number of negotiators， channels of communication and negotiation time limits. All these preparations must consider the possible cultural difference. For instance， cultural differences in terms of site layout may be slightly on the impact of co-operation. In the culture of heavier hierarchy， if the room is not arranged properly， more casually， may cause the other party anxiety and even anger.

4.2 Dealing with the cultural difference correctly is needed in negotiation

For Western countries， we must take an export-oriented communication；do our best to express our ideas in a simple， clear and frank way. For instance， Americans believe that argument is a right to express personal ideas， and is useful to solving problems， and differences in views would not affect relationships. While in the oriental culture， in order to save both parties faces， ambiguous and indirect languages are frequently used. Even if they do not agree with each other's views， it's rare to be rejected or refuted directly. They will twist and turn to state their views. “Harmony”of the valuesof the Chinese people creates a harmonious atmosphere as an important means of negotiations.

4.3 After negotiations do the follow-up job well for the exchange of cultural difference

Management after negotiations related to the contracts management and the follow-up communication behavior. Such as China， the settlement of disputes usually dont depend on the law completely， but depend on the relationship of the two parties. In these cultures， the written contract is very short. It is mainly used to describe the two parties own responsibilities . But in western countries， such as America， they regard the contract signing ceremony as a movement of wasting time and money ， so they usually sign the contract by sending e-mail.

5. Cross-culture negotiation strategies

5.1 Negotiation strategies with American

The American enthusiasm character is bold and unrestrained， they think mutual tolerance to break the deadlock， willing to compromise in the negotiation， make negotiations proceed smoothly. In negotiations with them， should pay attention to the Americans rich bargaining power and the characteristics of interested in the “package” deal actively use the other power to contribute to a broader range of joint collaboration， global balance， clinch a deal as much as possible. At the same time， must be punctual， handle affairs must be funny. In addition， when negotiating with Americans to bring their own lawyers， and is a qualified lawyer. When signing a contract， be sure to put the terms of the contract carefully， make it not only conforms to the Chinese law， and no laws conflict with the United States.

5.2 Negotiation strategies with Japanese

The negotiations with Japanese， we must understand each other， to understand have how much power and what decisions can be made by them. When negotiations， our staff talk by as much as possible of euphemism， polite， and how enough patience， because irritable and impatient to Japanese appears to be a sign of weakness. While waiting for the time， you can also do some research， try to get to know each other. The Japanese don't want to talk with other young people. In addition， the Japanese entrepreneur pursues macho， it is the best choice for group without any women.

6. Conclusion

With the high-speed development of today's world economic integration and communication and frequent exchanges between countries businessman contact， they influence each other， complement each other， some businessmen's country style is not very obvious. Therefore， we should understand familiar with the different styles of negotiations between different countries and regions of merchants， in actual business negotiations should be based on the emergence of temporary， and the random strain， properly adjust their ways to negotiations to achieve the desired purpose， achieve the success of the business negotiations.

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