1 CHAPTER SIXTEEN International and CrossCultural Negotiation Mc

1 CHAPTER SIXTEEN International and Cross-Cultural Negotiation Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

2 What Makes International Negotiations Different? Two overall contexts have an influence on international negotiations: • Environmental context – Includes environmental forces that neither negotiator controls that influence the negotiation • Immediate context – Includes factors over which negotiators appear to have some control Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

3 Environmental Context Factors that make international negotiations more challenging than domestic negotiations include: • • Political and legal pluralism International economics Foreign governments and bureaucracies Instability Ideology Culture External stakeholders Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

4 Immediate Context “Factors over which the negotiators have influence and some measure of control”: • • • Relative bargaining power Levels of conflict Relationship between negotiators Desired outcomes Immediate stakeholders Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

5 The Contexts of International Negotiations Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

6 How Do We Explain International Negotiation Outcomes? International negotiations can be much more complicated • Simple arguments cannot explain conflicting international negotiation outcomes • The challenge is to: – Understand the multiple influences of several factors on the negotiation process – Update this understanding regularly as circumstances change Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

7 Conceptualizing Culture and Negotiation • Culture as learned behavior – A catalogue of behaviors the foreign negotiator should expect • Culture as shared values – Understanding central values and norms • Individualism/collectivism • Power distance • Career success/quality of life • Uncertainty avoidance Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

8 Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture • • Individualism/collectivism Power distance Masculinity/femininity Uncertainty avoidance Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

9 Individualism/Collectivism Definition: the extent to which the society is organized around individuals or the group • Individualism/collectivism orientation influences a broad range of negotiation processes, outcomes, and preferences – Individualistic societies may be more likely to swap negotiators, using whatever short-term criteria seem appropriate – Collectivistic societies focus on relationships and will stay with the same negotiator for years Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

10 Power Distance Definition: “The extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally” • Cultures with stronger power distance will be more likely to have decision-making concentrated at the top of the culture. Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

11 Masculinity/Femininity Definition: the extent cultures hold values that are traditionally perceived as masculine or feminine • Influences negotiation by increasing the competitiveness when negotiators from masculine cultures meet Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

12 Uncertainty Avoidance Definition: “Indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations” • Negotiators from high uncertainty avoidance cultures are less comfortable with ambiguous situations--want more certainty on details, etc. Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

13 Hofstede’s Cultures Ranking in the Top 10 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

14 Conceptualizing Culture and Negotiation • Culture as dialectic – All cultures contain dimensions or tensions that are called dialectics • Example: Judeo-Christian parables “too many cooks spoil the broth” and “two heads are better than one” offer conflicting guidance • This can explain variations within cultures • Culture in context – No human behavior is determined by a single cause – All behavior may be understood at many different levels simultaneously Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

15 Culture as Values Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

16 The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: Managerial Perspectives • • • Definitions of negotiation Negotiation opportunity Selection of negotiators Protocol Communication Time sensitivity Risk propensity Groups versus individuals emphasis Nature of agreements Emotionalism Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

17 The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: Research Perspectives • Negotiation outcomes – Research suggests that culture has an effect on negotiation outcomes, although it may not be direct and it likely has an influence through differences in the negotiation process in different cultures – Some evidence suggests that cross-cultural negotiations yield poorer outcomes than intracultural negotiations Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

18 The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: Research Perspectives Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

19 The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: Research Perspectives • Negotiation process – Culture has been found to have significant effects on the negotiation process, including: • • How negotiators plan The offers made during negotiation The communication process How information is shared during negotiation • Effects of culture on negotiator cognition – Accountability to a constituent influenced negotiators from individualistic and collectivistic cultures differently Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

20 The Influence of Culture on Negotiation: Research Perspectives • Effect of culture on negotiator ethics and tactics – Differences exist in the tolerance of different negotiation tactics in different cultures – Negotiators who trusted the other party were less likely to use questionable negotiation tactics • Effects of culture on conflict resolution – Within collectivistic countries, disagreements are resolved based on rules, whereas in individualistic countries, conflicts tend to be resolved through personal experience and training Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

21 Culturally Responsive Negotiation Strategies • When choosing a strategy, negotiators should: – – – • Be aware of their own and the other party’s culture in general Understand the specific factors in the current relationship Predict or try to influence the other party’s approach Strategies are arranged based on the level of familiarity (low, moderate, high) that a negotiator has with the other party’s culture Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

22 Low Familiarity • Employ agents or advisers (unilateral strategy) – Useful for negotiators who have little awareness of the other party’s culture • Bring in a mediator (joint strategy) – Encourages one side or the other to adopt one culture’s approaches or mediator culture approach • Induce the other party to use your approach (joint strategy) – The other party may become irritated or be insulted Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

23 Moderate Familiarity • Adapt to the other negotiator’s approach (unilateral strategy) – Involves making conscious changes to your approach so it is more appealing to the other party • Coordinate adjustment (joint strategy) – Involves both parties making mutual adjustments to find a common process for negotiation Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved

24 High Familiarity • Embrace the other negotiator’s approach (unilateral strategy) – Adopting completely the approach of the other negotiator (negotiator needs to completely bilingual and bicultural) • Improvise an approach (joint strategy) – Crafts an approach that is specifically tailored to the negotiation situation, other party, and circumstances • Effect symphony (joint strategy) – The parties create a new approach that may include aspects of either home culture or adopt practices from a third culture Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. , All Rights Reserved