CulturalBarriersinInternationalBusinessNegotiations

劉宏+玉金印

【Abstract】Cross cultural communication plays an increasingly significant role in international business negotiations， and cultural factors play a decisive role in the success of business deals. Therefore， it is necessary for us to correctly understand the cultural background and barriers between different countries and launch effective negotiation strategies to avoid conflict and failure in global business activities， and eventually succeed in international negotiations.

【Key words】cultural barriers； international business negotioations； solution

1. Introduction

International business negotiation is not only about communication and cooperation in economic field； it is also a process of intercultural communication. Concerning parties are sparing no efforts to reach an agreement through exchange of information and consultation， thus meeting their respective needs. With different languages and customs， unique cultural backgrounds， different values， various philosophies worshipped and distinct behavior styles， both parties are striving to get their mutual benefits and these cultural factors will directly determine the success or failure of international business negotiations.

Some negotiators made great efforts in business negotiations to get more favorable results at the price of having made a lot of concessions. In order to make their negotiations successful， they paid little attention to the cultural aspects of the other party. The results will be expressed in terms of wording or negotiating skills， thus， one may probably fall into the trap of misunderstanding， at the end， pay a heavy price. Such example is not rarely seen in business negotiations. Therefore， in the business negotiations， negotiators should not only pay attention to the verbal commitment， but also to pay attention to non-verbal factors as well.

2. Cultural Barriers in International Business Communication

Cultural differences are influencing international business negotiations， and to some extent， they are the decisive factors in business activities. Intercultural negotiators should understand and show respect to each others cultural differences. Of all the culutral factors that influence the result of international business negotiations， three of them are particular eye-catching. These factors are：barriers of expression， barriers of values and barriers of behavior.

2.1 Barriers in Expression

Of all negotiations， the core is communication. People from different culture will speak their own language and have distinct understanding of another language. Thus， the expression of both parties will directly determine whether the negotiation will go smoothly or not. Unfortunately， in most negotiations， negotiators seldom pay attention to the expression of language communication， and they generally assume that language communication is apparent， so they negotiate hardly with any skills. Therefore， negotiators have to strive to solve the problem of language expression barriers.endprint

In some high context society， people who come from the same nation have a lot in common since they have lived together for a long period， and language is the main part of information transmission. Nonverbal communication is also significant since it accounts for a large proportion to know each other.

2.2 Barriers in Values

Different nations have different cultures， so nearly all nations worship different degrees of individualism or collectivism. People in some countries have stronger personal consciousness， while people in some other countries are more collective. Of numerous cultural factors， value plays the central part， which is permanent， stable and commonly accepted by members of different communities. Value is not only a part of cultural structure， but also the result of long-term accumulation of social and cultural development， and it will constantly affect peoples attitude and behaviors.

2.3 Barriers in Behavior

People in different nations will present different behaviors， which they themselves believe to be appropriate in business negotiations. People will show distinct national habits：for instance， Americans generally feel proud of their country and have a strong sense of self-respect and honor because the United States is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Therefore， Americans have a relatively strong sense of self-confidence and self esteem in negotiations. On the contrary， Chinese attach great importance to relationship and they rely more on their friends， relatives and people. Chinese like to deal with people who are known to them， so when conducting business negotiations with Chinese， relationship is fairly important and there must be an intermediary between the parties. However， some nations like Japan will tend to treat negotiations as wars， and Japanese usually hide their real intention with deliberate courtesy and politeness.

3. Solutions to Overcome Cultural Barriers

International business negotiators should realize the influence of cultural differences on the negotiation and the differences on ways of thinking， negotiating methods and style. One should also overcome the cultural barriers in international business negotiation and take relevant countermeasures.

3.1 Be flexible in Cross-cultural Communication

We all know that today China is a very open country， and we must know that different countries have different cultures， and we cannot be isolated and confined to our own culture. While negotiations， mutual understanding and respect is always the first factor for us to bear in mind.endprint

In international business negotiations， we must strengthen the awareness of cross-cultural negotiation and recognize the different context of the negotiators cultural needs， motives and objectives， learning to accept， respect and understand each others culture. All the flexibility is in the case of being legitimate and reasonable， and if the negotiations are controversial， people should learn to be flexible and try to find something both parties have in common. Of course， this is definitely not a compromise， but to eventually reach an agreement.

3.2 Learn More Knowledge about different Cultures

Cross-cultural business is more challenging than single cultural negotiation， because the former involves in different ways in thinking， special emotional and behavioral patterns oriented from different cultures. The negotiation process is complicated in that it is related to the power of different cultural norms that havent been brought to peoples attention， which may do harm to the effectiveness of business communication.

On the one hand， we should be tolerant to different cultural behavior， but that doesnt mean simply adapting to or copying others cultural form and methods， but trying to understand the other party and look upon the issues in the eye of others social and cultural background. We should be clear in mind that foreigners are different from us on emotional feelings， motives， beliefs and views. What is accepted in our own country is not necessarily effective in other countries.

On the other hand， we have to be familiar and keenly observe others cultural criterion and social norms. Before contacting with foreign businessmen， learn their customs and taboos as much as possible and strive to know what kind of persons they are， how they perform in business negotiation to avoid making the other party unhappy， even affecting the process and result of business negotiation.

3.3 Prepare for Cross-cultural Communication

Having a good understanding of a nations cultural and local customs in advance is fairly important. Full preparation is particularly important for international business negotiations， before the negotiations， we must keep in mind the culture of other negotiators， understand their preferences， do not do anything contrary to their culture， and we have to learn from the humanities， history， habits to understand their habits， for instance， the Americans do not negotiate so hard， but do things seriously， while the Japanese and the Chinese people like to engage in cultural exchanges before the negotiations between the two countries to enhance the feelings， and these are things we have to prepare before it. Understanding the cutural customs of the other party is the first step towards successful business negtioation.endprint

4. Conclusion

Cross-cultural negotiation is full of uncertainties and challenges， because cross cultural negotiation is a kind of negotiation behavior between different ways of thinking， different ways of communication and distinct behaviors. Firstly， people should recognize and acknowledge that different nation has different ethnic culture；in order to reach a satisfactory result， people have to continue to carry forward the national excellent traditional culture at the same time， respect other peoples cultural traditions， social customs， local customs and practices， and learn and absorb the other and know the nations fine cultural traditions. Secondly， people have to learn the culture and essence of in-depth understanding， carefully studying other cultures to find out the similarities and differences between the national culture and other cultures， the inherent law of intercultural communication study， grasp the cross-cultural business negotiation of knowledge， skills and the right strategy， and make appropriate use of these skills and strategies for success in Intercultural business negotiation.

References：

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作者簡介：

劉宏玉，吉林長春人，副教授，研究方向：商務英語。

金印，大連財經學院2014級商務英語專業學生。endprint