Published on August 18, 2010
International business is growing like never before. Negotiations form the crux in this global playing field, but the varying cultural dimensions throw up quite a tricky arena. For instance, the Americans are driven; Germans are quite precise while Indians are relatively more relaxed. These and other subtle differences affect how the concerned parties perceive issues, ideas and even intentions.
Simple things like doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time can create grave misunderstandings leading to detrimental consequences. The overriding cultural background also creates barriers to establishing trust and credibility, ultimately leading to failure. Like, a cooperative stance can be misinterpreted as a power confrontation! Thus, negotiators are faced with huge challenges in the international environment as even an extremely attractive and lucrative proposal can fall flat due to the driving influence of cultural undertones.
Moreover, successfully negotiating with foreigners is not just about speaking the same language. Numerous other mind-boggling minutiae influence the proceedings and prevent international businesspersons from reaching joint agreements. Therefore, cross-cultural awareness through appropriate negotiation training is crucial for facing and solving the problem. The specialised knowledge alone will enable negotiators to tailor their behaviour, approach, sales pitch and presentations to suit their counterparts' thoughts, feelings and behaviour thus significantly increasing their chances of success.
Training helps
To cash in on the international opportunities, negotiators need information about the foreign bureaucracy, laws, government, financial and political scenario. Along with this, they should also understand the negotiating approach and cultural preferences of the opposing parties. This is where cross-cultural negotiation training comes into the picture.
Cross-cultural negotiation training is all about studying the basic components about the foreign culture, beliefs, values, etiquette, business approach, time sensitivity and negotiation styles/goals, especially those which can influence the deal. Take negotiation styles for example – “The way in which we approach negotiation differs across cultures. In the Middle East rather than approaching topics sequentially, negotiators may discuss issues simultaneously. South Americans can become quite vocal and animated. The Japanese will negotiate in teams and decisions will be based upon consensual agreement. In Asia, decisions are usually made by the most senior figure or head of a family. In China, negotiators are highly trained in the art of gaining concessions. In Germany, decisions can take a long time due to the need to analyse information and statistics in great depth. In the UK, pressure tactics and imposing deadlines are ways of closing deals whilst in Greece this would backfire.” Whew!
As we can see, cross-cultural training is a broad umbrella – like, cultural etiquette alone will include small nuances of social behaviour, ideas and customs along with protocol about meeting and greeting, how to address, level of accepted eye contact, need for small talk, tolerable personal touch and space, emotionalism, etc. Needless to say, incorporating even these seemingly minor changes can greatly enhance the negotiation process.
Different takes
Further, the training also includes information on the opposing party's willingness to take risks, make concessions, share information, tolerate ambiguity, openness to new approaches or alternatives, value of punctuality, decision-making process, perceptions and expectations from the negotiation and so on.
Another example - some North American cultures are only keen on pushing through a deal to form a final contract concentrated solely on getting the all-important signature on the dotted line. Whereas other Asian cultures may take considerable time as they value mutual satisfaction and wish to build long-term relationships. Operating on these widely divergent goals sets the stage for suspicions and misunderstandings on either side. On the other hand, understanding the effects of these cultural tendencies will help the negotiators to bridge the cultural gap by adjusting their approach accordingly.
Moreover, cross-cultural negotiation training also creates an awareness of the host party's own cultural proclivities, perceptions and biases which in turn help in understanding both the similarities and differences in attitudes and perceptions. This common base can form a valuable starting point for both a successful negotiation and relationship.
To sum up, cultural sensitivity is a sign of respect that helps build trust and support as well as endears the negotiators to the opposite team. It will also enable them to choose the right strategies, tactics, manoeuvres and concessions – a great advantage over the competition indeed!
Payal Chanania
No comments:
Post a Comment