The link between national cultures and negotiations is essential. Indeed, whether in business or in another field, to obtain the suited result, parties of any negotiation have to take into consideration the culture of the other one.
According to Hofstede (“Cultures and organizations: Software of the Mind” (2010 edition)), negotiation process can be defined as “a common need for agreement because of an expected gain from such agreement”. In other words, the two or more parties all have something to earn and may have different interests. More precisely, in international negotiations, players will inevitably have different values, ways of working, understanding and communicating. This is the reason why it appears as so crucial to study the culture of the …show more content…
In order to succeed intercultural negotiations the partner needs to be aware of the cultural values from different countries compared to his own values. Besides, to be sure that the message sent is understood well, the parties have to possess excellent language and communication skills. Indeed, from one culture to another the message can be understood in completely opposite ways. In addition, great organization skills are also needed to be able to arrange meetings for instance, and accommodations, including interpreters and mediators. → RECO ?
We can add the fact that involuntary conflict situations can be avoided with a good quality of the intercultural encounters and if people who are assigned to the negotiation process do have the required decision power level.
To conclude, culture is influencing international negotiations at three levels: national, occupational and organizational. All of them have to be analyzed by parties with care before enhancing any negotiation process and this way avoiding any conflict situation.
Intercultural communication
→ p.