Negotiations and cross cultural considerations Essay Example

Negotiations and cross cultural considerations Essay Example Negotiations and cross cultural considerations Essay Negotiations and cross cultural considerations Essay Negotiations Negotiation steams from the Roman word negotiari meaning to carry on business. It was true for ancient Romans as it is for businesspersons of today that negotiations and business involves hard work. (Hendon, Hendon Herbig 1996) Negotiations are a frequent part of international business. Parties involved in a negotiation face different problems in reaching a successful outcome. When parties have different cultural backgrounds the faced problems becomes even more complex. Negotiation is a process to manage relationships. It is a basic human activity that xists between husband and wife, children and parents, employers and employees, buyers and sellers and between business associates. In business relationships the stakes are often high and therefore it is necessary to plan an prepare the negotiation more carefully. (Ghauri 2003) When business parties negotiate the purpose is to influence the process so they can get a better deal rather than to accept or reject what the other party is offering. Negotiations are treated as an important part of developing business in any market. The estimated time spent in negotiations is 50 er cent of the total working time. (Fraser Zarkanda-Fraser 2002) Business negotiations differ from other negotiations. In business negotiations it is considered the most challenging communication tasks (Woo Prudhomme 1999) and are more and more considered a crucial part of the managerial process, which is highly relevant to the implementation of business strategy (Ghauri 2003) Successful negotiations require understanding of each partys culture and may also require adaptation of the negotiating strategy so it is consistent with the other partys culture. Hollensen 2001) Negotiations is important, especially in business to business markets where companies build long term relationships. Establish, maintain and foster relationships are of prime importance for the market transaction to take place (Ghauri 2003). Due to globalization, many companies have also set up overseas branches and many managers are facing greater problems in negotiating with local sales office often manned with local managers. It is therefore, interesting to investigate how culture interfere the negotiation behaviour of parties coming from different countries and cultures. Cross-cultural Considerations The different social behaviour patterns international negotiators encounter have been broadly and loosely defined as cultural differences. Furthermore, there is limited research on the relationship of culture to negotiation, most probably because 0T tne Innerent OITTlcultles In tne metnoaology 0T stuaylng tnese proDlems. I nere are, however, four approaches taken by negotiation literature implying a connection between culture and behaviour : culture as a learned behaviour, culture as shared value, culture as dialectic, and culture-in-context. Robert 1991) Each approach is conceptually different, and this implies that it is important to understand these differences during the conduct of negotiation of international partnerships. Learned behaviours focuses on negotiating etiquette, that is the use of proper social customs, such as whether or not negotiations are conducted over dinner or not. Most books on how to negotiate abroad are written based on this approach to international negotiations. Researchers following this approach observe that certain types of behavior are common to certain cultures, and attempt to catalog those behaviors. Some of the earliest investigations into cultural differences take this form. However, this approach has difficulty accounting for individual variations in negotiation styles. (Robert 1991) Culture as a shared value focuses on the negotiation process. For this approach the assumption, simply put, is that thinking precedes doing, and that ones thinking patterns derive from ones cultural context. Researchers try to discover the basic values and attitudes of a particular culture, and then to deduce patterns of negotiation behavior from those basic beliefs. The shared value approach typically ssumes homogeneity in the cultures dominant or commonly-held cluster of values. This approach can potentially lead to failed negotiations if the negotiators themselves do not follow the rules of perception in the eyes of their counterparts on the other side of the bargaining table. Whereas the learned behavior approach merely describes differing behaviors, this approach attempts to explain those behaviors. However, this approach also has difficulty in accounting for individual variations in negotiation styles. Robert 1991) A third approach understands cultures as shaped by the dialectic tension between aired, opposing values. Cultures can be seen for example as shaped by the tension between the values of collectivism and individualism, or pragmatism and idealism, or spirituality and materialism. This approach has the advantage of being dynamic where the previous approaches were static. It can explain changes in a culture over time as shifts in the balance between opposing values. And it can explain individual variations in negotiating style as different personal interpretations of the same basic tensions. Robert (1991) argues that while this approach is more interesting to the cademic, it is less helpful to the negotiation practitioner, since it gives less definite answers to what to expect in a given circumstance. The culture-in-context model is a complex quintessential integration of the current understanding of human behaviour by systems theorists, such as Max Weber (1947), that human behaviour is not dictated by single cause explanations. Therefore, according to this model, the international negotiator needs to understand that even within such homogeneous cultures as the Japanese, complex human behaviour snou a De expected. Negotlatlng Denavlor wlll vary aepen01ng upon a w10e range 0T factors, such as the participants age, religion, class, or character, relations of authority, institutional setting, the opponents behavior, and even the presence or absence of an audience (Robert 1991) Academic analysts currently favor this approach. Its complexity gives more nuanced explanations. However this same complexity makes it even less useful as a predictive tool, and so as a useful guide for negotiation practitioners. The perceptions that different cultures have concerning trust are an important issue n the conduct of any negotiation. No contract can be drawn that covers every conceivable situation. Parties to any venture, whether international or domestic, must have a level of trust in each other. Humans by their very nature are opportunistic, and to the extent that parties cannot trust each other dictate the level of contractual constraints to prevent opportunistic behaviour. Trust in international negotiations manifests itself in the transaction cost theory, which suggests that some cultures are more trustworthy and less opportunistic than others. Obviously, strategic alliances egotiated between cultures with differing levels of transaction costs carry increased risk. Cultural diversity is not a simple or trivial issue. Understanding cultural differences is critical in the negotiation and operation of any international strategic alliance. Approaches which rely on simplified notions of culture and rational choice theory are attractive in part because they offer determinate accounts of negotiation behavior and relatively simple predictive models. Robert (1991) cautions however that this appeal should not prevent us from undertaking studies which rely on rather ore sophisticated notions of culture. Such approaches are messier but are potentially more accurate and ultimately more rewarding. Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York:Norton. Ghauri, Pervez N, (2003), International business Negotiations- 2nd edition, Oxford, UK:Elsevter, pp 3-22. Hollensen, Svend (2001), Global marketing A market-responsive approach- 2nd edition, Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited. Hendon, Donald W; Hendon, Rebecca Angeles and Herbig, Paul (1996), Cross-cultural Business Negotiations, Quorum Books, Westport, USA Fraser, Campbell and Zarkanda-Fraser, Anna, (2002), An exploratory investigation into cultural awareness and approach to negotiation of Greek, Russian and British Managers, European business review, vol 14, no. 2 , pp. 111-127 Woo, Hong Seng and Prudhomme, Celine (1999), Cultural characteristics prevalent in the Chinese negotiation process, European business review, vol. 99, no. 5, pp 313-322 Rooert JanoslK 1), RetnlnKlng tne culture-Negotlatlon LlnK In Negotlatlon I neory and Practice, eds. J. , Cambridge, pp. 235-246 Weber Max. (1947), The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press.

How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan

How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan The following is a guest post by Gary Ryan, founder of Organisations That Matter. Edited by Brenda Bernstein, The Essay Expert. Summer vacations (or â€Å"holiday seasons† as they say Down Under), are terrific for many reasons. They present an opportunity to catch up with friends and family as well as to relax. For many students, summer means a chance to earn money and/or volunteer (especially if you aren’t taking extra classes). Unfortunately, many students don’t take full advantage of their holiday work. Too often I hear things like, â€Å"I’m just a check-out operator,† or â€Å"I just work at a cafà ©,† or â€Å"I just provide meals to homeless people.† There is no such thing as â€Å"just† a part time job- not if you are prepared to consider the employability skills that you are developing while doing your work! Below is a short list of ten employability skills that part time / volunteer work develops: 1. Communication skills 2. Problem solving skills 3. Initiative 4. Teamwork 5. Technology skills 6. Planning and organizing skills 7. Service excellence skills 8. Leadership skills 9. Learning skills 10. Self-management skills Let’s look at some examples of how you might develop these skills: 1. Communication If you communicate with your boss, other team members and/or the general public, then you have the opportunity to develop communication skills. Here’s a tip: Good communicators are good listeners †¦ which also means that you are good at asking questions. So, develop your questioning skills and your communication skills will skyrocket! 2. Problem solving Problems occur all the time. In every job. A computer won’t work. Another staff member didn’t turn up for their shift. The delivery hasn’t arrived and customers are waiting for their orders. The list goes on. Each of these examples is a wonderful opportunity for you to consciously practice your problem solving skills. Not only that, but you can create a bank of stories about how you solve problems. Can you imagine any of your future employers not wanting a problem solver? Neither can I! 3. Initiative Showing initiative is doing something helpful without having been asked. Every time you see that something could go wrong (like someone slipping on a banana peel) and you take action to stop that from happening (like picking up the banana peel) you are showing initiative. Opportunities to demonstrate initiative are everywhere. Keep your eye out for them and grasp them with both hands when they pop up. They also create great stories that can be used in interviews. 4. Teamwork There is hardly a job that exists that does not involve teamwork. Even if you work alone, you are probably still part of a team. Imagine an interview when you are asked about your experience of working in teams. If you’ve covered a shift for a teammate, taught someone something, or helped out in some other way, you will have a great answer to this question! 5. Technology Technology skills don’t just include using electronic devices such as computers and scanners. Using technology can mean writing on whiteboards, driving forklifts (providing you have a license) and whatever else you have to use to do your job. If you volunteer planting trees, the shovels, picks and other tools that you use are all forms of technology. By having a range of stories about your technological capacity, you can demonstrate your adaptability and ability to learn quickly. Most students don’t even think about these things as being relevant to their future. But, they are! 6. Planning and organizing In whatever work you are doing, show up on time and meet your deadlines. Employers expect it. Practice it and practice it now. 7. Leadership For those of you who have responsibility for a team or other staff, how do you treat the people you lead? What are your mental models about leadership? How are your personal values reflected in how you lead? Conscious thought about these questions can create wonderful leadership experiences for you as well as the opportunity to make relatively â€Å"safe† mistakes. Think about your personal theory about formal leadership. Try it out. See if it works. Learn how to lead by doing it when the opportunity arises. 8. Learning Part time and volunteer work always involves learning one or more of the following: technical skills policies and procedures cash management processes customer service procedures people’s names how to work in a team how to communicate the company mission / vision This list could go on. The point is, notice what you have to learn to do your job. You’ll have a mountain of examples to share in an interview! 9. Service excellence No job is worth its salt if you aren’t able to practice developing your service excellence skills. Quite simply, service excellence is like oxygen. In any job, we can’t live without it. The simplest and best practice to adopt is, â€Å"Everyone is my customer: my boss, my colleagues and my customers.† If you wouldn’t choose to be a customer of yourself, then you need to improve your skills in this area or you will likely â€Å"suffocate† your career. 10. Self-management In order to consciously practice the above skills you have to practice self-management. You will have all had a challenging on-the-job experience. How did you handle it? How did you overcome any negative experiences? Challenges at work require a significant amount of positive self-talk, time management, problem solving and communication skills. Develop them now! Part-time and volunteer work are goldmines as far as developing your employability skills. Take full advantage of your opportunities. The gold in this sense will come in the future when you get the job that you really want. So, enjoy your time off this â€Å"holiday season†- and make it an even more valuable summer by developing yourself in the workplace! Gary Ryan is the Founder of Organisations That Matter, author of What Really Matters For Young Professionals! and creator of the Yes For Success online platform for creating and executing a life of balance and personal success!