language and culture
Top Eight Ways Culture Affects Negotiating Style
Chinese negotiating style and American negotiating style are compared in detail in this chapter by using these eight factors as parameters. Moreover, the underlying cultural influence is investigated.
Deep Structure of Culture
When people of different cultures are engaged in business negotiations, difficulties and misunderstandings all the time occur between the negotiators. For the Americans, the stage of exchanging task-related information in business negotiations is relatively direct, with clear statements of needs and preferences, whereas in Chinese culture, indirect and vague expression is more acceptable than direct and specific references. Ambiguous terminology is preferred. Germans tend to regard time as something that must be planned for the most efficient use whereas in Kuwait, people view time in a more relaxed way, seeing planning as unwise and unnecessary. These and countless other philosophical, ideological, and metaphysical questions need to be answered if we are to navigate through an unfamiliar culture. It is not enough to know that some people bow whereas others shake hands or that some value silence whereas others value talk. Although these behaviors are significant, we also need to know what motivates them. We believe the source of how a culture views the world can be found in its deep underlying structure that both unifies and makes each culture unique. In nearly all cultures, that structure has its roots deep in the basic institutions of the
