university of economics in bratislava, slovak republic

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS IN BRATISLAVA, SLOVAK REPUBLIC

INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION –

UCL – JANUARY, 2014

lecturer Milan Oresky

INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION – UCL, JANUARY 2014

7. International Business Negotiations


1. Culture and cross-cultural risk

2. Interpretations of culture

3. Overcoming cross-cultural risk: Managerial guidelines

4. Ethics in international business

5. Corporate social responsibility

6. A framework for making ethical decisions


Key Concepts

Culture: Enduring patterns of learned behavior that are generally shared in a society. Tough to observe, but demonstrated through values, ideas, attitudes, behaviors, & symbols

Cross-cultural risk: A situation cultural mistake that puts some human value at risk. It arises in environments with unfamiliar languages & unique value systems, beliefs, & behaviors


Managerial Orientations

Ethnocentric orientation: Using one’s own culture as the standard for judging other cultures

Polycentric orientation: A mindset in which the manager develops a greater affinity for the country in which he or she works

Geocentric orientation: A global mind-set in which the manager is able to understand a business or market without regard to national boundaries

Managers should strive for a geocentric orientation


Culture Is…

Not right or wrong: It is relative. There is no cultural absolute. People of different nationalities sometimes just see the world differently

Not about individual behavior: It is about groups. It is a collective phenomenon of shared values and meanings

Not inherited: It derives from the social environment. We are not born with a shared set of values and beliefs; we learn them as we grow up


Culture is Learned

Socialization: The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one's society

Acculturation: The process of adjusting and adapting to a culture other than one's own; commonly experienced by expatriate workers

Culture is like an iceberg - what is visible above the surface is only a small part of culture; below the surface is a massive base of assumptions, attitudes, & values that strongly influence decision making, relationships, and other actions at work


Interpretations of Culture

Cultural Metaphors refer to distinctive traditions or institutions strongly associated with a society; a guide to deciphering attitudes, values, and behaviors

American football represents systematic planning, strategy, leadership, and struggling against rivals

The Swedish stuga (summer cottage) represents the love of nature and desire for individualism in Sweden

The Spanish bullfight reflects the importance of ritual, style, courage, and pride in Spain


Examples of Where Culture can Impact the Conduct of Business Developing products and services In ads and promotional materials Preparing for trade fairs overseas Screening & selecting foreign distributors In communicating with foreign partners When negotiating various business ventures In interactions with current & potential customers in different

countries


Specifics of International Negotiations

In international negotiations your skills to identify and understand cultural differences are essential for choosing the right strategy

There are more then 200 different national cultures in the world

Some experts separated them into 3 main cultural types:

Multi active

Linear active

Reactive


In International Negotiations very important to understand the other side:

Language

Behaviour

Values

Mentality

Decision making process


“The World’s Business Cultures. How to Unlock Them” by Barry Tomalin, Mike Nicks Analysis of main countries/economies of the world (China, USA, Germany, UK, Russia, India, Brazil, France, Italy and Japan) by their business cultures in 10 main features: 1. Communication style 2. Work style 3. Discussion style 4. Attitude to Business 5. Management style 6. Business relations 7. Decision making 8. Basis for Decision making 9. Attitude to time 10.Work – Life balance


It is said, that in modern business world , when it comes to big contracts of significant value what matters most is TRUST and RELATIONS between parties.

Respect to the culture of the opponent is the key to success.

university of economics in bratislava, slovak republic

Documents

culture isnot

key concepts culture

expatriate workers culture

shared set of values

symbols crosscultural

ones society acculturation

managerial guidelinesethics

foreign distributorsin