CCM Chapter 6.

The Manager as Negotiator: Communicating and Negotiating Across

Cultures

 A significant part of every manager’s job is the role of negotiator

 Underlying every negotiation that takes place in an international context is the
process of cross-cultural communication

Cross-Cultural Communication Process

 Communication is the act of transmitting messages, including information about the
nature of the relationship, to another person who interprets these messages and gives
them meaning.
 Successful communication: the sender and receiver must share a vast amount of
common information called Grounding. Grounding is based on each individual’s field
of previous experience but is updated moment by moment during the communication
process.
 Cross-cultural communication has less common information because of culturally
different individuals, they have less grounding in common.
 Cultural field: culturally based elements of a person’s background influencing
communication (education, values, attitudes)
 Effectiveness of communication: depends on minimizing the distortion that can occur
at all the stages of communication process.
 Distortion on communication can occur through several reasons:
o Encoded message got affected by communication skills
o Symbols used
o All of the factors that affect sender, influence receiver. Therefore, the receiver
must also be skilled in the medium in use and have sufficient knowledge to
interpret the message correctly.
The extent to which the cultural fields overlap reduces the opportunity for
distortion.

Language
 Language is a symbolic code of communication consisting of a set of sounds with
understood meanings and a set of rules for constructing messages.
 The meaning of words and the syntax for expressing ideas have culturally distinctive
origins.
 Difficulty of translation: Even when translators know the meaning of words and the
grammatical rules for putting them together, effective communication is often not
achieved. The message can be distorted.
 Second language must be used between two parties, most common is English. This
language standardization is being driven by competitive pressure and the globalization
of tasks and resources as well as cross borders mergers and acquisitions, all of which
demand a common language.
 Using second language can cause several implications:
o Cognitive tension
o Greater fluency, greater perceived competent
o Modifying aspects of speech can influence the message
o Pretending to understand
Communication Styles
 It is also important to consider the aspects of communication that transcend the
specific language being spoken

Explicit vs Implicit Communication

 One way in which cultural norms about communication style vary is in the degree to
which they use language itself to communicate a message.
 Culture differ in terms of communication:

Explicit Implicit
Low-context High-context
Individualism Collectivism
Direct Indirect
Use of Silence
Use of Praise

Direct vs Indirect Communication

 An idea complementary to high-context vs low-context communication styles is the
degree of directness of communication.
 Directness depends on the social context
 For collectivist culture, politeness and a desire to avoid embarrassment take
precedence over the truth. The social situation is an important indicator for the
appropriate degree of directness or truthfulness.

Silence and Verbal Overkill

 Cultural differences exist in how silence is used in communication (collectivist vs
individualist), but it may have different meaning between individualist society.
 The use of silence and talking can vary

Use of Praise
 One additional stylistic element that has a systematic relationship to culture is the use
of praise and the response to praise
 Cultural differences exist in how frequently praise is used, what is praised, and how
people respond.

Other Language Considerations, Dimensions of Language as Communication Medium

 To function effectively in cross-cultural communication, it is important to understand
not only the formal structure of the language but also how it is used in certain social
situations.
 Most languages have nonstandard forms and usage, such as slang, which make
understanding this process more difficult.
 Language considerations:
o Slang and Jargon: An informal usage of language typically more playful or
metaphorical and associated with a particular subgroup. The ability to
communicate in the slang or jargon of a particular group helps define one’s
membership in the group.
 Three implications for cross-cultural communication:
 Possible variations in expression
 Last for only a few years
 Enhance communication ability
o Euphemisms: Avoiding prohibited words. (e.g. They don’t die, they pass away)
o Idioms: Combining words to express a particular thought. (e.g. Nothing to spit
on)
o Proverbs and maxims: Short sayings that express things that are obviously true
in a particular culture and often advise people how they should behave. (e.g.
An eye for an eye)

Language Pragmatics
Practical Considerations to Language Usage
 Language Accommodation. Key consideration is ethnolinguistic vitality: the language
that has higher prestige and is widely used is more likely to be adopted. Speech
accommodation involves shifting one’s speech patterns to achieve greater language
similarity.
 Stylistic Accommodation. Stylistic accommodation leads to perceptions of similarity,
which in turn lead to positive attitudes toward the member of the other culture.
Similarity-attraction hypothesis: The idea that adapting one’s communication style
to that of the other culture participant will help to bridge cultural distance and
improve communication.
The extent to which stylistic accommodation is viewed positively seems to depend on
the motive to which it is attributed.
Some stylistic accommodation on the part of both parties in the cross-cultural
communication can help to overcome communication difficulties.
 Language Fluency. The degree of language fluency creates several problems for the
second language user that extend beyond the user’s ability. Higher degrees of
language fluency can lead to the second-language user being perceived as having a
higher competency in other areas.

Nonverbal Communication
 Nonverbal communications convey important messages and are produced more
automatically than are words. Include body movements and gestures, touching,
facial expressions, etc.
 Nonverbal communication helps to regulate intercultural interaction by providing
information about our feelings and emotional state, adding meaning to our verbal
messages.
 Nonverbal communication has significant amount of variation around the world.
 Two types of differences:
o Same nonverbal behavior can have very different meanings across cultures
o Different nonverbal cues can be used to mean the same thing in different
cultures.
Categories of Nonverbal Behavior:
Tone of Voice
 Nonverbal behavior includes pitch, volume, speed, tension, and a number of other
voice qualities. These and other features of voice, including accent, can indicate the
cultural identity of the speaker.
 Cultural norms ascribe different meanings to features and qualities of tone of voice.
These meanings can be categorized along the dimensions of dominance, positivity,
and arousal.

Proxemics
 The way in which people use personal space in their interactions with them.
 Cultural norms influence the appropriateness of a particular spatial relationship.
(Conversational Distance)
 Cultures have been classified as high touch vs low touch.
 Touching behavior in any culture is likely to depend on a number of factors, including
age, gender and social status.
 Colder climate, larger distance.

Body Position and Gestures

 The way people position their body conveys information in all cultures
 Hand gestures are used both intentionally and unintentionally in communication
 Higher power distance, more bodily tension.
 Emblems are hand gestures used as substitutes for words.

Facial Expression
 Facial expression is a key source of information, particularly about underlying
emotional states, which seem to be closely linked to facial expression.
 People tend to be more accurate in making judgements about emotional states
based on facial expressions than based on body movements.
 Research indicates that the same facial expressions were associated with certain
emotions in all cultures.
 The link between facial expressions and emotions is a direct one that operates
without conscious thought.
 Culture can influence facial expression.

Eye Contact
 All cultures use eye contact in nonverbal communication. Both maintaining eye
contact and avoiding eye contact communicate important messages.

Notes:
1. Not possible to rely on uniformity within a cultures
2. Not all nonverbal behaviors are of equal importance per culture
3. There are both similarities and differences in nonverbal communication across
cultures.
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Across Cultures
 All negotiations share some universal characteristics. Involve two or more parties
who have conflicting interests but a common need to reach an agreement.
Outcomes of negotiations are to be contingent on:
o Behavior
o Negotiation Process
o Negotiation Situation
 Efforts to understand cross-cultural negotiations have three types:
o Descriptive Approach (characteristics of much early study)
1. Graham 4 Stage Model. All business negotiations proceed through 4
stages:
a. Relationship building
b. Exchange of information
c. Persuasion
d. Agreement
He suggests that the content, duration and importance of each stage can
differ across cultures.

2. Persuasion Styles. (Rational, Affective, Ideological)

3. Conflict Resolution Preferences
a. Confrontation/competitive
b. Subtle form of bargaining
Culture seems to influence the initial offers and concession patterns of
negotiations.
Other cross-cultural comparisons of negotiator behavior include the influence
of assertiveness on negotiator outcomes.

o Cultural Dimensions Approach (cultural effects are attributed to the

cultural values and norms of the participants’ home societies.)
 Differences cognitive processes related to negotiation, cultural
values and norms.
 A cultural dimension perspective can also help us to understand
cultural differences in the negotiation process.
 Cultural dimensions also relate to the outcomes of negotiation.
 Difficulty: Negotiators may change behavior when negotiating.
Also, there are cultural differences in the speed of changing
negotiation tactics

o Holistic Approach
 Knowledge structures of the participants and the social context in
which the negotiation takes place
 They identify the tasks to be performed (problem), the norms for
interaction (scripts), and the outcomes of the interaction (feelings).