ROLEPLAY:

Two MCs of “Economic Talks” show invited leading experts in the field of
international negotiations. Let’s listen to their share of how culture’s
influences their international negotiations and what are their solution?

MC 1: Ladies and gentlement! Please welcome to “Economic Talks” from BBC

show today. I’m Phương and joining me today is Huệ and five leading experts in
the field of international negotiation of VietNam: Ms Nhung, Ms Thao, Ms Chi,
Mr Hung and Mr Son.

5 experts: Hi everyone! Nice to meet you guys.

MC 2: yeahh, nice to meet you too. How are you today?

5 experts: nice…can’t better. Thank you!

MC 1: All right! Now, we have some questions for all of you. Are you ready?

5 experts: Yes, we’re ready .. I can’t wait hahhaa..

MC 1: Ok, as I know, Chi- you are a cultural researcher as well as a negotiation

specialist, right? . So, what do you think about cross cultural negotiation?

Chi : Well. Accroding to what I’ve studied. “Intercultural negotiation involves

discussions of common and conflicting interests between persons of different
cultural backgrounds who work to reach an agreement of mutual benefit.”

In a conversation between two people, the conversation rarely talks about the
same topic. In order for the dialogue to be effective in the end, each speaker
shapes ideas around the other's perceptions and cultural perceptions. In
international negotiations, this effort translates into culturally foreseeable issues
that are likely to be appreciated by an individual of a particular culture.

MC 1: Oh I see, what’s more? For example as in discussions?

Chi : uhmm…As for discussions, these discussions are often hampered as

stakeholders seem to be searching for different logic paths. In most culturally
relevant contexts, the ability to talk about the past together or misunderstand
things is greatly enhanced. Don't step into international negotiations thinking
that everyone thinks the same way. That's certainly not true, especially because
people from different cultures have a specific way of thinking, and they follow a
specific set of rules and principles.

MC 1,2: Thank you for your sharing.

MC 2: And now, I have next question for Nhung. How do you think cultures
affects international negotiations?

Nhung: Well, As I know, it affects certain aspects.

Cutural differences effect on the way of organizing negotiations.Cultures have

different attitudes about time, behavior, expression. Therefore, international
negotiations are oppotunities to create harmony among cultures in the world and
find a common culture for every country in the world.
MC 2: : How about you giving us an example to make it easier to understand?
Nhung: Yes, I have one Example: in Vietnam many people often think that a
long speech makes impression on listeners. Whereas, many euroupean countries
consider that a good speech should be short and include neccessary information
about topic of speech. Therefore, both of Vietnamese and Euroupean must adapt
the length of the speech to be suitable with their international negotiations.

Besides, Cutural differences also create some cultural gaps

Language: Different language is a major barrier for negotiators in international
negotiation to convey their information to the others, so they often
misunderstand each other. This is the reason why many international
negotiations are unsuccessful. Besides in many international negotiations
partners don’t understand language of each other so they have to comunicate
through interpreters. However, they can need a laborious process to say what
negotiators want to say, which can affect quality and result of negotiation.
Negotiating method: There are many negotiation methods among cultures. Some
cultures want to create friendly relationship, they want to know well about
people with whom they’re negotiate. On the other hand, others care little about
the people and just want the contrast signed. Having many way of negotiating
make international negotiations difficult to lead to agreement.
MC 2: it’s great. Thank you for your presentation, it’s great. And, Thao-How
about you?
Thảo: Well, for me, Culture can be the primary source of disagreement in
negotiations.

Cultural differences effect on thinking and making decision.

When faced with a complex negotiating task, most Western negotiators have a
habit of breaking down the content of negotiations into a series of small chores.
The end result of the negotiation will be a combination of the negotiation results
of all sub-issues. In contrast, Asian negotiators tend to be the opposite. They do
not divide the content of negotiations into small chores but often negotiate all
the contents at the same time not in a clear order, and concessions are only
reached when the negotiation is about to end.
Culture dominates human behavior and therefore decides the behavior of traders
in transactions and negotiations. So between businesses representing different
cultural values and characteristics, there is a need to prepare, pay attention to
every detail. If there are no differences in cultural bases, negotiation can be
smoothly, but when there are differences, contradictions, culture is a basic origin
of disagreement in negotiation, affect the results of the business.
MC 2: Alright. That’s a lot of information, basic but enough for us to
understand. So, let’s come to what challenges you face in international
negotiations? Mr Hung, please.
Hùng: uhmm, challenges are inevitable eg culture or language are the ones
mentioned above. Besides, I add one more opinion that Things might be
different than you expected: What I mean by this is that sometimes what you
have planned before is wrong and your foreign partner may not agree. This error
stem frrom the lack of understanding of different cultures, what works for a
Vietnamese may not work for an American. So information and preparation are
important aspects, you should always research before hand to avoid unwanted
situations.

MC 2: can you share more with us about your real experiences ?

Hùng: In reality you may find yourself involving in a lot of cross-cultural

negotiations which are becoming more and more popular. Let’s assume you are
an Vietnamese businessman meeting an American businessman. Like I said
planning what to do is important. For americans you shouldn’t be so casual and
call them by their first name like in Vietnam but instead call them by their
surnames with honorifics like Mr or Mrs until the person says otherwise. Also
americans  usually refrain from greetings that involve close physical contacts so
a strong handshake is enough. And they have a strong sense of time urgency so
don’t waste their time and being direct is the way to go. And lastly they hate
silence so always remember what you want to say and say it loudly, show them
that you are confident and they can trust you.

So that just one of many examples of a negotiation between two different

cultures, it will be hard at first but with careful planning and experience you will
become very successful.
MC 1: it's a lucky opportunity for us to listen to all these wonderful sharings.
So, after hearing about the effects and difficulties that experts have shared, do
you have any solutions, Mr Sơn.

Sơn : Cultural differences have strong influence on international negotiations.

This difference is the biggest barrier to international negotiations. Therefore,
businesses can apply the following solutions to make the negotiations easier,
convenient and more effective.
 Have a deeper insight into relevant information about the negotiation such
as price, market, product
 Actively research the cultures of the people you intend to negotiate with
in order to avoid being confused as well as accidentally causing
misunderstandings due to cultural differences.
 Avoid subjective judgments about culture, always show respect for other
cultures
 Understand your own negotiating style and adjust it to suit with the
culture of your partner
 Language is the key factor for connecting cultures and negotiators.
Therefore, it is necessary to use verbal and sign language appropriately
because  they have different meaning in different cultures

* Skills to help overcome cultural barriers in international negotiation

When you participate in a session of negotiations with foreign partners, the

difference in terms of the culture is inevitable. So you need to equip yourself
with the necessary skills to be able to solve this problem and get a successful
negotiation. First, you need to learn to listen, be patient and not rush in any
situation to avoid controversies. Moreover, being friendly and open with your
partner is also a way to reduce the stress caused by cultural differences as well
as making the negotiation more comfortable. Last but not least, during the
conversation you should be confident, and have a respectful attitude towards the
negotiator.

MC 1: ( tui đương nghĩ )