Gender, Gender Differences

Gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity
and femininity. Depending on the context, these characteristics may include biological sex
(i.e., the state of being male, female, or an intersex variation), sex-based social structures
(i.e., gender roles), or gender identity. Traditionally, people who identify as men or women or
use masculine or feminine gender pronouns are using a system of gender binary whereas
those who exist outside these groups fall under the umbrella terms non-binary or
genderqueer.
Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and
gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word gender to refer
to anything but grammatical categories. However, Money’s meaning of the word did not
become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the concept of a
distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today, the distinction is
followed in some contexts, especially the social sciences and documents written by the World
Health Organization (WHO).
In other contexts, including some areas of the social sciences, gender includes sex or replaces
it. For instance, in non-human animal research, gender is commonly used to refer to the
biological sex of the animals. This change in the meaning of gender can be traced to the
1980s. In 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to use gender instead of
sex. Later, in 2011, the FDA reversed its position and began using sex as the biological
classification and gender as “a person’s self representation as male or female, or how that
person is responded to by social institutions based on the individual’s gender presentation.”
The social sciences have a branch devoted to gender studies. Other sciences, such as sexology
and neuroscience, are also interested in the subject. The social sciences sometimes approach
gender as a social construct, and gender studies particularly do, while research in the natural
sciences investigates whether biological differences in males and females influence the
development of gender in humans; both inform debate about how far biological differences
influence the formation of gender identity. In some English literature, there is also a
trichotomy between biological sex, psychological gender, and social gender role. This
framework first appeared in a feminist paper on transsexualism in 1978.
Gender Differences
Gender differences have been much in the news lately. It’s a topic that exerts a powerful
attraction, beguiling scientists and lay people alike.
Those of the opinion that the abilities – and thus the responsibilities – of women and men are
innately different have been encouraged. Asserting that “males have better motor and spatial
abilities, whereas females have superior memory and social cognition skills”, that the
explanation lies in the different ways in which the brains of men and women are wired. And
as usual with such research, it’s assumed that differences discovered with a brain scan are
innate.
For example, though we seem content to speculate over which sex is more adept at “multi-
tasking” or “spatial awareness”, when it comes to mental health differences a baffling silence
has prevailed. And yet our analysis of the international epidemiological data indicates that in
any given year rates of psychological disorders are 20-40% higher in women than men, with
the discrepancy especially marked for common problems such as anxiety, depression and
insomnia.
It’s true that men have more problems with alcohol and drugs, but this doesn’t balance out
the difference. And it’s also true that men are more likely to kill themselves, though in fact it
is women who make more suicide attempts – the discrepancy arises from the fact that men
typically use methods more likely to lead to death, such as firearms or hanging, while women
overdose. And although it’s often said that the differences in overall rates of mental health
problems are simply due to the fact that women are more likely to report such problems,
there’s much more to it than that.
So, given the scale of the additional distress these figures imply for women, why aren’t we
talking about it?
One reason may be the uncomfortable social and political questions these statistics raise.
There is some preliminary research to indicate that biological factors may play a part, but at
present the evidence – which we review in our book The Stressed Sex – is far stronger for the
influence of life events. Being judged on one’s appearance and the degree to which one
conforms to a largely unattainable physical “ideal”, shouldering the burden of responsibility
for family, home and career, growing up in a society that routinely valorises masculinity
while belittling femininity, and having to run the gauntlet of Everyday Sexism – all of these
factors are likely to help lower women’s self-esteem, increase their level of stress and leave
them vulnerable to mental health problems.
And that’s without taking account of the effects of sexual abuse, a trauma that’s frequently
implicated in later psychological illness and one that as many as one in twenty girls are
estimated to have suffered.
What are the chances of genuine sexual equality when even the editor of the Sunday Times is
unable to persuade her bosses that featuring semi-nude women on page three of the Sun isn’t
a great idea. In her words: “I think it’s demeaning to women … It is not good when you’re
raising girls and they see women being objectified in that way.” Or when girls are deemed
unsuited to study science at school? In one depressingly eloquent example of such sexism,
researchers in the US found that science faculty staff judged a person’s aptitude for a
laboratory manager job on the basis of their gender. A dummy application with a man’s name
on the front fared much better than the same application with the name changed to that of a
woman. “Female” candidates were deemed less competent – identical skills and experience
notwithstanding. (This bias, incidentally, was shown by male and female recruiters alike.)
For many young women, matters don’t improve as they reach their twenties. In one recent
study more than 40% of women aged 16 to 30 reported struggling with loneliness, isolation,
problematic relationships, lack of qualifications, debt, poverty and poor housing. Over a third
felt that they couldn’t cope – a predicament that we know can easily develop into mental
illness.
We shouldn’t be surprised. In an unequal society, why should we expect stress, pressure, and
ultimately mental illness to be shared fairly between the sexes? Rather than pursuing spurious
biological justifications for sexism, let’s focus our energies on tackling that inequality and
ensuring that women’s mental health receives the attention, research and resources it merits.
Multiethnicity, Religion, Geography Body
Language
Multiethnicity is that dream, that ideal put in practice, that all of God’s people – of every
tribe, tongue, and nation – are welcome and cherished in God’s kingdom. It is the hope and
vision of a community of Christ followers that represent the diversity of God’s creation. It is
the belief that, indeed, all men and women, are created equal and have value before God and
value to the rest of the Body of Christ. It is understanding that all of who we are – our
ethnicity and culture – matters to God as valuable parts of our identity. It is the vision that
here, in our diverse context, we can honor, celebrate, and utilize the diversity God has given
us for the sake of His Kingdom, reaching people of every ethnicity and culture.
Multiethnicity is the task of learning about ourselves and learning about others. It is the hard
work of understanding what makes us tick and what makes others do the same – or different.
It is the work of loving each other and working together despite our differences. It is creating
safe places within the Body of Christ where people of all ethnicities can feel at home and
worship God in a way that feels both natural yet stretches us to know more about a God who
is Lord of all peoples. It is the work of contextualizing ministry and approach in order to
reach people of all types. This includes thinking hard about how we do “fellowship”, how we
evangelize, how we lead, how we care for one another. It is the task of fostering open and
honest communities that can talk about race and ethnicity in a way that leads to wholeness
and reconciliation.
Religion
Religion is a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews,
texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations that relates humanity to
supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus
over what precisely constitutes a religion.
Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred
things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or “some sort of ultimacy and
transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life”. Religious practices may
include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities), sacrifices, festivals,
feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music,
art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories
and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places,
that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are
sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of
life, the universe, and other things. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been
considered a source of religious beliefs.
There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, but about 84% of the world’s
population is affiliated with one of the five largest religion groups, namely Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. The religiously unaffiliated
demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and
agnostics. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously
unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs.
Geography Body Language
Geographical research about “the body” started to develop in early 1990s when feminist
geographers highlighted the ways in which bodies are important sites that enable a disruption
of masculinist thought through the consideration of all matters “bodily” as important to the
production of knowledge. This was initiated, in part, by the cultural turn which, as argued in
Feminism and Geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge (Cambridge, UK: Polity,
1993), allowed for scientific and positivist ways of thinking to be challenged, opening up
disciplinary borders. The definition of the “the body” is often contested: it is understood as a
material, fleshy, and corporeal object made up of organs, bones, and skin, but also as a social,
cultural, and discursive construction that comes into social existence through relations of
power and language. Geographers bring a unique spatial contribution to bodies, arguing that
they are places where discourse and power relations are simultaneously mapped, embodied,
and resisted, and where identities are performed and constructed. Geographers also argue that
bodies are spatially contingent; in other words, the ways bodies are performed shift in and
across space (and time), with readings and understandings of such embodied performances
simultaneously varying spatially. Geographical work on the body has since expanded,
providing rich conceptualizations of bodies and embodiment. These include identity
intersections of gender, sexuality, fatness, size, shape, religion, race, ethnicity, age, class,
health, and (dis)abilities. It also includes bodies in their everyday spaces such as the street,
home, and places of work; some recent work has started to think about bodies as central to
geopolitics at multiple scales. Other work has engaged with the messy materiality of bodies
that have biological and physiological requirements and productions in the context of
geographies of Consumption and bodily fluids.

The Culture of Poverty

The culture of poverty theory states that living in conditions of pervasive poverty will lead to
the development of a culture or subculture adapted to those conditions. This culture is
characterized by pervasive feelings of helplessness, dependency, marginality, and
powerlessness. Furthermore, Lewis described individuals living within a culture of poverty as
having little or no sense of history and therefore lacking the knowledge to alleviate their own
conditions through collective action, instead focusing solely on their own troubles. Thus, for
Lewis, the imposition of poverty on a population was the structural cause of the development
of a culture of poverty, which then becomes autonomous, as behaviors and attitudes
developed within a culture of poverty get passed down to subsequent generations through
socialization processes.
Critics of the culture of poverty theory have pointed out several flaws within both the
theory itself and the ways in which it has been interpreted and applied to society. The culture
of poverty assumes that culture itself is relatively fixed and unchanging—that once a
population exists within the culture of poverty, no amount of intervention in terms of the
alleviation of poverty will change the cultural attitudes and behaviors held by members of
that population. Thus public assistance to the poor, in the form of welfare or other direct
assistance, cannot eliminate poverty, since poverty is inherent in the culture of the poor.
Following this reasoning, the culture of poverty theory shifts the blame for poverty from
social and economic conditions to the poor themselves. The theory acknowledges past factors
that led to the initial condition of poverty, such as substandard housing and education, lack of
sufficient social services, lack of job opportunities, and persistent racial segregation and
discrimination, but focuses on the cause of present poverty as the behaviors and attitudes of
the poor.
Much of the evidence presented in support of the culture of poverty suffers from
methodological fallacies, particularly a reliance on the assumption that behavior derives
solely from preferred cultural values. That is, evidence of poverty itself, including rates of
unemployment, crime, school dropout rates, and drug use, are assumed to be the result of
behavior preferred by individuals living within conditions of poverty. The culture of poverty
theory presumes the development of a set of deviant norms, whereby behaviors like drug use
and gang participation are viewed as the standard (normative) and even desired behaviors of
those living in the ghetto. An alternative explanation is that individuals behave in ways that
are nominally illegal, like participation in the underground economy or participation in gangs,
not because they wish to do so or are following cultural norms, but because they have no
choice, given the lack of educational and job opportunities available in their neighborhoods.
In other words, individuals living in the ghetto may see themselves as forced to turn to illegal
methods of getting money, for example by selling drugs, simply to survive within the
conditions of poverty. Thus so-called “ghetto behaviors” are adaptive, not normative, and
given sufficient opportunities, individuals within the ghetto would eagerly turn to
conventional means of earning a living.
The culture of poverty theory has had a tremendous impact on U.S. public policy, forming
the basis for public policy toward the poor since the early to mid-1960s and strongly
influencing President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. In 1965 Senator Daniel Patrick
Moynihan authored a report entitled “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” In
the report Moynihan stated that poor blacks in the United States were caught in a “tangle of
pathology,” the core reason for which was the breakdown of the black family—specifically
the decline of the traditional male-headed household, resulting in a deviant matriarchal family
structure. In Moynihan’s conception, this family breakdown was responsible for the failure of
black males to succeed, both in school and later in jobs, and that this failure was transmitted
down generations. Moynihan argued that the origins of this deviant family structure lay in
slavery, where the destruction of the “traditional” family “broke the will of the Negro
people,” particularly black males. This sense of powerlessness led to, in essence, a culture of
dependency.
The related notions of a culture of poverty and a culture of dependency have become the
foundations for antipoverty legislation, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
enacted in 1997 and reauthorized in 2005 as a part of welfare reform. This and other
programs rely on the assumption that behavior generates poverty, citing the need to end the
dependence of the poor on government benefits and promote work and marriage as social
norms. Among scholars, sociologists in the field, and government policy makers, the debate
as to whether poverty stems from social, political, and economic conditions or from
entrenched behaviors on the part of the poor themselves, continues.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Psychologist Dr Geert Hofstede published his cultural dimensions model at the end of the
1970s, based on a decade of research. Since then, it’s become an internationally recognized
standard for understanding cultural differences.
Hofstede studied people who worked for IBM in more than 50 countries. Initially, he
identified four dimensions that could distinguish one culture from another. Later, he added
fifth and sixth dimensions, in cooperation with Drs Michael H. Bond and Michael Minkov.
These are:

1. Power Distance Index (high versus low).

2. Individualism Versus Collectivism.
3. Masculinity Versus Femininity.
4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (high versus low).
5. Pragmatic Versus Normative.
6. Indulgence Versus Restraint.

1. Power Distance Index (PDI)

This refers to the degree of inequality that exists – and is accepted – between people with and
without power.
A high PDI score indicates that a society accepts an unequal, hierarchical distribution of
power, and that people understand “their place” in the system. A low PDI score means that
power is shared and is widely dispersed, and that society members do not accept situations
where power is distributed unequally.
Application: According to the model, in a high PDI country, such as Malaysia  (100), team
members will not initiate any action, and they like to be guided and directed to complete a
task. If a manager doesn’t take charge, they may think that the task isn’t important.
PDI Characteristics Tips
· Acknowledge a leader’s status. As an
· Centralized organizations.
outsider, you may try to circumvent his or her
High power, but don’t push back explicitly.
· More complex hierarchies.
PDI · Large gaps in compensation,
authority and respect. · Be aware that you may need to go to the top for
answers.
·  Flatter organizations.
· Delegate as much as possible.
Low
·  Supervisors and employees
PDI are considered almost as · Ideally, involve all those in decision making who
will be directly affected by the decision.
equals.
2. Individualism Versus Collectivism (IDV)
This refers to the strength of the ties that people have to others within their community.
A high IDV score indicates weak interpersonal connection among those who are not part of a
core “family.” Here, people take less responsibility for others’ actions and outcomes.
In a collectivist society, however, people are supposed to be loyal to the group to which they
belong, and, in exchange, the group will defend their interests. The group itself is normally
larger, and people take responsibility for one another’s wellbeing.
Application: Central American countries Panama and Guatemala have very low IDV
scores (11 and six, respectively). In these countries, as an example, a marketing campaign
that emphasizes benefits to the community would likely be understood and well received, as
long as the people addressed feel part of the same group.
IDV Characteristics Tips
· High value placed on people’s
time and their need for privacy · Acknowledge individual
and freedom. accomplishments.
High
IDV · An enjoyment of challenges, and · Don’t mix work life with social life too much.
an expectation of individual rewards · Encourage debate and expression of people’s
for hard work. own ideas.
· Respect for privacy.
· Emphasis on building skills · Wisdom is important.
and becoming master of
something. ·  Suppress feelings and emotions that may
Low endanger harmony.
IDV · People work for intrinsic rewards. ·   Avoid giving negative feedback in public.
· Maintaining harmony among · Saying “No” can cause loss of face, unless it’s
group members overrides other intended to be polite. For example, declining an
moral issues. invitation several times is expected.
3. Masculinity Versus Femininity (MAS)
This refers to the distribution of roles between men and women. In masculine societies, the
roles of men and women overlap less, and men are expected to behave assertively.
Demonstrating your success, and being strong and fast, are seen as positive characteristics.
In feminine societies, however, there is a great deal of overlap between male and female
roles, and modesty is perceived as a virtue. Greater importance is placed on good
relationships with your direct supervisors, or working with people who cooperate well with
one another.
The gap between men’s and women’s values is largest in Japan  and Austria, with MAS
scores of 95 and 79 respectively. In both countries, men score highly for exhibiting “tough,”
masculine values and behaviors, but, in fact, women also score relatively highly for having
masculine values, though on average lower than men.
Application: As we’ve highlighted, Japan has the highest MAS score of 95,
whereas Sweden has the lowest measured value of five. Therefore, if you open an office
in Japan, you should recognize you are operating in a hierarchical, deferential and
traditionally patriarchal society. Long hours are the norm, and this, in turn, can make it harder
for female team members to gain advancement, due to family commitments.
At the same time, Japan is a culture where all children (male and female) learn the value of
competition and winning as part of a team from a young age. Therefore, female team
members are just as likely to display these notionally masculine traits as their male
colleagues.
By comparison, Sweden is a very feminine society, according to Hofstede’s model. Here,
people focus on managing through discussion, consensus, compromise, and negotiation.
MAS Characteristics Tips
· Be aware of the possibility of
· Strong egos – feelings of differentiated gender roles.
pride and importance are
High attributed to status. · A long-hours culture may be the norm, so
MAS recognize its opportunities and risks.
· Money and achievement are · People are motivated by precise targets, and by
important. being able to show that they achieved them either
as a group or as individuals.
· Success is more likely to be achieved
through negotiation, collaboration and input
from all levels.
· Relationship
Low oriented/consensual. · Avoid an “old boys’ club” mentality, although
MAS this may still exist.
· Workplace flexibility and work-life balance
· More focus on quality of life.
may be important, both in terms of job design,
organizational environment and culture, and the
way that performance management can be best
realized.
4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
This dimension describes how well people can cope with anxiety.
In societies that score highly for Uncertainty Avoidance, people attempt to make life as
predictable and controllable as possible. If they find that they can’t control their own lives,
they may be tempted to stop trying. These people may refer to “mañana,” or put their fate “in
the hands of God.”
People in low UAI-scoring countries are more relaxed, open or inclusive.
Bear in mind that avoiding uncertainty is not necessarily the same as avoiding risk. Hofstede
argues that you may find people in high-scoring countries who are prepared to engage in
risky behavior, precisely because it reduces ambiguities, or in order to avoid failure.
Application: In Hofstede’s model, Greece tops the UAI scale with 100,
while Singapore scores the lowest with eight.
Therefore, during a meeting in Greece, you might be keen to generate discussion, because
you recognize that there’s a cultural tendency for team members to make the safest, most
conservative decisions, despite any emotional outbursts. Your aim is to encourage them to
become more open to different ideas and approaches, but it may be helpful to provide a
relatively limited, structured set of options or solutions.
UAI Characteristics Tips
High · Conservative, rigid and · Be clear and concise about
UAI structured, unless the danger of expectations and goals, and set clearly
failure requires a more flexible defined parameters. But encourage
attitude. creative thinking and dialogue where
you can.
· Many societal conventions.
· People are expressive, and are · Recognize that there may be unspoken
allowed to show anger or emotions, if “rules” or cultural expectations you need to
necessary. learn.
· A high energy society, if people feel · Recognize that emotion, anger and vigorous
UAI Characteristics Tips
that they are in control of their life
hand gestures may simply be part of the
instead of feeling overwhelmed by
conversation.
life’s vagaries.
· Openness to change or · Ensure that people remain focused, but
innovation, and generally don’t create too much structure.
Low inclusive.
· Titles are less important, so avoid “showing
UAI
· More inclined to open-ended learning off” your knowledge or experience. Respect
or decision making. is given to those who can cope under all
· Less sense of urgency. circumstances.
5. Pragmatic Versus Normative (PRA)
This dimension is also known as Long-Term Orientation. It refers to the degree to which
people need to explain the inexplicable, and is strongly related to religiosity and nationalism.
This dimension was only added recently, so it lacks the depth of data of the first four
dimensions. However, in general terms, countries that score highly for PRA tend to be
pragmatic, modest, long-term oriented, and more thrifty. In low-scoring countries, people
tend to be religious and nationalistic. Self-enhancement is also important here, along with a
person’s desire to please their parents.
Application: The U.S. has a normative score. This is reflected in the importance of short-
term gains and quick results (profit and loss statements are quarterly, for example). It is also
reflected in strong normative positions politically and socially.
PRA Characteristics Tips
· People often wonder how to know · Behave in a modest way.
what is true. For example, questions
like “What?” and “How?” are asked · Avoid talking too much about
more than “Why?” yourself.
Pragmatic · People are more willing to
· Thrift and education are seen as compromise, yet this may not always
positive values. be clear to outsiders; this is certainly
· Modesty. so in a culture that also scores high
· Virtues and obligations are emphasized. on PDI.
· People often want to know “Why?” · Sell yourself to be taken
seriously.
· Strong convictions.
Normative · As people tend to oversell themselves, ·  People are less willing to
others will assess their assertions compromise as this would be seen as
critically. weakness.
·  Values and rights are emphasized. · Flattery empowers.
6. Indulgence Versus Restraint (IVR)
Hofstede’s sixth dimension, discovered and described together with Michael Minkov, is also
relatively new, and is therefore accompanied by less data.
Countries with a high IVR score allow or encourage relatively free gratification of people’s
own drives and emotions, such as enjoying life and having fun. In a society with a low IVR
score, there is more emphasis on suppressing gratification and more regulation of people’s
conduct and behavior, and there are stricter social norms.
Application: According to the model, Eastern European countries, including Russia, have a
low IVR score. Hofstede argues that these countries are characterized by a restrained culture,
where there is a tendency towards pessimism. People put little emphasis on leisure time and,
as the title suggests, people try to restrain themselves to a high degree.
PDI Characteristics Tips
·         Don’t take life too seriously.
·         Optimistic.
·         Encourage debate and dialogue in
High ·         Importance of meetings or decision making.
Indulgence freedom of speech. ·         Prioritize feedback, coaching and
·         Focus on personal mentoring.
happiness. ·         Emphasize flexible working and work-
life balance.
·         Avoid making jokes when engaged
·         Pessimistic. in formal sessions. Instead, be
High professional.
Restraint ·         More controlled and
rigid behavior. ·         Only express negativity about the world
during informal meetings.

Cultural Aspects of International

Business Negotiations
The basis for much of this international business activity begins with agreements reached
between firms. Reaching satisfactory agreements requires negotiation and give and take by
representatives from each firm, so that any important differences between firms can be
eliminated. One potential barrier to this process may come from the cultural uniqueness that
is present in each country. These cultural differences can and do impact behavior and
understanding.
When negotiating internationally, ideas, expectations, and behavior can be culturally unique.
Discussion and communication may be impeded because two sides think and act differently.
When two people who think and behave differently attempt to communicate, the potential for
disagreement and misunderstanding is great. For example, members of different cultures may
focus on different aspects of an agreement. The implementation of a business agreement may
be stressed in one culture, while the prevention of practical problems emphasized in another
culture. In some cultures the attention of people may be directed more towards the specific
details of the agreement, while other cultures may focus on how promises can be kept.
Culture may cause people to view, or to value differently, the social interactions inherent in
fashioning a business agreement. Different cultural systems could produce divergent
negotiating styles, styles shaped by a nation’s culture, language, geography, history, and
political system (Herbig and Kramer, 1991).
When negotiating across cultures, many of the rules used in one country may not apply
elsewhere, especially when they may not be culturally acceptable by the other party to an
agreement. For negotiators, this could include the concepts of give and take, of bargaining, or
of compromise. The value of being frank and direct may be helpful to some and would help
reach a quick agreement, but may not be acceptable behavior in another culture. Business
owners from some countries may want to spend time building relationships and working
slowly toward the achievement of that agreement instead of rushing into a new business deal.
The study of negotiation tends to include not only business relationships between parties, but
also tactics, strategies, and positioning. However, in a cross-cultural context, two business
negotiators could be separated from each other by a totally different language and culturally-
based business etiquette, and also by a different way of perceiving the world, of defining
business goals, of expressing feelings, and of showing or hiding motivation and interests.
Being straightforward and aggressive may not necessarily be acceptable behavior for
members of some cultures.
Cross-cultural negotiation is a field of considerable interest in this age of the global
economy. Many authors have written books or articles concerning how to negotiate with
firms from another culture. The most popular cultures to discuss are Japan (Graham, 1984,
1986; Kramer, 1989), China (Tung, 1982), and the Russians (Graham et al., 1992; Nite,
1985). Although many have discussed those elements in negotiations which are crucial to
business success (see for example, Graham, 1985; Herbig and Kramer, 1991), few empirical
studies have been conducted.
While negotiation is an area of research with numerous studies, few have been conducted on
cross-cultural negotiations in a business setting. Tung (1982) found Japanese and Chinese
bargaining behavior to be considerably different from that of Americans. Graham (1985)
reported differences in business negotiating styles among American, Brazilian, and Japanese
businesses.

Negotiation Process
Negotiation process permeates the interactions of almost everyone in groups and
organizations.
In today’s loosely structured organizations, in which members work with colleagues over
whom they have no direct authority and with whom they may not even share a common boss,
negotiation skills become critical.
The 5 steps of the negotiation process are:
 1. Preparation and Planning.
2. Definition of Ground Rules.
3. Clarification and Justification.
4. Bargaining and Problem Solving.
5. Closure and Implementation.

1. Preparation and Planning

Before the start of negations, one must be aware of the conflict, the history leading to the
negotiation of the people involved and their perception of the conflict expectations from the
negotiations etc.
Before starting the negotiation, it needs to do homework.
What’s the nature of the conflict? What’s the history leading up to this negotiation?
Who’s involved and what are their perceptions of the conflict? Moreover before any
negotiation takes place; a decision needs to be taken as to when and where a meeting will
take place to discuss the problem and who will attend.
Setting a limited time-scale can also be helpful to prevent disagreement from continuing. This
stage involves ensuring all the pertinent facts of the situation are known in order to clarify
own position.
It also needs to prepare an assessment of what the other parties’ negotiation’s goals are. What
are they likely to ask for?
2. Definition of Ground Rules
Once the planning and strategy are developed, one has to begin defining the ground rules and
procedures with the other party over the negotiation itself that will do the negotiation. Where
will it take place?
What time constraints, if any will apply? To what issues will negotiations be limited? Will,
there be a specific procedure to follow in an impasse is reached? During this phase, the
parties will also exchange their initial proposals or demands.
3. Clarification and Justification
When initial positions have been exchanged both the parties will explain amplify, clarify,
bolster and justify their original demands. This need not be confrontational.
Rather it is an opportunity for educating and informing each other on the issues why they are
important and how each arrived at their initial demands.
This is the point where one party might want to provide the other party with any
documentation that helps support its position.
4. Bargaining and Problem Solving
The essence of the negotiation process is the actual give and take in trying to hash out an
agreement, a proper bargain. It is here where concessions will undoubtedly need to be made
by both parties.
5. Closure and Implementation
The final step in the negotiation process is formalization the agreement that has been worked
out and developing and procedures that are necessary for implementation and monitoring.
For major negotiations – this will require hammering out the specifics in a formal contract.
Negotiation Process has five stages. In all steps of a negotiation process, the involved parties
bargain at a systematic way to decide how to allocate scarce resources and maintain each
other’s interest.

Negotiation Strategies
When doing business we don’t have a choice as to whether or not we negotiate.  The only
choice we have is how well we negotiate.  We all go through some sort of negotiation each
day.  We promote products, services, thoughts: supervisors use negotiating skills to motivate
employees, set budgets and timelines, employees negotiate for promotions and raises, parents
negotiate with their children to clean up and spouses negotiate each time they decide how to
manage their time or finances.
Essential Negotiation Strategies
You Can Negotiate Anything
The first thing you should know about negotiating is that everything is fair game, not just cars
and houses. At stores, we tend to look at price tags and presume that the offer is final. It
rarely ever is. At the very minimum, you should always ask the clerk if they have any
coupons available or if any other discounts apply.
Ask to Speak With a Manager or Owner
Most sales clerks don’t really care if you make a purchase or not. They’re getting paid
minimum wage, and your purchases won’t put any more money in their pocket. So the
second step is to find the person at the store who will directly benefit from the sale. Ideally,
you will want to speak with the owner of a small store, but that is impossible with bigger
retailers.
Keep a Poker Face
If you see an item you want and exclaim loudly that it’s perfect and that you’ve been seeking
it for all of your life, there is little incentive for the other party to negotiate. Always keep your
cool and don’t display any unusual interest in the item. When asked, limit your enthusiasm
while unfavorably comparing it to other products. Then suggest that you might still be
interested for the right price.
The strength of your negotiating position relies on your actual alternatives to this deal. As a
buyer, you should never fixate on a single product; always shop around and keep your
options open. As a seller, you should always be prepared to seek more potential buyers.
Don’t Make the First Offer and Don’t Negotiate with Yourself
Whether you are buying or selling, you never want to make the first offer. Why? Because the
other party may offer a price that is a much better deal than what you initially had in mind. If
you’re buying, consider the starting point to be the list price, but make it clear that the price is
too high. From there, ask the seller if there is any flexibility and force the seller to offer you a
lower price. It is only at that point you should make your first offer.
But once you have made your offer, do not volunteer another price unless and until the other
party has responded with a counteroffer. Expect the negotiations to be a back-and-forth
process, but remain confident throughout.
Bundle
A great way to augment your negotiation over price is to include other items. When you
reach an impasse in your negotiations, an offer to purchase multiple quantities of the item or
additional items might trigger flexibility on the part of the seller.
The seller may be willing to lose a customer if it’s a single item. But when a seller has the
opportunity to make a much larger transaction, there is a much greater likelihood he will be
amenable to a lower price.
Likewise, as a seller you can negotiate the buyer to a higher price by throwing in an extra
item. If you’re selling your house, for instance, and you have brand new porch furniture that
fits the deck perfectly, offer to include it in the price you want as an incentive to the buyer.
Barter
Do you have any items that might be of interest to the seller? Could you offer some services
that would be of value to the seller? Consider making a trade to eliminate or significantly
offset the need for actual dollars in a transaction. The idea is to use creativity in order to
reach a deal that might otherwise not come to fruition. As a starting point, you can find many
bartering websites online.
Use Silence and Time as a Tactic
Never respond too quickly to an offer. Pausing or even suspending negotiations can convey
that you’re not desperate to close the deal and that you have other options. Silence can force a
surprising amount of pressure on the other party as well.
Be Willing to Walk Away
Even if it’s the car, television, or house of your dreams, if the seller won’t come down to the
maximum price you have set for your budget, force yourself to walk out of the store or away
from the deal. This strong stance more often than not will get you the price you’re looking
for, as the seller doesn’t want to lose the sale. In flea markets and overseas, for example, I
often get my best price only as I am literally walking away from the shop.
Keep It Light
You never want to let negotiations become too tense. Always feel free to smile and inject
some humor in the conversation. Lightening up the mood can ingratiate you with your
opponent while also conveying your negotiating strength. If you do not appear to be taking
the negotiation extremely seriously, your opponent may conclude that you are ready to move
on if you don’t get the price you want.
Use Written Communication If Possible
In foreign markets, it’s common to negotiate in writing on a pad using just numbers. This
solves language barriers while producing a record of the negotiations. Furthermore, it’s just
easier to communicate non-verbally when negotiating back and forth. Non-verbal
communication strips away all of cues that one’s body language and tone of voice can give
away – which is why most real estate deals are made through realtors and in writing.
Outside of foreign markets, you will find it easier to negotiate back and forth over email or
even through an online chat for customer service. Email is a great medium for negotiating the
purchase or sale of a car or other household goods on websites like Craigslist. Email also
provides you with the time to analyze the situation and make an educated, non-panicked
counteroffer.
Practice
The only way to become an expert negotiator is to practice a lot. In the United States, the
closest things we have to traditional markets are flea markets and garage sales. Spending a
day or two bickering over t-shirts or used furniture will improve your negotiating skills and
give you the confidence that will be valuable when you purchase a car or a house. It’s also a
great idea to practice in foreign countries, where bargaining is much more widely accepted
and even expected.