Transcript Cross Cultural Management and Negotiation

Cross Cultural Management
and Negotiation Practices
Chapter 11 – Negotiation, Diversity and Communication
Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Chapter Topics
• Chapter 11 – Negotiation, Diversity and
Communication
– Cultural Diversity and Negotiation Challenges
– Communication Skills for International
Professionals
– Gender Diversity in the Construction Industry
– Negotiating on the Internet
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Cultural Diversity and Negotiations
Challenges
• Conducting business in other countries can be
difficult and tedious. Culture plays a vital role in
the success or failure of negotiations. Negotiators
must research the region’s culture prior to any
negotiations. The most successful negotiations
involve negotiators who go the extra mile to learn
about the region’s culture, norms, values,
traditions, and business ethics expectations prior
to the start of the negotiation process.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Formal logic
• Formal logic: identify entities according to
what they are and what they are not (Ford &
Backoff, 1988, p.4). There are three
principles that sustain the formal logic: the
principle of identity, the principle of noncontradiction, and the principle of the
excluded middle.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Dialectic logic
• Dialectic logic: it manages contradiction and
recognizes its positive contribution to negotiation
outcomes. There are three principles that offer a
framework for understanding dialectic logic. The
first principle is focused on the changes that begin
internally can influence external factors. The
second principle shows that change is
developmental, and the final principle describes
two types of change: evolutionary and
revolutionary.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Cross-Cultural Blunders
• A cross-cultural blunder is basically any unintentional
decision that negatively affects the foreign operations of a
firm. The negative impact can be a loss of revenues, loss of
reputation, or simply a loss of brand image. While the
word blunder naturally carries a negative connotation,
cross-cultural blunders in business have, in some cases,
positively surprised companies with increased sales;
however, most blunders have resulted in loss of money,
reputation and sometimes irreparable damage to business
relationships.
• Such negative blunders in a cross-cultural work
environment are usually attributable to their lack of
knowledge in cultural differences.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Avoid blunders
• According to Ricks (1999), an effective expatriate manager
must possess special abilities and traits if he or she is to
avoid blundering. Among the most important
characteristics are:
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An ability to get along well with people
An awareness of cultural differences
Open-mindedness
Tolerance of foreign cultures
Adaptability to new cultures, ideas and challenges
An ability to adjust quickly to new conditions
An interest in facts, not blind assumptions
Previous business experience, specifically with foreign cultures
An ability to learn foreign languages.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Two Levels of Communication
• There are two levels of communication present in
negotiations, pragmatic and logical. However,
there must also be a discussion about problems
that arise in cross-cultural communications and
how these issues can be improved.
– Pragmatic communication is a combination of the
semantics, syntax and style of the communicator.
– Logical communication is a more practical tangible
item such as a specific price. Every person
comprehends communication on both levels; however,
the challenges arise in pragmatic understanding, as it is
not concrete and can be interpreted in many different
ways.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Women in the Construction Industry
• Women’s need for professional development,
career planning, and networking opportunities to
support their growth is important. Gender inequity
is ingrained in this industry and is based on
societal expectations and attitudes. Organizations
such as Women Working in Corrections and
Juvenile Justice and the Association of Women
Executives in Corrections (AWEC) address issues
that affect women in this industry. AWEC focuses
on leadership, career advancement, and common
issues faced by women executives in the industry
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Negotiating on the Internet
• In today’s “global village-like” world, by offering new
ways of communication, the Internet is one of the major
tools that make our world even smaller than it presently is.
In fact, the Internet is not just for “know-how” or
knowledge acquisition anymore. However, the merits that
it brings have not been fully revealed yet, and it still
surprises a vast majority of people by its seemingly
unlimited possibilities. Being very a user-friendly,
inexpensive way of communication, the negotiations on
the Internet are very up-to-date especially in the companies
which seek to extend their operations abroad.
• By registering a company’s website on the Internet, the
company may obtain customers from all parts of the world.
This might be the first step to building a truly international
company.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Application of e-Negotiations
in Practice
• The incredible growth of telecommunication enables both simple and
very complex exchanges of information that assist in the company’s
decision. E-negotiations involve serious information technology
development. It requires considerable IT knowledge from company
employees and advanced specialized software. In a professional
environment, such software is called e-negotiation systems which are
capable of supporting, aiding or replacing one or more negotiators,
mediators or facilitators. Therefore, the process of adopting a
nontraditional practice of negotiations by businesspeople is an
interesting topic to investigate. It is even more interesting to determine
to what extent e-negotiations are influenced by negotiators’ culture.
• It is interesting to explore how generic, not situational perceptions that
had been formulated long before entering the negotiation process,
influence the communication with representatives from other cultures.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
It’s what is inside that
makes a difference!
Learn well, take chances, and
remember that together
we can move the world!
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
Reference
• Mujtaba, B. G. (2007). Cross Cultural Management and Negotiation
Practices. ISBN: 978-0-9774211-2-1. ILEAD Academy, LLC; Davie,
Florida.
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
© Bahaudin G. Mujtaba