In a recent article we introduced the British linguist Richard Lewis and his book When Cultures Collide in connection with different leadership styles in various countries. Now, again with the help of businessinsider.com, let's look at Lewis's concept of cultural differences in negotiations.
Lewis's book stresses that comparing different cultures may be inaccurate as there are always exceptions. However, there is always a certain national norm of behaviour both in life and in business, which is based on deeply rooted national attitudes and values. Lewis explains: "A working knowledge of the basic traits of other cultures (as well as our own) will minimize unpleasant surprises (culture shock), give us insights in advance, and enable us to interact successfully with nationalities with whom we previously had difficulty." As regards negotiations in various countries, he notes:
- Americans go straight to the point. They face discord using a confrontational approach and conclude agreements in which both parties make some concessions.
- The English tend to avoid confrontations using a specific style of humour.
- Germans rely heavily on logic. They tend to collect a lot of evidence and prepare their negotiating positions very precisely.
- Hungarians prefer eloquence over logic and do not mind talking over one another.
- The Chinese are more direct than the Japanese or other East Asians but meetings with them mostly focus on gathering information, not decision-making.
- Koreans are very energetic in conversation and try to conclude agreements quickly. Sometimes this leads to distortion of information.
If you want to learn more, illustrations and more detailed descriptions of negotiating styles in different countries can be found in this article.
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