CHALLENGES OF CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS

In cross cultural negotiations, the influence of cultural differences is significant and arise in
unexpected ways(Michael and Simon 2011). The cultural differences can be subtle and may
include how people interact, the importance of time, relationships and even attitude during
interaction(Jennifer, Gareth and Jorge 1998). In this section, the other major challenges
facing cross cultural negotiations are discussed. The differences in the processes involved
with reaching an agreement in different regions is a challenge to a negotiation process and
affects the result of the negotiation. The differences in the processes involved in
negotiations across different cultures is as important as understanding the legal implications
involved. The systematic differences in governance and decision-making processes in a
negotiation across different cultures can disrupt a negotiation considerably(Herbig and
Kramer 1992).
Understanding the major players behind the decision-making process is a major challenge
while negotiations are undertaken across cultural borders(Ravlin, Ward and Thomas 2014).
This is evident in the negotiation processes in Germany where the labour has equal
representations in the Board of directors and their influence on the decision-making process
is considerable. The same influence of an external player in negotiations is visible in
negotiations at china where the representatives from the party are present(Lefebvre and
Franke 2013). The understanding the roles played by these players in the decision-making
process is another important challenge in cross cultural negotiations. Understanding the
informal influences present in a culture is another major challenge associated with cross
cultural negotiations. In many countries, there are a web of influences that are actually more
powerful than the actual parties that is involved with the deal(Buckley et al. 2011). This fact
is evident in the negotiation processes in Japan where the Keiretsu has a major influence in
the decision making and this understanding of the decision-making influence decides the
result of the negotiation(McGuire and Dow 2002). This same influence is evident in the
Russian culture through its mafias and protection rackets and in Italy through the influence
of some powerful families.
The understanding of the local culture and the reality behind the processes of business
negotiations is another major challenge seen in cross cultural negotiations. The law stated
on the books are sometimes not that is being in followed in many cultures across the
world(Garcia et al. 2014) and this has a defining influence on the result of the negotiation
process. The other major challenge in cross cultural negotiations is the difference in the
attitude towards different gender in different cultures(Woo, Wilson and Liu 2001). The
attitude towards females in different cultures vary and understanding this influence on the
result of the negotiation is another major challenge that is present in cross cultural
negotiations.

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