Q & A Table of Contents
How Do Stereotypes Impact Negotiation?
From: Lee, Singapore
Question: Please tell me the impact of stereotype in business negotiation across culture boundaries.
Response: Any time a negotiator accepts stereotypes about a
negotiation partner, he or she is taking a great risk. A person who
is treated as conforming to a stereotype may well feel robbed of her
or his individuality.
In cross-cultural negotiation involving people from different
countries, it is particularly dangerous to assume that someone from a
particular place will be certain to behave in a specific way. People
travel, they go to different countries for education or business, or
their approach to negotiation may be affected by what they see in the
news or mass media.
Stereotypes are no less risky when the cultural divide relates to
issues other than nationality. On a recent trip to Singapore, during
a conversation with a number of businessmen who all seemed younger
than me, they were appalled that I didn’t have a reaction to their
discussion of a musical group which they said was from ‘my era’. A
person’s age doesn’t mean that she or he shares the tastes of his/her
contemporaries.
Cultural stereotypes can also be based on gender, profession, a
person’s business sector or employer, her/his religion — and a whole
host of other characteristics. People who share these kinds of
characteristics are not clones of each other. To assume the contrary
raises the risk that you will offend your negotiation partner.
To keep yourself out of cultural stereotyping trouble, the wisest
strategy is to ask questions like “How do you feel about this
approach?” rather than effectively attacking your negotiation
partner’s ego by saying or doing something indicating you have
reached a conclusion about them that reflects their appearance rather
than their personality.
Good luck,
Steve
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