Q & A Table of Contents
What About Different Business Cultures?
From: Surendra London, UK
Question: What is the role of business culture in international negotiation? How important is it?
Response: Business culture is a central element in negotiation. Every company has its own corporate culture. Thus some companies are focused on short-term results while others look at the long term. Similarly, companies have varied cultures as regards treatment of employees from different backgrounds, dress codes, criteria for performance reviews, etc.
Businesses based in different countries may well have corporate cultures that reflect cultural elements drawn from national cultural characteristics. This varies enormously; particularly when more and more companies operate in the global marketplace with employees drawn from a widening variety of national, ethnic, religious, and gender backgrounds.
In negotiation it is crucial to avoid getting trapped by prejudiced expectations of how a person from a certain background (corporate, national, ethnic, etc.) will behave. Focusing instead on the interests of the stakeholders will help you overcome cultural barriers both real and perceived and derive agreements that lead to mutually favorable outcomes.
Good luck with your negotiations and research.
Steve
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