A self assessment on intercultural negotiating skills - Essay Example

There are different communication styles that can be used and these will be outlined in the paper. Characteristics of a good intercultural negotiator Cross culture communication and negotiation mainly involve people from different cultural backgrounds and this has a bearing on the way they communicate. The culture of different people shape the way people communicate and exchange ideas (Fujio, 2004). According to Armstrong (1994), culture in the organization refers to shared beliefs, values, attitudes as well as assumptions which shape their behaviour as well as the way they view different things around them.

All the people in the organization have shared beliefs as well as values. Dbhaibo & Harb (2010) suggest that the way people communicate and behave is shaped by their cultural values. Hofstede’s framework of cultural diversity mainly influences different types of studies that are related to cross cultural communication and management which include the following four dimensions of national culture: “individualism versus collectivism, power distance which is concerned with how power is distributed, uncertainty avoidance which talks about how uncertainty is found to be uncomfortable, quality versus quantity of life” (Robbins, 1993, p. 75). In order for a person to be a good intercultural negotiator, there are many issues that should be considered by the people involved.

In case of a distributive type of negotiation, a good intercultural negotiator attempts to discover the other person’s BATNA. The person who suggests a strong offer is likely to achieve positive results as a result of the fact that the other person is likely to concede certain instances (Thompson 2005). The use of statements or questions is also very important since it helps to establish the quality of the relationship that may exist between the two negotiators involved. Thus, a good intercultural negotiator should establish how the other person communicates as well as to try to establish the relationship that exists between parties involved.

The other important factor that should be taken into account about what makes a good intercultural negotiator is to try to differentiate between Utilitarian Discourse System (UDS) which is about the message itself and the Confucian Discourse System (CDS) which is concerned about the quality of relationship that exist between the two people communicating with each other. For instance, the Americans prefer the UDS system when negotiating while the Japanese or Chinese prefer CDS. According to a study conducted by Misa Fujio (2004) entitled “Silence during intercultural communication: a case study,” it can be noted that styles of communication between the people involved in the communication process differ as a result of the fact that they have different cultures.

Silence is used as a way of communication by the Japanese this is a different case with the Americans who do not use silence as part of their communication process. In order to avoid unnecessary frustration, a good intercultural negotiator must establish the way another person communicates so as to be able to exchange meaningful ideas. Lin & Miller (2003) suggest that negotiation approach is influenced by factors which include national culture, commitment as well as the quality of relationship that exist between the two.

For example, the “Chinese emphasise on collectivism while the Americans focus on individualism (Hsu, 1985 as cited in Lin and Miller, 2003). A good