Chinese negotiation style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Chinese negotiation style - Essay Example Coping with cultural differences was ranked as the first concern among business people. Other challenges included international trade dispute affecting business partners and intellectual property issues. 'Although the international business community has made great strides in understanding China's tradition, it is still important to be sensitive to the issues raised by cultural differences.' Most westerners, when preparing a business trip to China arm themselves with "a handy, one-page list of etiquette how to's, carry a boatload of business cards and bring their own interpreters", that's what Chinese tipsters say. However, such advice wont sustain the kind of prolonged year in, year out associations that Chinese and western business people achieve. In fact, breakdowns between foreigners and Chinese business people happen time after time. The main cause of failure is that of the westerners, to understand the much broader context of Chinese culture and values, a problem that too often leaves western negotiators both confused and flailing. (Lin 2003) The cultural influences outlined on the PowerPoint will give a clearly defined set of elements that underpin the Chinese negotiating style. Many foreigners often find these elements as confusing, but to ignore them at any time during the negotiation process, the deal will easily fall apart. (Graham 2003) These are in order of most important: 1. Guanxi (Personal Connections) The Chinese place a premium on individual's social capital with their group of friends, relatives, and close associates. 2. Zhongjian Ren (The Mediator) Business deals for Westerners in China don't have a chance with the zhongjian ren, the intermediary. In Australia, we tend to trust others until or unless we're given reason not to. In China, suspicion and distrust characterize all meetings with strangers. 3. Shehui Dengji (Social Status) The causal style of communication in Australia, such as "You can just call me Ben" does not play well in a country where the Confucian values of obedience and deference to one's superiors remain strong. The formality goes much deeper, however - profound so, to many Westerners. 4. Renji Hexie (Interpersonal Harmony) The Chinese sayings, "A man without a smile should not open a shop," and "Sweet temper and friendliness produce money," speak volumes about the importance of harmonious relations between business partners. 5. Zhengti Guannian (Holistic Thinking) The Chinese think in terms of the whole, while Australians think sequentially and individualistically, breaking up complex negotiation tasks into a series of small issues: price, quantity, warranty, delivery and so forth. Chinese negotiators tend to talk about those issues all at once. 6. Jiejian (Thrift) China's long history of economic and political instability has taught its people to save their money, a practise known as Jiejian. Chinese business negotiators will try to save money through a lot of bargaining over price -