2.7 Decision-making Process
Decisions are made differently in different groups. They may be made by individuals or by the group as a whole. Some groups accept the decision of the majority of the group members, but other groups seek consensus among group members and will not make a decision until all members have agreed. Knowing how your counterpart makes decisions is vital to help gauge the approach you should take to persuade him or her. Take Japan and America as typical eastern and western countries for example.American people make decisions based upon the bottom line and cold, hard facts. They believe not people, but statistics and performance count. Business is business. In American view, a business negotiation is a problem-solving activity, and the solution is a deal that suits both parties.
The decision making process is just like a cost-benefit analysis applied to all parties who would be touched by the decision. A decision is considered right because it produces the greatest net benefit when all the costs and benefits to all the affected parties are taken into account. So the Americans usually list the possible effects and estimate the magnitude of their costs and benefits as accurately as possible.
In general, decision-making in Japan is a communal affair requiring unanimous approval by management. In this decision-making style, everyone must be convinced, not just the key decision-maker. Upper-level managers do not make fast, on-the-spot decisions. Most Japanese companies use some form of a system of decision-making known as document system. In the lower layer of management, usually at the section level, a manager drafts a proposal after achieving consensus within his own group.
The proposal is circulated to the heads of other sections and departments. These heads study the proposal. If they approve, they stamp their name seals on it. If they disapprove, they either refuse to stamp it or put their seals on it upside down. Then the document is passed up through the different
levels of management until it reaches the president. If everyone stamps the proposal, it becomes a company policy. If not, it is usually sent back to its originator with certain suggestion. Thus all the middle managers in companies using this system perform almost all the planning functions for the company, deciding what will be done, when and how.
Chapter Three Coping Strategy of Negotiating across Cultures
The culture differences in cross-cultural communication have various impacts on operation of enterprises. These differences will influence negotiation and management of transnational operation; what’s more, it may have bad effects on the harmonious relationship between our country and foreign countries. Maybe that will lead to the missing of market opportunities, the increase of trade cost and the low efficiency of company management. So, it is really necessary for us all to eliminate and avoid disadvantageous effects.
3.1 Making Preparations before Negotiation.
The negotiators must make good preparations if they want control the development of negotiation successfully in the complex situation. Only do they make good preparations can they make changes freely according to the situation of negotiation and avoid the happening of conflicts. Because the international business negotiation involves extensive aspects, more preparations are needed. The preparations often include the analysis of the negotiators themselves and the opponents; the constitution of negotiation group, elaborating the negotiating goal and strategy and going on imitation negotiation when necessary. When making preparations, you should try to know the opponents while you analyze yourselves. Analyzing yourselves mainly refers to studying if the project is feasible. To knowing about the opponents means understanding their strength such as credit status, the policy、 business customs and regulations of their countries and the
conditions of their negotiating members and so on.
3.2 Overcoming Cultural Prejudice
Tolerating different cultures and overcoming cultural prejudice contribute to better communicating with each other and understanding each other. West people often think that they are powerful, capable and experienced, so sometimes, we need to recognize then and give then some good comments. We should learn about the foreign cultures before negotiation and accept and understand their cultures in negotiation, because every country regard their own cultures as a matter of course and hope that their culture could be recognized and accepted.
3.3 Conquering Communication Barriers
Two trains running at different railways in the opposite direction will collide with each other; maybe this is the best arrangement for trains. But to communication between people, there won’t be communications if people go ahead according to their own ways. Trains will collide with each other if they run on the same railway at the opposite direction. But if we measure by the objective of people’s communication, only we meet each other, can we have communication and friendship. In negotiation, sometimes we can’t make much progress although we have talked for long time. And sometimes both parties are not satisfied. After thinking, that is caused by communication barriers which happen easily in cross-cultural negotiation. We should make sure if there appear communication barriers, if so, we must overcome them. Generally speaking, we should pay more attention to the following three communication barriers in cross-cultural negotiation: the communication barriers caused by culture background of both; the ones caused by misunderstanding of the contents and information from the partner; the ones caused by not being willing to accept the opponent’s contents and ideas.
Chapter Four The reasons of the different culture
Since there are so many cultural differences, then conflict is inevitable.A cultural diversity have many reasons, in a word, eastern and Western cultures have different cultures, historical background, it will inevitably bring some thinking, behavior, and many other differences, even conflicts. Many factors influence the differences of cultures.
4.1 Value Differences
Every culture has own unique value systems, this culture think that is good, another culture might consider bad, but it does not mean that this values are advanced, and the other values are behind. For example, parents in western countries tend to cultivate children to be independent. They encourage their children to deal with their personal things by themselves. Parents in eastern countries, however, always spoil their children. They always help their children finish some things which the children have the ability to cope with by themselves.