Who to Influence in a cross-cultural organization dealing with multiple ethnicities

1. 7 ways on how
to make
negotiation
better if you
understand
culture
LEAD402 – Organizational Behavior and
Leadership
ABSTRACT
What is the role influence on cross-
cultural in a negotiation process? I
will share 7 ways on how can we
negotiate better if we understand ,
the role of culture mainly in an
multinational organization/corporate
segment (Dummies for cross-culture
negotiation)
Gnana Kumara Swamy
(01FX15MBA208)

2. Contents
Approach and basis for the write up .........................................................................................2
Assessment brief on role of influence on cultural diversity in a negotiation process...............3
Context Brief:..........................................................................................................................3
1. Cross-Culture Aspects for Negotiation........................................................................4
2. Communication Aspects for Negotiation.....................................................................4
7 ways on how can we negotiate better if we understand culture.............................................6
Rule1: Negotiating goal: Contract or relationship?...............................................................6
Rule2: Negotiating attitude: Win-Lose or Win-Win? .............................................................7
Rule3: Personal style: Informal or formal’s............................................................................8
Rule4: Communication: Direct or indirect?.........................................................................10
Rule5: Sensitivity to time: High or low? ...............................................................................11
Rule6: Emotionalism: High or low?......................................................................................12
Rule7: Form of agreement: General or specific? ................................................................13
Summary from Prof. Jeswald W. Salacuse ...............................................................................14
About the Author/Shared article..............................................................................................14
References ...............................................................................................................................15

3. Approach and basis for the write up
As the subject is not a new topic in the world for most business leaders & negotiators, I
have used theme from IVEY BUSINESS JOURNAL.
Topic: Top 10 ways that culture can affect your negotiation.
Many Thanks to Jeswald W. Salacuse, Henry J. Braker professor of Law at the Fletcher
school of law & diplomacy, Tufts University, this article is drawn inspirational from his most
recent book.
I will share 7 ways on how to make negotiation better if you understand culture better
for corporate executives from an organizational perspective with my real life examples
like 7 steps to success
My Self, Gnana Kumara Swamy, Senior Manager at BOSCH Group in Bangalore,
I lead development center working in an international organization which offers its
unique challenges and opportunities in Influencing people with effective cross-cultural
interaction and negotiation challenges across the globe (Japan, Korea, China, Italy
Germany, UK and USA), I am working in a consultant role which gives me to share many
real-life examples

4. Assessment brief on role of influence on cultural diversity in a negotiation process
Context Brief:
What is Negotiation? (Wikipedia definition)
“Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach a
beneficial outcome”
Negotiation’s outcome can be for all of the parties involved, or just for one or some of
them, in situations in which a good outcome for one/some, excludes the possibility of a
desired result for the other/others, so it’s essential to create a WIN-WIN solution, through
assertive communication, conflict management skills and influencing
As Business Leaders, it’s very much essential that, we understand the role of
1. Cross-culture
2. Influencing skills through communication
Note:
The image used here is taken from Google and may be subject to copyright, the callout for
communication and cross –culture is add-on by me, to build a story for negotiation/influencing
INFLUENCE

5. 1. Cross-Culture Aspects for Negotiation
Cross-cultural differences and its influence on negotiation, as business leaders, we should
be prepared well in advance before we enter into negotiation, which can affect decisions,
in an international business deals, culture profoundly influences on how people think,
communicate and behave based on above diagram
2. Communication Aspects for Negotiation
As we know one of the 21st Century skills sets required are Communication, Collaboration,
Critical Thinking, Creativity (4C’s) is a must for taking up higher leadership roles, 4C’s
plays a very important role and shall create an influence to people across cultures when we
are dealing with a situation on negotiation table
Cross-
Cultures
Age
Ethinicity
Country
Gender
Values
Community
Body
Language
Language

6. You can become a good negotiator, only if you know the “Art & Skill” and the role of
influence in a culturally diversified organization, communication is a very important skill
in modern connected “world” for leadership!
Business negotiation example:
When Tata’s bought Jaguar from Ford in UK, there would have been negotiations on table
- How did management handle communication for negotiation?
- How did Tata deal with unions and labors in a manufacturing sector across a multi-
cultural organization?
Management would have understood role of influence and dealt with aspects of
communication and cross-culture like body-language, age, ethnicity, gender etc.,
for a successful acquisition

7. Now let’s try to understand role of influence and cross-culture in below sections
7 ways on how can we negotiate better if we understand culture
For corporate executives
Rule1: Negotiating goal: Contract or relationship?
Although the title expresses relationship or contract, the essence of the deal is the
relationship itself, negotiators from different cultures may tend to view purpose of a
negotiation differently. For deal makers from some cultures, the goal of a business
negotiation, first and foremost, is a signed contract between parties (e.g. Turkey or UK).
Other cultures tend to consider that the goal of a negotiation is not a signed contract but
rather the creation of a relationship between the two sides (e.g. China), also understand the
body-language, gender, age, language etc.
Example for cross-culture relationship:
- I have worked with Mexicans/Italians/Chinese at Delphi, Volvo and Bosch, they are
very friendly and they want to build relationship and they like to talk as well
- Speaking few words/sentences e.g. Bona-sera (Good day in Italian), Ni-Hao (Hello
in Chinese), Guten-morgan (Good Morning in German) helps to build relationships
- While I was in China (Wuxi, Suzhou, Yulin, Shanghai & Beijing), it’s very usual
practice to take you for a dinner, for all business deals if you don’t go to dinner it’s an
offence, Chinese will ensure that you get preferences that you like (e.g. Vegetarian
salads/fruits) sometimes they will even often offer massage, you should oblige, once
relationship is built, the deal may or may not go through
- Giving space while building relationships, directly not jumping into family, friends is
very much essential in a negotiation discussions
Summary of contract or relationship:
“The essence of the deal is the relationship itself, negotiators from different
cultures may tend to view purpose of a negotiation differently”

8. Rule2: Negotiating attitude: Win-Lose or Win-Win?
As you enter negotiations, it is important to know which type of negotiator is sitting across
the table from you, because of differences in a culture, personality, or both, business
persons appear to approach deal making with one of two basic attitudes:
- That a negotiation is either a process in which both can gain (win-win)
o Win-win negotiators see deal making as a collaborative, problem-solving
process, creativity and influencing skills
- A struggle in which, of necessity, one side wins and the other side loses (win-lose)
o Win-lose negotiators view it as confrontational
Example for Negotiation attitude
- Mostly in case of UK from my interactions, it shall be a win-win situation, if you are
transparent and share your views effectively, than your chance of win-win is high
- But for Japan, it’s always hierarchy, they like win-win situation, it’s tough to
understand on the phone, but when you meet face-to-face their body language
conveys and its becomes easy to work with Japanese
- For China, as I see they want delivery of software yesterday, because they would
have communicated to customer without agreeing dates, there comes the challenge
of using collaborative and influencing skills on making them to understand reasons
for what is committed can’t be met !, I need time for development, with relationship
building, it works well with Chinese
- Win-win is always not possible , some-times we have to lose-win to build
relationships with China or for that matter any country
Summary of negotiation attitude:
1. “Win-win negotiators see deal making as a collaborative, problem-solving
process; win-lose negotiators view it as confrontational, so it’s very much
essential to understand what type of negotiator is sitting on the other side and
use cross-culture understanding to negotiate better (win-win)”.
2. “Win-win is always not possible, sometimes we have to lose-win to build
trust and relationships with certain culture’

9. Rule3: Personal style: Informal or formal’s
It’s become very much essential to understand personal style of cultural and communication
style (Informal or formal’s) of each countries, we shall learn more, once we start actually
start interacting regularly, a negotiator with an informal style tries to start discussion on a
first-name basis, quickly seeks to develop a personal rapport
Table2: Example of culture and communication Germany v/s China

10. For an American, calling someone by the first name is an act of friendship and therefore a
good thing. For a Japanese, the use of first name at a first meeting is an act of disrespect and
therefore bad. Negotiators in foreign cultures must respect appropriate formalities
Example for personal style:
- Friendly relationship with the other team can only be possible when the relationship
is longer at least 6 months and more and a visit to the country with dinner, I have
seen this working effectively when you have face to face meetings and share your
challenges and opportunities it worked in all country cultures I have worked
(China, Sweden, Japan, UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Vietnam)
- Chinese like informal style, but they will switch to formal in office , but once they
take you to dinner it will be informal style with an eye on the deal for negotiation
- Using first name to call and address is very critical, even my name was rechristened
in Italy/Rome to Swamy in my passport, as I did not have a surname
- My experience on personal style and priority in negotiation for deals
o Eastern customers tend to:
 Fix budget first and then try to negotiate scope
 Go with schedule to customer and then try to negotiate quality,
especially in China and to some extent in S. Korea
o Western customers tend to:
 Freeze scope first and then try to negotiate on price
 Go with quality and then try to negotiate schedule
- Understanding body language, gender, values in different cultures is a skill
Figure: Example of body language in communication, bending to show gratitude v/s hand-shake
Summary of personal style: Informal or formal
“It’s always better and safer to adopt formal posture and move on to informal
stance, if situation warrants, than to assume an Informal style too quickly”

11. Rule4: Communication: Direct or indirect?
In a culture that values directness, such as the American or the Germans, you can expect
to receive a clear and definite response to your proposals and questions. In cultures that
rely on indirect communication, such as the Japanese and India as well, reaction to your
proposals may be gained by interpreting seemingly vague comments, gestures, and other
signs. The confrontation of these styles of communication in the same negotiation can lead to
friction
Figure: Example of body language in
communication, YES and NO Table1: Culture, what British say and mean
Example for communication style:
- From experience I can clearly say that, what UK people say and what they mean is
different, hence, I use the Table1, and interpret, what they mean, once I even
showed above table to my UK colleague he accepted interpretation is correct
- There are indirect ways Japanese negotiators express disapproval, other cultures
often believe that their proposals were still under consideration, when in fact the
Japanese side had rejected them ( I have seen this in all my interaction with
Japanese colleagues and customers) and language could become a barrier
- Having worked in Germany for 18 months, gave me a good perspective of direct
communication, it takes a while to get used for Indians , once we understand direct
communication style it make negotiation easier
Summary of communication style: Direct or indirect?
“Methods of communication vary among cultures. Some emphasize direct
and simple methods of communication;
others rely heavily on indirect and complex methods”

12. Rule5: Sensitivity to time: High or low?
It is said that Germans are always punctual, Latins are habitually late, Japanese negotiate
slowly, and Americans are quick to make a deal. Commentators sometimes claim that some
cultures value time more than others, but this observation may not be an accurate
characterization of the situation. Rather, negotiators may value differently the amount of time
devoted to and measured against the goal pursued
Figure: Sensitivity to time at Japan very High
Example for sensitivity to time:
- Meetings in Germany starts on-time and ends on-time, it will have a fixed agenda and
well moderated, lot to learn from Germans about punctuality and sensitivity to time is
very high
- While in Germany, if train arrives at 7:06 AM means, it arrives at 7:06 AM, if you feel,
I can manage to catch-up train with few seconds time adjustment means you missed
the train
- While strategic decisions are taken slow in German organizations it means it’s for
very long term , based on many parameters for sustainability of a decision taken
- USA experience has been they are very quick in decision making and very sensitive
to time as well
- While USA try to reduce formalities and get down to business quickly, and its
opposite in Germany very formal but now its changing

13. - Japanese or Asians the goal of meeting is relationship, than to sign a deal or a
contract, they negotiate slowly
- Japanese when it comes to be punctual they cannot be beaten by any cultures
The difference between the Indian and U.S.A towards time was clearly revealed in Ivey
Business School survey. Among the twelve nationalities surveyed, the Indians had largest
percentage of persons who considered themselves to have a low sensitivity to time
Summary of Sensitivity to time: High or low?
“Negotiating styles invariably treat a particular culture’s understanding
toward time (high or low), helps to lay a good foundation for your influence”
Rule6: Emotionalism: High or low?
In Ivey school business survey, among Europeans, the Germans and English ranked as least
emotional (Low), while among Asians the Japanese held that position, but to a lesser degree.
Accounts of negotiating behavior in other cultures almost always point to a particular
group’s tendency to act emotionally.
According to the stereotype, Latin Americans show their emotions at the negotiating table,
while the Japanese and many other Asians hide their feelings.
Obviously, individual personality plays a role here. There are passive Latins and hot-
headed Japanese. Nonetheless, various cultures have different rules as to the
appropriateness and form of displaying emotions, and these rules are brought to the
negotiating table as well. Deal makers should seek to learn them.
Example for emotionalism:
- One instance of delay in delivery for Japanese customer by development team in
India, was escalated not directly but indirectly through headquarters, but when we
had meetings, Japanese we could see emotionalism was high during face to face
meetings ,same is the case with Chinese
- When a delivery was delayed to Germany, when we explained through facts and
figures and telling story for delay due to family, traffic, health etc., Emotionalism was
very low for Germans & UK
Summary of Emotionalism: High or low?
“Various cultures have different rules as to the appropriateness and form of
displaying emotions (High or low), and these rules are brought to the
negotiating table as well. Deal makers should seek to learn them”

14. Rule7: Form of agreement: General or specific?
The negotiated transaction in almost all cases will be encapsulated in some sort of written
agreement. Cultural factors influence the form of the written agreement that the parties
make.
Generally, Americans prefer very detailed contracts that attempt to anticipate all possible
circumstances and eventualities, no matter how unlikely. Why?
Because the deal is the contract itself, and one must refer to the contract to handle new
situations that may arise. Other cultures, such as the Chinese, prefer a contract in the form of
general principles rather than detailed rules. Why?
Because, it is claimed, that the essence of the deal is the relationship between the parties. If
unexpected circumstances arise, the parties should look primarily to their relationship, not
the contract, to solve the problem. So, in some cases, a Chinese negotiator may interpret the
American drive to stipulate all contingencies as evidence of a lack of confidence in the
stability of the underlying relationship, it’s also reflected in greeting approach in case of
Japanese
Example for form of agreement:
- Incorporates these form of formal/informal agreement is very common in the form of
service level agreements, group level agreement and third part agreements which
company executes
- Have also seen clause for delay in deliveries leading to penalties is applicable in all
cultures, in one form or the others
- If you don’t abide by the contract, you can legally sued for delay in deliveries and
huge financial implications to organizations
Summary of Form of agreement: General or specific?
“The negotiated transaction in almost all cases will be encapsulated in some
sort of written agreement. Cultural factors influence the form of the written
agreement that the parties make”

15. Summary from Prof. Jeswald W. Salacuse
Table3: Salacuse impact of culture on negotiation
“Apply rules to manage your international teams, and be a good
negotiator, get paid like Sheryl Sandberg!”
“As a mantra, let’s work towards learning better influencing skills
through communication and cross-cultural awareness”
About the Author/Shared article
Gnana Kumara Swamy, A Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology,
followed by AMIE in Electronics Engineering, currently pursuing my
Executive MBA from Institute of Product Leadership, passionate about
university interactions with NIT Surathkal and PESIT, setting up
Mechatronics Lab and mentoring internship programs.
My interests are in Mechatronics, Automotive Electronics, Robotics, reading Biography,
Swimming & Yoga
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16. References
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negotiation/
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mean
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the-truth-behind-British-politeness-becomes-internet-hit.html
14) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negotiation
15) http://redshoemovement.com/3-key-negotiation-strategies-for-women/
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report.de/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,print,0&cntnt01articleid=113&cntnt01showtemplate=false&cnt
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