Western and Chinese negotiations have very little similarities, but their differences are significant. This affects the degree of making decisions when a western company is negotiating with a Chinese company. In most cases, the differences lead to the breakdown of the negotiations between the companies from the two regions. The differences in the negotiations between the two arise because of the differences in values, beliefs and culture. This paper focuses on discussing both the similarities and differences existing between the Western and Chinese negotiations.
Both cultures give a lot of respect for seniority of their members. This implies that the most senior members take part in the negotiations. Besides, both cultures support the use of gifts as part of negotiations whereby the negotiating members’ present gifts to the other part. Both cultures believe that the use of gifts is vital in enhancing interpersonal interactions and should thus be encouraged during the negotiations. Finally, in both cultures, the spirit of teams is encouraged in negotiations implying that teams from both parties conduct the negotiations.
The decision from negotiations with the Chinese takes a longer time this is because the Chinese beliefs taking more time in negotiations assist in developing a clear understanding of the client thus able to form a long lasting relationship. They do not lay down their ideas and bargaining points directly, On the other hand, the Western cultures believe in making decisions from any negotiations very fast to pave a way for business. Their level of trust to the other negotiator party is very high thus enabling a faster decision making (Graham & Lam, 2003).
Additionally, the two cultures also differ in the way they communicate during negotiations. The Chinese culture uses an indirect method of presenting their provisions. This is to mean that they are opposed to the direct provision of the terms of negotiations. They believe the use of the direct method of communication leads to rudeness which they highly prohibit. On the other hand, the Westerners use a direct approach when presenting their provisions. This makes them appear rude something that leads to negotiation breakdown when negotiating with the Chinese.
Neidel (2010) reveals that the Chinese negotiations are opposed to any argument during the negotiation session. The term arguments as lack of respect and they believe that they affect the trust between the negotiators. On the other hand, the western culture support and allows the use of arguments during the negotiation since they believe that it opens room for a negotiator to emphasize a point thus making the process clear. They also believe that it a good way of ensuring that each negotiator is satisfied with the decisions made during the process.
Nonetheless, the Chinese take a longer time to give trust to a negotiator who is very new to them. For instance, it takes a long time for a company team to believe another negotiator team if they do not have a clear information about the other company. They spend a lot of time investigating the company to get clear information regarding their reputation. This is different to the westerners who take a little time to put trust on the other negotiators provided they get some information regarding them. Finally, Chinese like involving their government in any business negotiation something which is different with the westerners. The westerners allow the government to take part if the business matters need its influence (Akgunes & Culpepper, 2012).
References
Akgunes, A & Culpepper, R. (2012, April 1). Negotiations Between Chinese and Americans: Examining the Cultural Context and Salient Factors. The Journal of International Management Studies, 7(1), 191-99. Retrieved from http://www.jimsjournal.org/21%20Robert%20Culpepper-2.pdf
Graham, J., & Lam. M. (2003, October 1). The Chinese Negotiation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2003/10/the-chinese-negotiation
Neidel, B., (2010, Novemeber 1). Negotiations, Chinese Style. China Business Review. Retrieved from http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/negotiations-chinese-style/
