英语专业毕业论文设计浅析商务谈判中文化障碍现象及解决对策

1、河 南 科 技 大 学学 年 论 文题目Analysis and Countermeasures of Cultural Barrier in Intenational Business Negotiation浅析商务谈判中文化障碍现象及解决对策姓 名 院 系 外国语学院专 业 英 语指导教师 2011年 6月17日Abstractwith the advent of economic globalization, international economic and trading contacts are continuously increasing and negotiation ha

2、s become an essential part of business activities. International business negotiation is not only communication and cooperation in ecnomic field, but also exchanges and communication between different cultures. Corporations and units are faced with more and more business negotiations after our acces

3、sion to the WTO. In terms of the current situation, this essay firstly gives a brief introduction to business negotiation, culture and the impact of culture on business negotiation. Then, it makes a list of three manifestations of cultural barriers in internatioan business negotiation ，namely ways o

4、f thinking barriers, language expression barriers and business values barriers of negotiators, and makes them more concrete through examples. Next, the essay gives three main reasons of the emergency of cultural barriers in business negotiation: differences on interpersonal negotiation, the concept

5、of time and values. Finally, based on the analysis above, the essay puts forward two countermeasures,that is, flexibly utilizing chinese traditional culture and correctly handling differences between western and chinese culture.Key words: cultural background, cultural barrier, values. 摘 要随着经济全球化时代的到

6、来，国际间的经济贸易往来与日俱增，谈判已成为国际商务活动的重要环节。国际商务谈判不仅是经济领域的交流与合作，也是文化之间的交流与沟通，而且文化因素的作用至关重要。我国加入世贸组织后，企业和单位所面临的国际商务谈判越来越多.本文就这一现状，首先对商务谈判和文化以及文化对商务谈判的影响作了简单介绍。接着列举了文化障碍在国际商务谈判中的三中表现形式，即谈判者的思维方式障碍，语言表达方式障碍和商业价值观障碍，并通过例子使其更加具体鲜明。然后本文又分析出文化障碍产生的原因，主要有三点：人际交往差异，中西方时间观念差异和价值观念差异。最后基于以上原因分析，提出两点对策：灵活运用中国传统文化和正确处理中西方

7、文化差异。关键词：文化背景；文化障碍；价值观OutlineIntroduction International business negotiation is actions and process performed by the parties who strive for reaching consensus through information exchange and consultation in order to meet respective needs. The main negotiation parties belong to two or more countries

8、 or regions. IA brief introduction to business negotiation and culture1.1 The introduction to business negotiation1.2 The introduction to culture1.3 The impact of culture on business negotiationsII. The manifestations of cultural barrier in international business negotiation2.1 Ways of thinking barr

9、ier of negotiators2.2 Means of language expression barrier of negotiators2.3 Business values barrier of negotiators2.4.Case study of international business negotiation barrierIII. Analysis of the reason of the emergence of cultural barrier in international business negotiation 3.1 Difference on inte

10、rpersonal communicating ideas 3.2 Difference on the concept of time between westerners and easterners 3.3 Difference on the concept of values between westerners and oriental peopleThe countermeasures to overcome the cultural barrier in international business negotiation4.1 Flexibly making use of chi

11、nese culture4.2 Correctly handling differences between chinese and western culture. Conclusion All in all, people have realized that the reason of the failure of the cross-cultural negotiation mainly lies in the a lack of understanding of each others cultural backgrounds and the ignorance of the inf

12、luence of cultural difference on the negotiation. Introduction International business negotiation is actions and process performed by the parties who strive for reaching consensus through information exchange and consultation in order to meet respective needs. The main negotiation parties belong to

13、two or more countries or regions. I. A brief introduction to business negotiation and culture1.1 The introduction to business negotiation International business negotiation is actions and process performed by the parties who strive for reaching consensus through information exchange and consultation

14、 in order to meet respective needs. The main negotiation parties belong to two or more countries or regions. The negotiators represente the interests of different countries or regions. At the same time, international business negotiation is cross cultural. Negotiators from different countries or reg

15、ions possess different cultural backgrounds, values, ways of thinking, behaviors, communication modes, languages and customs, which will directly determine whether the international business negotiation is successful.1.2 The introduction to cultureSince cross cultural communication plays such an imp

16、ortant part in international business negotiation, then what is culture? Culture is “a knd of mind programming that differs from a class of people from another class of people”. And it is the so-called “heart software, or “collective program” that makes each person become the product of its own cult

17、ure and makes mens behaviors restricted by their own culture, and at the same time culture is reflected through mens behavior,which, on the other hand, restricts mens understanding of foreign culture. People who are not so sensitive to cultural differences use their own culture modes to assess behav

18、iors, points of view, customs of people from another culture, which often brings about cultural conflicts.1.3 The impact of culture on business negotiationsIn terms of international business negotiation, if the two parties come from different countries or regions that have different cultures, values

19、 and ways of thinking, the negotiation will not be so easy. A lack of understanding of cultural differences, inadequate preparation and improper management will make intenational business negotiation more difficult, inflence its smoothness, and even make two parties part on bad terms. International

20、business negotiation is an important part of business activities. It is across-borders activity. Both sides come to an agreement on their commonly interested business issues through consultation. Negotiators from different cultural backgrounds have different communication methods, values and ways of

21、 thinking, which means that understanding different cultures of different countries and knowing well cultural differences in business activities is of great importance.II. The manifestations of cultural barrier in international business negotiation2.1 Ways of thinking barrier of negotiators In the l

22、ong course of history, people transfer their knowlege of the reality into experience and custom, and a certain kind of thought comes into being with the help of language. People also endow thoughts with certain modes, and then a kind of thinking form takes shape. Different national cultures possess

23、different ways of thinking, thinking properties and thinking stytles, which is the so called thinking difference. For example, oriental culture values imagery thinking, curve thinking, dialectical thinking, while western culture emphasizes abstract thinking, lineal thinking, form thinking. If one ca

24、nt cross differences on ways of thinking, he may be confronted with nogotiating barriers.2.2 Means of language expression barrier of negotiatorsHall, an anthropologist, classified the society into high context society and low context society.In high context society, people of the same nation have li

25、ved together for a long period, and language is just part of information transmission. Nonverbal communication occupies a large proportion because of the acquintance of each other. Therefore, chinese negotiators always express their ideas indirectly and implicatively, rarely refuse or refute directl

26、y mthey regard harmony as the prerequisities of realizing the value, and pursue permanent friendship and long-term cooperation. In sharp contrast, communication in European and American culture is low context. Due to the communication difficulties caused by long-term immigration and mutual blending,

27、 the clarity and directness of language expression are particularly important.2.3 Business values barrier of negotiatorsAmong numerous cultural factors, values is part of the core. Values is permanant, stable and commomly accepted by society members. As a deep factor of cultural structure, values is

28、 not only part of social culture, but also the result of long-term penetration and accumulation of social and cultural factors in peoples heart. It continuously affects peoples attitude, needs and behaviors. Values differs greatly in different cultures.It is generally believed that collectivism is i

29、deological core of oriental culture, while individualism is the backbone of western culture. The ideas of independence, egoism and practical action are very popular in western countries. They advocate self-struggle and individualism. They are humourous, and values reality, self and practical action,

30、 while chinese people pay more attention to collectivism and collective responsibilities and ethics. “Acquintances” and “relationship” have their special connotation and meaning.2.4. Case study of international business negotiation barrier A Brazilian company went to America to purchase equipment. T

31、he negotiation was delayed by members of Brizilian negotiating group who went shopping and are 45minutes late.The U.S. representatives are extremely dissatisfied, and took a long time to accuse the Brazilian representatives of not abiding by the time and no credit. They announced that if this contin

32、ued, further cooperation would be impossible. To them, wasting time is wasting money and resources. The Bralian representatives knew it was their fault, and had to keep apologizing for this. After the negotiation began, It seemed that American representatives still hold the grudge, which made the Br

33、azilian representatives panicky, and always passive. The brazilian representatives who had mo mood to bargain with the American representatives and didnt carefully consider the requests put forward by the American representatives signed the contract hurridely.After the contract was signed, the Brail

34、ian representatives camled down, and found that they suffered a major loss, but it was too late. This is the use of the critical start-stytle strategy, through which one party make the counterparty feel guilty by strictly cyiticizing the counterpartys certain fault or etiquette mistakes in order to

35、force the counterparty to give in. In this case, American representatives succesfully made use of the critical start-stytle strategy, which forced the brazilian representatives to hurriedly sign the contract which was favourable for the U.S. side.But at the same time it should also be noted that it

36、was an international business negotiation which showed us the difference on the concept of time betwwen the two negotiators.III. Analysis of the reason of the emergence of cultural barrier in international business negotiations with the emergency of more and more international trades and the continu

37、ous deepening of the globalisation, business activities between people from different cultural backgrounds become increasingly frequent. Therefore, the issue of cultural barrier in international business negotiation has gained more and more attention.In monoculture , negotiating proccess is foreseea

38、ble and can be accurately controlled. However, cross-cultural negotiation possesses the property of uncertainty and is full of challenge, because cross-cultural negotiation is performed between different ways of thinking, communicating methods and behaviors. The main reason of the failure of cross-c

39、ultural negotiation lies in the lack of understanding of each others cultural background and the ingnorance of the influnence that cultural difference has on negotiation. Next, we will further analyze the reasons of the failure of business negotiayion according to the case below. .3.1 Difference on

40、interpersonal communicating ideas Chinese people focus on establishing long-term cooperation instead of the negotiating subject. Thus, on the first stage of negotiation, the nogotiating content involves in wide subjects and social activities. The subject will not be talked about until mutual trust i

41、s eatablished and the two parties kown more about each other. While westerners focus on the details and the trade, not on interpersonal relationship.Oriental people represented by chinese lay much empahsis on feelings and human relationship in interpersonal communication, which derives from chinas t

42、raditional culture and the concept of harmony, friendly exchanges, unity to work and cooperation and mutual benefits. Such kind of attitude and interpersonal relationship are favourable for further cooperation of the two sides, and for businessmen , is helpful for the success of the transaction. Fro

43、m this respect, this concept and action is beneficial. This is also why chineses people are always courtesy first and chiese businessmen often fete the other side before the neogotiation.Rinnell Davis said , “In the banquet, people often talk about food, and exchange some formal, respectful and frie

44、ndly words. From the view of people in low context culture, what people talk about is not related to themselves, and doesnt contain any information. People just confrom to a series of etiquette more accurately than on other occasions, including toasting each other, and at the same time, speaking som

45、e polite formula which match the correlation and the situation .Talking is joyful and relaxing.” “The contract belongs to low contxt culture. For westerners, the meaning of the contract lies in the words. Before signing a contract, a westerner will probably proofread all the small print, which means

46、 he will pay close attention to all the details of the contract to ensure none of the unfavorouble conditions are concealed in the legal items, used for composing the contract. Once accepted, the contract will firmly bind on both of the two parties. Even something unexpected happens, the contract ca

47、n not be violated. For example, if the market conditions change and either side suffers losses caused by this ,the party from low context culture wont regard it reasonable to modify the contract. This seems unfair for those from high context culture, who are used to taking the situations into consid

48、eration. If a westerner gains unexpected benefits from the contract, he will consider it as good luck. Instead, if he losses, he will think he is unlucky.“If the contracting parties have any dispute, communicators from low context culture will try their best to settle the disputes according to the i

49、tems in the contract, while communicators from high context culture who consider the context is more important than the contract items, will pay attention to the Public Relation and the context beyond the items in the contract. Above all, it is clear that westerners who pay much attention on the law

50、 and chinese people who emphasize human relationship differ greatly on handling mutual relationships and disputes. Of course, we should also notice that with the deepening of reform and opening up of recent years and the continuous developpement of the society people are trying to remove harmful and

51、 extreme attitudes and actions.3.2 Difference on the concept of time between westerners and easterners In history, westerners are first to enter the era of industrialization, so their science and technology and economy are more advanced. So far, their productivity has been rapidly improved.Every min

52、tue means the invention of new product, the produce of new value. Fast work and life rhythm caused by this make them deeply feel that“time is money”. The endless and maximum extent pursuit of profit is their goal, and because of this they must save every second and minute to create the maximum value

53、. Hence, they value time, seriously make plan and arrangement and quite puctual. However, in oriental countries where science and technology and economy are relatively backward the production and life rhythm are slow because of their small-scale peasant economy, eapecially their emphasis on form and

54、 etiquette. Thus, they lay far less emphasis on time than westerners, and the concept of puctuality is rather poor. The appointments, plan and arrangement often change at will. Smovar commented,“when people from different cultural backgrounds come together, the application of the concept of time and

55、 practice are rather important. Most people from western culture look at the time based on linear space. We are restrained by time. Our schedules and dominate our lives. German people and swiss lay more emphasis on time than we do. For them. The train, plane and three meals of a day must be punctual

56、. But it is not the case in many cultures. They think that it is activities not clocks that determine peoples action.3.3 Difference on the concept of values between westerners and oriental people Westerners particularly respect individualism, which derives from the concep of private owmership of mea

57、ns of production and property based on capitalism. Samovar, an American scholar, said,“more than half of the people from certain African countries or regions, cuba and china may think that enterprises and means of production should be collectively possessed by the country or people. On the other han

58、d, some people born in America or Canada always think that the means of production belongs to the proprietor. ” In capitalist society, to earn the maximum amount of property and money is the goal of most people. Therefore, the self-centered “individualism” gradually take shape. In the eyes of westerners, individualism which stresses on personal initiative, independence, the expression of personal desire and personal privacy refers to such kind of creed, that is, personal interests is supreme, and all values, right and duties derive from the individual. In western coun