Cultural Differences in Negotiation

Cultural differences and norms can affect a negotiation in many aspects. For example, when discussing cultural attitudes towards time in a negotiation it is said that Germans are punctual, Latins are habitually late, Japanese negotiate slowly, and Americans are quick to make a deal. This is just a small factor that comes into play when dealing with many different cultural norms in negotiation. Furthermore, if an American man is negotiating against a Japanese man, the American man want to adjust his culture tendencies of trying to end the negotiation quickly because the Japanese man can take that as sign of disrespect. These cultural norms can also transpire through direct or indirect communication, informal or formal personal style, emotion involved in negotiation, general or specific agreement forms, etc. These are just a few things to try to be cautious of when negotiating with different cultures and how to accommodate individual norms. 

Moreover, relating these cultural topics to personal experience can be demonstrated through this past week's negotiation, "Bacchus Winery." In this negotiation there were three parties being played, Bacchus Winery (Americans), Tokyo Saki (Japanese), and Serbian Steins & Stems (Serbian).  Each role had their own different cultural backgrounds and norms which gave them more “points” in the negotiation and different negotiation tactics. Bacchus Winery wanted to end the negotiation as fast as possible and close a deal quickly which captured its American backgrounds. Whereas Tokyo Saki wanted to speak to people of authority in each company and more of a managerial position as a sign of respect. Lastly, Serbian Steins & Stems wanted to speak to male figures of each company because it also showed a sign of respect, as well as, ensuring a serious partnership amongst a deal being made. Each party realized early on in the negotiation that we wanted to be as cooperative as possible since we are going into business together, however we still wanted to gain on our main interest while keeping cultural differences in mind.