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How Cultural Differences Influence Negotiations and Negotiating Behaviour

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Introduction
International business is not just about nationalities, it is also about cultures. Cultures influence negotiation styles, values and communications. Image a situation where a Japanese supermarket manager negotiating with an American salmon supplier with their own negotiation styles: the Japanese negotiator want to extent the length of negotiation in order to seek the best result of the deal, but the American negotiator treats time as money and he/she wants to quickly reach the agreement (Evans & Richardson, 2010). This essay will firstly discuss the definitions of culture and negotiation, and then it will discuss cultural influence on negotiation and its behaviour; finally it will suggest possible strategies in addressing difficulties caused by cultural differences. This essay will argue that cultural impacts increase the difficulties of cross-culture negotiation, but negotiators can successfully manage the difficulties by increasing their knowledge of different cultures and continuously practise relevant strategies.

Culture
Culture is a term that can be explained in many different ways. According to Alon and Brett (2007), culture is a process of socialisation that people learn a shared pattern of behaviour and affective understandings. These patterns distinguish one group of people from another. Carrell, Shank and Barbero (2009) also state that culture is not physical elements but the perceptions that members consider them. People from the same culture usually perceive the tangible and intangible elements in a similar way. In addition, culture is defined by Damen (as cited in Farazmand, Tu, & Daneefard, 2011, p.40) that "learned and shared human patterns or models for living; day- to-day living patterns. These patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction. Culture is mankind's primary adaptive mechanism".

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