论文总字数：32015字

摘 要

经济环境越来越全球化，商务谈判在贸易中的变得更重要。然而中美双方来自不同的文化背景，所以他们的价值观，思维方式等都不同.所以了解中美谈判风格很重要。综合目前许多学者对影响商务谈判风格成因的研究成果，本文介绍了人们对商务谈判的观点，以及中美不同的商务谈判风格，从集体主义与非集体主义，面子文化，语言和非语言行为三个方面分析了形成商务谈判风格的原因。并采用案例来加以分析。最后，本文提供了相关的策略，以及彰显了在商务谈判前了解对手谈判风格的重要性。

关键词：中美谈判风格；原因；商务谈判；策略

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

3. Styles of Business Negotiation between China and America 3

3.1 The characteristics of American merchants in negotiation 5

3.2 The characteristics of Chinese merchants in negotiation 6

4. Cultural Causes of Different Styles 6

4.1 Collectivism and Individualism 6

4.2 Face culture 8

4.3 Verbal behavior and non-verbal behavior 10

5. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

With the development of economic globalization, business negotiation is becoming more and more important for trade among countries. Business negotiation is a process in which different economic entities communicate; cooperate; compromise with each other for their own interests or meeting the need of their opponents. The people of the world have formed their own unique cultural traditions and cultural patterns because of their specific history and region. Therefore, people under different cultural backgrounds have different business negotiation styles. Their values, ways of thinking and behavior, modes of communication, language and customs are different. Therefore, the strategies and styles of both parties are different. At present, the relation between China and the United States is becoming much closer. However, sometimes we cannot come into an agreement. That is because merchants from America and China have different negotiating styles. Every negotiation takes a lot of energy, time and money, especially international business negotiations. As a result, once negotiations begin, economic agents expect to achieve their stated goals and gain higher benefits. However, it is not enough to merely have the goal and sincerity. There are many factors that affect the success of negotiation. Therefore, we should analyze the causes and be familiar with all kinds of business activities. If all of these have been done, we must achieve an agreement in the business negotiation.

This thesis introduces the different business negotiating styles between China and the United States, and then analyzes the reasons of the formation of business negotiation style from collectivism and individualism, face culture, verbal and non-verbal behaviors. This thesis also offers the relevant strategies.

2. Literature Review

Because the business environment is becoming more and more global, many business negotiations take place in a cross-cultural environment. At this time, it is not enough to understand foreign languages, but also need to understand the differences between different cultures and their own values and norms of conduction. Therefore, we must pay attention to the cultural differences among parties in business negotiation.

Among the factors affecting cultural differences, verbal and nonverbal behavior, values and modes of thinking are the three main factors. Hu Xuan and Zhang Weiwei believe that there is a close relationship between the language and the culture. The differences between different cultures have obvious constraints on the negotiation language in cross-cultural communication. They also analyzed the influence factors of values deeply and concluded that the difference of values has great influence on the behavior of international business negotiation. The influence is mainly caused by misunderstanding different concepts of objectivity, equality and punctuality. And from another angle---the cultural ethics angle, they think the value of culture ethics exist in such forms, the religion, the morals, the esthetic, the science and so on.(Huamp;Zhang 29-30)

Gao Faqun analyzes the differences in time, values and thinking patterns. He illustrates the differences between Chinese and Americans in these three aspects. The oriental view of time of people in the east is not the same as that of the west. People in the east view time as continuous while people in the west think quite opposite. People in the east stress collectivism while people in the west stress individualism. What’s more, the way of thinking of people in the east tends to be synthetic, graphic, curvilinear, while Americans’ are analytical, abstract, and straight.(Gao 37-38)

Ding Xiaoyang and Xu Runong analyze the cultural differences and their causes. They explain the cultural differences from the angle of economic differences, regional differences, ethnic differences and religious differences. They also emphasize the importance of cultural differences on business negotiation. In addition to the analysis of the three major cultural differences, the author thinks that the negotiation style also affects the business negotiation. The negotiation style is embodied in the behavior and means of controlling the negotiation process. The negotiation style has a deep cultural imprint. Culture not only determines the ethical norms of negotiators but also influences the negotiator"s thinking mode and individual behavior, which makes the negotiators under different cultural backgrounds form different negotiation styles.(Dingamp;Xu 21-23)

To a certain extent, cultural differences can hinder the success of international business negotiations. In their research on how to deal with cultural differences in international business negotiations, they put forward three aspects. We should make a good plan for negotiations. We should understand the situation of themselves and our negotiating opponents fully, including the national and cultural situation of other stakeholders. We should overcome communication barriers. When negotiating, we should be clear about our goals and be flexible to the situation. Last but not least, it is also important to master skills of business negotiation of different countries and regions. Under the guidance of the correct negotiation consciousness, the foreign negotiators must know the negotiating style of the negotiating opponents. Be flexible, appropriate to the case, so that we can develop international business negotiations in a self-friendly direction.

Gao Faqun proposed strategies to avoid the negative impact of cultural differences on international business negotiations. We should have the consciousness of cultural differences, acknowledge the cultural difference. We should understand and recognize the difference of different culture, and realize that we know ourselves and know our enemies. We should also respect the different behaviors of businessmen in different cultures and reduce unnecessary conflicts caused by disrespect for each other. The atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation should be established. The cultural differences should be narrowed slowly. The disadvantages should be turned into advantages. The purpose of avoiding conflicts and obstacles and promoting communication should be achieved step by step.(Gao 37-38)

In a word, intercultural communication must face cultural differences. Cultural differences also affect all aspects of international business. It is a difficult and complex task to avoid or solve the influence of these cultural differences on international business negotiation.

3.Styles of business negotiation between China and America

Business negotiation is a process in which different economic entities communicate; cooperate; compromise with each other for their own interests or meeting the need of their opponents. Business negotiation is also a process where economic entities can confirm the potential business opportunities. We should follow the principles of equality, mutual benefit and timeliness in the business negotiation process. At the same time, business negotiation is the main way for market to obtain information. What’s more, it is also one of the powerful methods to expand the market. Business negotiation is a method used by the buyer and seller to engage into a transaction or to solve the dispute. Both parties can obtain their own economic interests through business negotiation.

The people of the world have formed their own unique cultural traditions and cultural patterns because of their specific history and region. Therefore, people under different cultural backgrounds have different business negotiation styles. The negotiation style is the manner and style of the negotiator in the negotiation activity. The negotiation style is embodied in the negotiator"s behavior and the method of controlling the negotiation process.

Culture not only determines the ethical and moral norms of negotiators, but also affects their thinking mode and individual behavior, thus making negotiators under different cultural backgrounds form different negotiation styles. The style of negotiation has a direct influence on the result of negotiation. In the course of a business negotiation, the negotiator must take effective measures according to the specific negotiation content and negotiation style of the opponents. Because the negotiators come from different countries and regions, their negotiation styles must be different. Therefore, we should know some information about the negotiation opponents and have a preliminary understanding of their style before negotiation.

In the process of negotiation, we should observe and understand carefully to find out the style of different negotiation opponents. The views and strategies of negotiators on negotiation vary from culture to culture. Some people under this culture tend to view negotiation as a competition and have a strong aversion to compromise. Some people from a cultural background have a long-term view and prefer to sacrifice short-term profits for long-term gains. People from another cultural background, however, pay attention to short-term and instant benefits. They try to get the maximum benefit from the sale of one hammer. Culture also influences the structure of negotiations, but also has an impact on time and place of negotiation .The choice of location also tends to set a fixed negotiating agenda, while some cultures think that time is abundant and there is no need to follow it strictly. Culture also plays an important role in the negotiation process. Different cultures have different ways of dealing with problems. Some prefer linear mode while others prefer global mode. Some use more verbal communication while others focus on non-verbal communication. People in different backgrounds have different negotiation styles. Some pursue a contract while others seek to establish a relationship. Some want a detailed written contract, while others want only a general contractual framework.

3.1The characteristics of American merchants in business negotiation

The United States is an important trading partner of our country. Americans are our common adversaries in our daily international business negotiations.
　　There are 13 states in the east of America, with New York as the center. The economy, finance and trade are always in the leading position. The residents of the east are mainly Jews, especially New York City. So the Jews played a decisive role in the eastern economy. Jews like to bargain with each other in negotiation. The southern part of the country has a vast land. Both labor and natural resources are abundant. Southern people are more conservative, easy-going. They treat people sincerely. But some businessmen are more anxious , angry and sad. They value contracts and credit. Compared with other parts of the United States, the development of the western region is relatively late. The experience of trade is shallow, but the western part is rich in resource. There is plenty of money, so the Western market is a good choice to open up for America. People in the western part of America have a little experience of business, but their contracts are detailed, thorough and clear. They " re straight and friendly to talk to .In the negotiation process, they can make the decision quickly. They negotiate very seriously with the opponent and value the contract.

To Americans, being straightforward is a behavior to show respect for others. At the negotiating table, Americans are energetic and very quick to find the point. They tend to pursue their own interests. In their process of negotiation, they don’t need many discussions. They can make a decision quickly because each member of the negotiating group can represent the company.

3.2The characteristics of Chinese merchants in business negotiation

While in China, the Chinese rarely put forward own requirements and suggestions about products at the beginning of the negotiation. They always ask the opposite side to introduce the performance of their products. Chinese people will listen carefully to the ideas, views and suggestions about the transaction, but they seldom state their own opinions. Chinese let technical experts take part in the negotiation. Through the characteristics of competitors’ products, Chinese explore their own products.

The Chinese are intransigent in the principles. They are very stubborn in what they insist in. Chinese tend to talk about principles first then about details which is one of the most obvious features of the negotiating styles of China.(An 25-26).Chinese will be serious when they find the content of negotiation not suit the long-term objectives or the suggestions the opposite side puts forward not fit the present plan. At the same time, Chinese is very flexible in specific affairs. For example, when Chinese make efforts to reach a agreement on the framework of principles, they always tend to say when we reach the stage of the specific arrangements, anything can be done.

We can also find that the Chinese spend much longer time than Americans on making decision. Because of large scale of the group, each decision they made need discussing by many times.

4.Causes of Different Styles

4.1Collectivism and Individualism

Americans advocate individualism value and they are good at working independently. So the negotiating team of US is small. Due to the smaller number of negotiators, Americans avoid a lot of internal contradictions. As a result, the Americans generally can finish the negotiations in a short time. The value of American individualism is self reliant. As long as he is competent, he can become a member of the negotiating group and can represent his company with a certain degree of decision-making power. Therefore, the members of the negotiating group may not have senior executives within the company. However, they are all involved in negotiations including authoritative experts in this field. The U.S. negotiating team is more flexible at the executive level. The value of the Chinese people that is emphasized is collectivism. Therefore, the scale of Chinese negotiating group is large. The Chinese negotiating team includes more vertical administrative levels. The Chinese people value the collectivism. They pay attention to the whole. However, because of the restriction of the traditional culture, there is a strict grade distinction within the whole. Usually, a Chinese general manager is the leader of the negotiation team, who coordinates the interests between the members of the negotiation group. The other members of the negotiation group are experts in various fields.

In the case of Lenovo"s acquisition of IBMPC business, Lenovo first contacted with IBM in 2003. At first, there were only four or five members in Lenovo’s negotiating team. Ms. Ma Xuezheng, the executive director of the Legend Group Limited, senior vice president and chief financial officer, flew to the United States. Since then, the negotiations had entered into the formal stage. The Lenovo"s negotiating team has been expanding. Within Lenovo, all sectors were involved in the acquisition, including administration, supply chain, R amp; D, IT, patents, human resources, finance and so on. They have sent a team to track the negotiation process. Each group is composed of 3 to 4 employees and the total number is approaching 100. Outside the internal team, Lenovo also hired many professional companies to assist in negotiations. McKinsey served as a strategic consultant; Goldman served as an acquisition consultant; Ernst amp; young, PWC served as a financial consultant; Ogilvy served as a public relations consultant. In contrast, the number of US negotiating team is half of Chinese team. At the same time, it could be seen that a strong negotiation lineup may not lead to a success. When Chinese dealt with one or two businessmen, the large number of negotiation group might not respond to the case directly. For example, Lenovo wanted to buy manufacturing sector of IBM, but when they saw IBM’s contact with Foxconn, they postponed their plans. The conditions IBM put forward were very favorable. Some people think that this was a smoke bomb of IBM to attract the attention of Lenovo. However, another group of people think this was a good chance. It could greatly accelerate the pace of association"s internationalization. Later Lenovo put the negotiations down. They made many internal discussions, arguments and coordination. Lenovo finally decided to overthrow the plan which had been planned for the overall acquisition. As a result, the price problem was renegotiated, because the whole PC business involved many aspects. Therefore, the two sides had been stuck for six months on the price issue, which was why the negotiation time was up to 13 months.

4.2 Face culture

China and the United States have very different attitudes towards face, which is also an unavoidable issue in cultural communication between China and the United States. China"s business culture stresses face and advocates communicating effectively in a harmonious atmosphere. Face plays an important role in communication. As far as the Chinese are concerned, people have to deal with two major relationships. One is the relationship between man and nature, the other is the relationship between man and man. Western culture focuses on the relationship between man and nature, so their natural science is particularly developed. What Chinese people pay attention to is the relationship among people. If a Chinese can"t deal with interpersonal relationships and bad relationships, then he is difficult to be trusted by others or to make a living in society. In China, for example, bosses convey a concept to subordinates who make mistakes：“you smear the whole department” . Even if smearing is a personal fault, it will be considered as a collective loss of face. Losing face makes it difficult to set up an image in the company again. When a negotiator loses face, most Chinese negotiators find the situation awkward. They do not want to continue to talk or it is hard to talk something , while only a small number of U.S. negotiators find it embarrassing.

Face is important, but not necessary in American business culture. The meaning of American face concept is far less important than the Chinese understanding of face connotation. In fact, Americans prefer to replace the word “face” in other ways, such as image, self-respect, reputation, etc. In business negotiations, Americans can engage in profitable activities regardless of their personal or other faces. They can fight for their own benefit and they are at loggerheads. But in the eyes of Americans, people are people and things are business. Even if they have different opinions on negotiations even argue heatedly , they can still be friends after the business negotiation. Because Americans are task-oriented to defend themselves in business negotiations. In the eyes of the Chinese people, there is an unscrupulous way of doing things for the purpose of interest, which is quite different from the thinking of the Chinese people who buy and sell without benevolence and righteousness. In short, face in the eyes of Americans is more self-centered to their own advantage as the basic principle.

Because of Confucianism, the root of China"s ideological and cultural origin, Chinese emphasize the integrity of the universe and the good interpersonal relationship. Thus, Chinese avoid direct competition. On the contrary, Influenced by the culture of individualism, Americans have a strong sense of self - awareness and their more emphasis is through competition to solve the problem. Because American culture emphasizes individualism and competition and it does not abide by stereotypes. The pursuit of freedom of speech and the affirmation of self confidence are bound to be encouraged. American negotiators usually convey their information in a more direct and more confident way, while Chinese people always try to avoid conflict and prefer a gentle way to save face. The following two cases illustrate the conflict between direct suggestions and face saving. The first case failed to solve the problem, and the second cases were successful.

Bob, a 32 year old sales expert, who visited China for the first time, negotiated a joint venture with a state-owned company in Shanghai. On the fourth day of the talks, the two sides discussed the value of the equipment for about $7.5 million. On one point, the Americans could see that the Chinese side did not understand the term "FOB" obviously, so the Americans were less valuable for its solid contribution to the project. To eliminate this misunderstanding, Bob said to a senior engineer of China, 55 years old, “Mr. Li, I don"t think you understand what we mean, let me explain it to you briefly”. After correcting his opponent"s mistakes fluently, Bob expected to continue their previous negotiation process. But to his surprise, the representatives of Chinese party suddenly lost interest in the agenda. They postponed the talks and did not set a specific date for the next talk.

Another case was that the Chinese negotiator insisted that there were some problems about technology in the project . The American negotiator did not fight back at that time. But when he got back to the hotel, he called the headquarters and asked the people in charge of Bangkok to check the situation. Finally it turned out that there was nothing wrong with it. On the second day, in a private meeting, after dinner, the American negotiator told the Chinese manager that his statement was correct. The American negotiator didn"t say anything at previous meeting, which avoided embarrassment. The American gave the Chinese negotiator a phone call from one of our managers and asked him to inquire the matter by himself. Since then, the Chinese negotiator became very friendly and the two sides soon reached an agreement.

In the first case, the young American negotiator did not realize that his behavior which pointed out shortcomings publicly insulted the senior engineer. In China, direct criticism is regarded as unfriendly behavior, especially direct criticisms to the top leaders of the company. The leaders do not want to be questioned and corrected in public. Although what the young American negotiator did was to make both sides more clear about things, but he had made Chinese senior engineer lost face. However, in the second case, the young American negotiator was very clever to deal with the charges. There was no loss of the face of the Chinese manager and his behavior could certainly win the trust of the Chinese government.

4.3 Verbal and non-verbal behavior

Through verbal and non-verbal comparison, we can understand the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Having a deeper understanding of both cultures can help us to understand the influence of the two languages. The United States is a typical low context language country, in which a lot of information is conveyed in a clear and specific way. Because of the long-term position in international trade, the economic strength as well as the negotiation skills of America are adroit. The negotiated language is obviously resistant and the tone is clear. These are typical characteristics of the descendants of European immigrants with a pioneering spirit and a strong desire for survival. While China is a typical of high context language culture. Non-verbal communication and indirect expression in high context culture are important factors for transmitting and understanding information. Body language is widely used to communicate, such as the use of eyes, appearance, tone, position, distance, environment and other non-verbal factors. It is necessary to understand the differences in the use of the Chinese and American languages, to understand the true meaning of the words and the meaning of the words between the lines. In addition, Chinese people are mild and often use the nonverbal behavior of silence. When we think about a problem or disagree with a certain clause, sometimes we don"t say "NO" directly and often use silence instead of showing disrespect for others. The American negotiators advocate a clear, frank, direct way to communicate. They speak clearly and tend not to be ambiguous. They will want what he needs bluntly.

Americans have a negative view of the silence and regard silence as a refusal. People usually think of laughter as happy, while the Chinese sometimes use laughter to show their helplessness and disapproval. It is difficult for Americans to understand. Americans are used to saying "I don "t know" with their hands open and shrugging their shoulders, saying "don"t know." In the same way, Chinese people tend to shake their heads or swing their hands. Sometimes Chinese negotiators like to do this, but Americans do not understand their meaning and go into the misunderstandings. Thus, it can be seen that without a keen awareness of cross cultural communication, it will be confused and even misunderstood.

Nonverbal behavior is an important form of human communication because it can maintain and regulate the relationship. For example, in a case, the negotiation didn’t go smoothly for both sides had great differences of opinion on price. When they discussed about the price, the voices of the Chinese negotiator were too loud. This non-verbal behavior made the representatives of Malaysia think that the Chinese side did not respect them. Therefore, the negotiation broke down. It can be seen that understanding the habits of non-verbal behavior and taking relevant strategies can promote the process of the negotiation.

5. Conclusion

The inherent contradiction between Chinese and American culture is the main cause of friction. The mutual supplement of China and the United States in economic interests draws the two countries together, leading to a compromise between the two sides for cultural ambiguities. To solve the problems between China and the United States, we should have a good knowledge of styles of business negotiation. On the contrary, Chinese culture is very inclusive after five thousand years of history. So the two businessmen in business negotiations should be ready to work together. While the cultural differences between each country are the objective existence, we shouldn’t let the cultural differences be an obstacle to the trade between Chins and the United States. When people in cross cultural business negotiations, they should overcome all difficulties to work together to create an adaptation of both economic and cultural environment. In a word, because of the differences of cultures and customs between Chinese and American, the styles of negotiation at the negotiating table are very different. Therefore, the understanding of the differences in the style of negotiation between China and the United States will help us find a constructive communication channel. We should find the real reasons that lead to misunderstanding or opposition to each other and make full use of our advantages in style of negotiation to overcome some weaknesses. We should control the negotiation process actively and grasp the direction and progress of negotiations, so that we can finally win the negotiation.

Works Cited

Victor Gatbaum Simon amp; Schuster. Negotiating In The Real World"Getting The Deal That You Want" May 2000 ISBN: 0684865556

安冬风.《论中美文化差异对商务谈判的影响》.《商场现代化》，45 （2006）25-26

[An Dongfeng: “The Impact of Cultural Differences of China and America on Business Negotiation”. The Modernization of Market 45 (2006) 25-26]

丁晓洋,徐如浓.《论国际商务谈判中的文化差异问题》 .《中文企业家》,5 (2009)

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