International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Page 1
CHAPTER 3
MANAGING CONFLICT WITH EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
“He who speaks has no knowledge, and he who has knowledge does not speak.”
—Japanese proverb
“Nothing done with intelligence is done without speech.”
—Greek proverb
Chapter 3 presents a look at communication, conflict, and negotiation. After perceiving and
interpreting the behavior of others, you must then communicate your reactions and feelings
without causing conflict, especially if you communicate your dissatisfaction or negative
feelings/reactions. Cultures have characteristically different ways of dealing with conflict by
confronting it overtly, sweeping it under the run, or ignoring or avoiding it altogether. Conflict
CHAPTER REVIEW OUTLINE
COMMUNICATION IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
There are many ways communication savvy can pay dividends in international business – limited
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The reasons are complex and multi-faceted. Communication has a high value in the abstract;
however, in the heat of practice other things might get in the way. Experts point to another
Even when speaking the same language, one can hit cultural speed bumps. The examples
mentioned refer to cross-language problems, yet business interactions are regularly affected by
cultural background and experiences. This explains why mistakes – sometimes of consequence –
occur between nationals of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
I. Verbal/Spoken Communication
The single most important way humans communicate is through spoken and written
language.
A. Features of the world’s languages
Experts believe there are thousands of distinct languages currently spoken in the
world not including the even larger number of off-shoots or dialects of languages.
Most dialects are spoken by relatively few people and only about six percent of all
languages have more than one million speakers. More significantly, about ten
Table 3.1 provides data that address language impact more directly such as
several measures of impact, including the number of countries where a language
is spoken, and an interesting index of overall influence of a language. These data
show that English has a wide impact across the globe. Research shows that about
30% of all Internet content is in English, 15% in Chinese, 9% in Spanish, and 8%
in Japanese. The preponderance of data across measures makes it clear that
English, French and Spanish are widely influential.
B. Speaking (and Not Speaking) Other Languages
1. Language challenges in business
The large number of languages across the globe presents several challenges to
international managers. While it is great to be fluent in a second (or third)
2. Americans and foreign languages
Americans speak relatively few second or third languages. About 80% of U.S.
households speak only English at home. Some say Americans’ lack of interest
in other languages is because the U.S. is relatively isolated geographically and
3. Global impact of English
One factor that has made it easy for Americans to be complacent about being
monolingual is that the rest of the world uses English increasingly in business
interactions. English is the language for international air traffic, regardless of
city of departure or arrival; it is the most common language on the Internet;
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a. The sheer size of the American economy and the global reach of U.S.
multinationals has effectively made using English “good business sense.”
d. English is fairly simple grammatically, and consequently makes for a
relatively easy “common tongue” to use in international business.
English has been impactful within global commerce for decades and is the
most popular second language in Europe, Africa, Japan, and China, among
other places. It is probably no exaggeration to consider English the language
of international business – lingua franca. This global trend seems likely to
continue. (See Global Innovations)
4. Communicating in foreign languages: plenty of room for error
Lack of foreign language skills is a disadvantage in international business. But
assuming that you speak Mandarin, English, and/or Russian, your problems
are far from over. Even with great proficiency, many problems can arise in
verbal communication and because of these challenges, international
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Most of the mistakes in Table 3.2 happened despite the time that the
communicators had taken to think through and to prepare messages. Imagine
the mistakes that could be made in ‘real–time’ communications where
preparation is sketchy and discussions are more spontaneous. Personal
communication such as this is likely to produce more problems.
Some researchers have suggested that language might be a good indicator of
underlying cultural values, such as individualism or collectivism. In a study of
39 languages spoken in over 70 cultures, it was found that when the main
language permits pronouns to be dropped, those countries were much more
likely to be individualistic. This effect was replicated in a later study in which
the researchers also showed that “pronoun drop” improved the ability to
predict the degree of individualism-collectivism of a country. Dropping
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5. Forms of verbal communication
Table 3.3, compares various forms of verbal communications between most
individualistic vs. collectivist cultures by presenting various communication
situations that people commonly encounter. One way to gain better cross-
The opposite of compliments are criticisms, and as shown in Table 3.3,
differences across cultures are also apparent. The need for group harmony in
collectivist cultures impacts how people deliver critical comments. Direct
criticism, such as insults, seems to be tied to culture. People in individualistic
cultures focus insults on the other person (e.g., “You are stupid,” “I hope your
project fails.”), whereas insults in collective cultures brought other
considerations to the insult (“I wish a financial failure on you and your firm”).
Criticism is delivered less frequently in collective cultures. Causing someone
to lose face in this manner is something that is to be avoided.
One lesson to take from this effect and the others is that international
companies should help employees understand that the type of apologies and
explanations provided by people are driven by culture-specific attitudes.
Managers who fail to adjust communication strategies risk provoking conflict
and creating misunderstandings in cross-cultural situations such as daily
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teamwork, regular interactions with employees and clients, and performance
appraisals.
How well are apologies accepted? Are people commonly forgiven? One study
looked at views of forgiveness in the Congo vs. France and found that
willingness to forgive was more common in the Congo (collectivist culture)
II. Written Communication
Although traditional writing has declined in importance, one way to avoid potential
language misunderstandings is to communicate in writing. Writers should seek
writing and language expertise to carefully craft a message by monitoring its content
and related processes, especially for electronically delivered messages
A. Electronically delivered messages
Electronic communication of many kinds, including greatly improved
B. Using new forms of technology in written communications
Researchers have found that students vary in their willingness to experiment with
technology. Those from the high uncertainty avoidance countries of Hofstede’s
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III. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the transmission of messages without the use of words
or writing. This is a recognition that beyond what is being said; often how it is said
A. Interpersonal space, touch, and gestures
One important nonverbal behavior is the amount of physical space that we prefer
to have between us and others in social interaction, referred to as “personal space”
by most researchers. It is important to understand that cross-cultural messages are
While we have characterized space as a choice, it is often done automatically,
based on little or no thought. Gestures are usually more direct and deliberate, and
designed to amplify a message. Thus, gestures serve as a separate form of
communication by themselves, even if they become automatic over time.
Examples include a shoulder shrug, a thumbs-up sign, a head nod. Native
speakers can rapidly size up these valuable signals and their meaning, but such
signals are a much greater challenge for second-language speakers.
B. Emotions and touch
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of emotions can act as clues to one’s origins. This suggests that faint nonverbal
accents communicate features about us to others.
C. Context
While nonverbal behavior can provide background for understanding what
someone is communicating, an even more subtle form of influence on perception
is due to context. Almost all evaluations occur within some kind of context. Table
3.4 shows how some countries differ in their general reliance on context. In low-
context cultures, like in the U.S. or Australia, interpretation of people and
behavior importantly depends on what is actually said or written. These messages
are often precise, with the words themselves carrying most of the real message,
with silence being uncomfortable and great attention to details and clarification.
Table 3.4 also shows countries that are relatively high context cultures. Context
In low-context cultures such as Germany and the U.S., people tend to rely on
written communication because that medium allows for a permanent and explicit
record of a message. In high-context cultures such as Japan, however, people may
prefer verbal and face-to-face communications because these modes are more
dynamic and allow for greater subtlety than written messages. Experts warn that
international managers need to understand many Japanese are reluctant to
communicate via letters.
Whether we are writing or not, context affects our communication style. There are
many examples of firms using this understanding of context to their benefit, one
being a well-crafted advertisement by the Chinese detergent producer Nice. Their
In a low-context culture it is less common to use these nonverbal features –
mostly because it is wise not to “beat around the bush.” Communication will be
more effective if concrete, specific and logical statements are made. Due to these
contrasting approaches, it is rare to see a message that simultaneously
communicates well to both cultures.
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CONFLICT IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
It is probably fair to say that there has always been conflict among people—and most likely, that
there always will be. If it is, we should recognize this and prepare for it, starting with an
I. Causes of Conflict
While conflict often results in violent interactions throughout human history, there are
also many examples of successful resolution of conflict, offering hope for all of us.
A. Cross- cultural conflict
Not all conflict is bad, though it may prove challenging and though some cultures
try to avoid it. Sometimes conflict helps focus people’s attention on getting things
done. Conflict between environmental groups and multinationals has acted to
increase awareness of sustainability around the world and has built “green”
business opportunities. Confrontations between social responsibility advocates
and business interests have also improved working conditions in developing
countries. While disagreement can be uncomfortable on a personal level, it also
leads to better understanding in some instances. Most performance reviews are
two-way, with employees providing input the rounds out a manager’s evaluation.
Conflict often results in better reviews and better performance in the future.
B. Understanding sources of conflict