International Business Chapter 3 Homework Some general culture-based tendencies exist that can distinguish how groups of people tend to handle conflict

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International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 3 Page 12

International managers need a good understanding of the basic causes of conflict.

Language difficulties are one major contributor to conflict. Differing cultural

norms may give rise to conflict, especially when each side lacks an appreciation

or understanding of the other’s frame of reference. The decision-making approach

that a firm uses is another potential source of conflict. Firms may experience

C. Approaches to conflict

An additional and important cause of conflict is the propensity for individuals in a

given culture to be involved with conflict in the first place. Some cultures go to

great lengths to avoid friction between individuals and groups whereas others

approach conflict head-on. In Table 3.6, features about conflict that are common

within five different countries are presented, but these are general tendencies. As

in most cultures and countries, there is a great degree of variation among people.

II. Managing Conflict Effectively: Stylistic Differences Across Culture

If conflict is inevitable in international business, how can it be managed effectively to

minimize the damage or to capitalize on the benefits of confronting opposing

interests? There is much research on how people react to conflict once it occurs.

A. Conflict styles

1. Cooperativeness – which refers to your degree of concern about outcomes that

others might receive

2. Assertiveness – your degree of concern for outcomes that you might receive

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training to be able to react differently to conflict. Research also shows that even

within a culture, there are differences among individuals in conflict preference.

B. Culture-specific use of styles

Some general culture-based tendencies exist that can distinguish how groups of

people tend to handle conflict. It appears that many Americans like a good

argument while the Japanese are not fond of open conflict. It is reasonable to

conclude that Americans tend toward the competitive conflict management style

while Japanese tend to fall in the avoidance area shown in Table 3.7, but these

generalizations might not apply to individual American or Japanese.

C. Meaning of conflict

Avoidance could mean different things in individual and collective cultures. In

collective cultures a high concern for others often drives the preference for

avoidance, whereas in individual cultures avoidance is believed to reflect low

concern with others (see cooperativeness dimension in Table 3.7.

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D. Parties to conflict situations

Experts point out that conflict preferences may vary depending on who is party to

the conflict. Some might be surprised to hear that managers from Turkey and

Jordan tend to use a general conflict handling style that is not all that different

from their American counterparts. This preference for a competitive style changes

however, when peers become involved. Then, the Turkish and Jordanian

managers tend to avoid conflict. With their subordinates, they take a much more

III. The Role of Face in Conflict Prevention and Reactions

A. What is “face”?

The concept of “face” is closely related to the contrasting issues of interpersonal

conflict on the one hand and decorum among people on the other. Face has much

to do with the need to obtain and maintain both self-respect and the respect of

There are many ways that face can be lost, including inflicting personal insult

(intentional or not), forcing unnecessary concessions, highlighting a failure,

mocking cultural values, and damaging a relationship that has been cultivated

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B. Social complexities of face

C. Practical advice about face

Overall, research paints a more complex picture of what face is and how to give,

get and keep it. This makes applying these concepts a daunting task in practice,

especially for Westerners not used to doing business in Asia. Fortunately, experts

have provided some general suggestions to keep in mind when navigating around

problems with face in conflict and negotiation situations.

• Frankness in Asia is almost always rudeness; subtler, high-context

communication is the norm.

• Compliment but never criticize; even if presented with a situation in which

a critique or honest negative opinion is seemingly required, stay as

positive as possible.

IV. Other Responses to Conflict

What other reactions could people have when conflict arises? If the conflict is

egregious enough, people might hold a grudge and look for ways to strike back at one

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Instead of getting even, as just described, one might try to involve a third party to

resolve a conflict that has come out into the open.

The issue of traditional values raises larger questions such as whether the likelihood

of seeking out third parties or mediators is more likely in individualist cultures as

opposed to collective-type cultures. Given the attention paid to referees and umpires

in professional sports in many Western countries, and the well-documented tendency

for collective cultures to underplay conflict; would we expect people in Eastern

cultures, to bring more attention to conflict by involving external, third parties?

UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION

Negotiation is one of the best ways to avoid conflict or keep it to a minimum. Negotiation is the

process of communicating back and forth with another person or group with the explicit purpose

of working toward a joint decision or agreement about a particular issue or dispute. All

negotiations have three key elements:

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• several sides (two or more) are involved

I. Approaches to Negotiating

Because negotiation is so common in international business, it is a heavily researched

topic. Approaches can be classified into one of two well-established perspectives.

A. The Macro Strategic Approach – focuses on how negotiation outcomes are

affected by larger, strategic issues, such as the relative bargaining power of the

parties involved in the situation.

The accompanying Global Innovations box, applies the low (LC) and high context

(HC) concepts introduced earlier in this chapter to this important topic.

It is important to recognize that negotiation is a fairly elaborate process. A more

common, but incorrect, view of the essence of negotiation is that it is really all about

the jockeying back and forth across a conference table, the result being an agreement

II. International Negotiation: A Four Stage Process

Many experts believe that negotiation involves a regular sequence of actions. And,

while there is professional disagreement about the number of stages involved and

what happens in each stage, one popular model divides the process into four main

phases.

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A. Stage 1: Nontask Sounding – efforts to establish a rapport with one’s business

partner and to get to know them better. One important variable is the amount of

time spent on this stage. Interactions during this stage are not directly related to

B. Stage 2: Task-Related Exchange – involves the task-related exchange of

information. Interactions here commonly entail an exchange of the parties’ needs

and preferences and are often accompanied by clarification of background issues

relevant to the negotiation. Low Context negotiators (Americans) often give

C. Stage 3: Persuasion – involves explicit attempts to modify each other’s positions.

To Americans, this is the most important step in the negotiating process and one

that a lot of LC negotiators see at the heart of negotiation. In the persuasion stage,

an LC negotiator is now ready to “lay the cards on the table” (another sign that

this is where they believe the real negotiation takes place).

Americans often give and expect to receive in return, frank information during

this stage of negotiations. Research has shown that Americans often believe that

the ideal position for both parties should be put on the table. Then, progress can

be made—often on an issue-by-issue basis and toward some kind of compromise.

Consider the amount of time spent at this stage – LC negotiators expect to spend

much more time here than their HC counterparts. This may be one reason they

view the earlier stages as digressive and not of direct value. Other cultures, such

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as the Japanese, take the time to sound each other out earlier and therefore they

spend relatively less time engaging in the kind of overt persuasion that many

Americans are used to. In some cases, it just may not be necessary because of the

time spent earlier.

Table 3.9 presents some elements of what might be considered the stereotypic

American negotiating style. Many are relevant to the persuasion phase, but they

can also operate in the other stages. The prototypical American style is that of the

frontiersman or cowboy in the old West.

D. Stage 4: Agreement – negotiations result in an agreement being reached. In most

all cultures, an agreement is only as good as the follow through. All the

considerable time and effort invested in the previous three stages could be wasted

if both parties do not behave in ways that are consistent with the agreement.

Recognizing this fact, it is common for firms embracing a LC culture to insist that

An agreement is only good if it is kept. Whether other parties live up to their end

of the agreement depends, at least in part, on the potential long-term impact. This

impact, in turn, is determined by the trust in the other parties and satisfaction with

the agreement. Making sure the other party feels they also got a good deal,

therefore, pays off in the long run. Global competition is so fierce today, general

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principles are probably worth abiding by to communicate effectively and

negotiate a lasting agreement.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Communication is much more that the translation of language across people, although that is a

big an understudied topic in some countries/cultures. Spoken, written, and nonverbal

communication has many cultural roots and these were highlighted in the first third of this

Understanding conflict is important and can head off its occurrence in cross-cultural business

settings; yet if it is so common, prevention itself will not suffice. We need ways to reduce

conflict once it does raise its head. There are many different styles that people in a number of

cultures use to deal with conflict issues once they arise. An important way to avoid, or at least

minimize, conflict is through negotiation. A four-stage model was presented as a way to present

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. List and briefly explain as many negative aspects to cross-cultural conflict as you can think

of. Can you also think of some positive impacts of conflict that might result from cultural

interaction?

2. How might each of the following characteristically deal with conflict? What is the typical

style of each, and what are the parts of the style that might rub the other cultures the wrong

way?

• Asians

3. What would you guess is the perceived order of importance of each of the four stages of

negotiation for the following:

• an American

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• a Mexican

• a Saudi

See Tables 3.5 and 3.6

4. If you have traveled to a foreign country, try to determine the typical style in that country—

what stages might be emphasized there?

CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

DEVELOPING YOUR INTERNATIONAL CAREER – Researching a Foreign

Language

BOXED FEATURES

CULTURE CLASH – What’s in a Word across Cultures?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Table 3.1 –

Table 3.2 –

Table 3.3 –

Table 3.4 –