Mt302 Unit 7

Unit 7 Assignment

MT302-03

Professor Janice Baldon-Gutter

The main thing in negotiations is that both parties settle on an agreement and leave satisfied. The last thing you want to do before negotiations start is insult someone because you don’t fully understand their culture and have the whole negotiation process derailed over a miscommunication. The best possible solution is to research the culture of the country that you will be negotiating with and be sure to make mental notes on the do’s and don’ts to possibly avoid that outcome.

There are a few key elements to stick to when negotiating. Be sure to make eye contact with the persons you would be negotiating with; In America eye contact is a sign of confidence, but in countries such as China or Japan making eye contact for too long could be taken as an insult or rude. Being direct is not always construed as being professional; in cultures like Japan it is taken as being pushy or to forward and could result in offending someone. In China it is very important if you’re having a dinner meeting to be sure not to finish all of the food on your plate or it could be taken as an insult to the Chef that you were not fed enough. The majority of the different cultures tend to negotiate in groups and make a group decision; however in America it is quite common for someone to negotiate alone. If a meeting is being held in Japan and one person shows up to negotiate it could be seen as unprofessionalism and unprepared because you do not have anyone to support or advise you on any decision making.

Another area of the negotiation process you may want to focus on is time and punctuality. Just about every different culture appreciates punctuality. Countries like Japan, Germany, and Australia view punctuality as a high importance, where countries like South Africa do not even work by time. Countries like Germany, Japan, and France like to be thorough and take their time when negotiating, while countries...