Negotiation and Intercultural Communication

Running head: NEGOTIATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Negotiation and Intercultural Communication
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1NEGOTIATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Introduction
As opined by Martin (2015), internationalisation or global business expansion had
become the norm of the contemporary business world and the different business firms are
increasingly resorting to the process of expansion into the business markets of diverse
emerging nations in order to attain a higher amount of profit. Martin and Nakayama (2015)
are of the viewpoint that the business firms which are taking the help of the process of
internationalisation need to take into effective consideration the factor of national culture for
their business operations in the host nations. More importantly, another important trend
within the contemporary business world is the fact that the firms in order to enter into the
business markets of diverse emerging nations are resorting to the usage of the method of
collaboration (Liddicoat 2016). However, it is seen that in order to form effective
collaborations the firms need to use the process of negotiation and also take into account the
different elements of the national cultures of the nation to which the concerned firm belongs
so as to attain the desired results (Hua 2015). This paper will analyse the process of
negotiation and also the role that the factor of intercultural communication plays within the
same in the particular context of the case study “Negotiating the Climate”.
Negotiation and Intercultural Communication
Ting-Toomey and Dorjee (2018) have articulated the viewpoint that negotiation can
be described as a discussion between two individuals or a group of people which is intended
to resolve certain issues or to attain some intended objectives or goals. On the other hand,
Martin and Nakayama (2015) have stated that negotiation is the process through diverging
opinions or positions can be combined to get a joint agreement “under a decision rule of
unanimity”. More importantly, in the majority of the cases it is seen that the conflicting
parties or the individuals who are involved in the process of negotiation outline their demands

2NEGOTIATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
or the intended results that they want and on the basis of these demands or intended results
the entire process is being conducted (Ting-Toomey 2017). In addition to this, it is seen that
the element of culture plays a pivotal role in the process of negotiation and the problem arises
when the parties which are involved in the process of negotiation are not from the same
cultural background (Ting-Toomey 2015). In this regard, Oetzel (2017) is of the viewpoint
that the process of intercultural communication when individuals involved in a process of
communication or discussion or negotiation hail from different cultural backgrounds.
Furthermore, it is seen that the style of conducting business in different nations is directly
dependent on the national culture of that nation and thus because of the difference in the
national cultures of the diverse nations the business style followed by them also varies
(Collier 2015). This in turn also affects the manner in which negotiation is being conducted in
these nations and the business firms during the process of negotiation are required to take into
account the entity of national culture.
Reasons for the failure of the negotiation
A critical analysis of the negotiation process which is being adopted by the employees
of the American company, Videomart, in the case study “Negotiating the Climate”, for
negotiating with the employees of the Japanese company, Osatech, reveals that there were
several reasons which ultimately lead to the failure of the entire process itself. Martin and
Nakayama (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that one of the most basic aspects of the
process of negotiation is that the parties involved in the process should begin with a clear set
of objectives or agendas that they want to achieve. However, in the particular context of the
negotiation meeting under discussion here it is seen that the employees of the organisation
Videomart merely want to seal the collaboration deal with the Japanese company, Osatech
without outlining the detail plan through which the collaboration can be attained. More
importantly, it is seen that they have no idea whether the Japanese company even wants to