NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT1
Dealing with a conflict situation is never easy, especially when you are not prepared for
it. The only way out of a conflict based scenario is tactful negotiation (Groves et al. 2015). This
is something that I found to be true recently when I clashed with someone at the supermarket
over cultural differences, a situation that was both embarrassing and a learning experience for me
at the same given time. In this assignment I shall explain the situation in detail and will also
outline some of the negotiation methods that I took recourse to in order to navigate my way out
of the situation.
To be precise, one day while shopping at the supermarket for groceries, I heard someone
talking in a very loud manner over the phone, and in a language that appeared to be alien to me.
The sound was jarring to my ears and it was disturbing me beyond belief. I was looking through
the counter that contained shampoos of various sorts and was examining a particular bottle of
shampoo when I decided to put the bottle down and locate the source of the conversation, that is,
where in the store it appeared to be coming from. Within five minutes, I discovered that it was a
person who was standing in the aisle right behind the one that I was at. It was a Chinese man
who was talking on the phone and who appeared to be having the conversation in his native
language. I approached the gentleman and tapped him on the shoulder once or twice but he
appeared not to notice me nor take any cognizance of my presence. Since he was ignoring me for
the most part and was continuing with the conversation in a loud and disturbing manner, I
decided to rap on his shoulders a little roughly in order to get his attention. While I admit that
touching him in the given situation was not an appropriate thing to do, I was left with little
choice. To my alarm then the man hung up, looked me straight in the eye and spoke in fluent
English, asking me why I was harassing him. I politely explained to him that to touch him and
supposedly harass him was not my intention but that he was disturbing me and many others at

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Negotiation – Cultural Conflict

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