Negotiation: Cultural Conflict and a Supermarket Encounter Analysis

This report details a student's experience with a cultural conflict that arose during a supermarket visit. The student encountered a Chinese man speaking loudly on the phone, leading to a confrontation due to differing cultural norms regarding physical touch and interruption. The situation escalated, involving store authorities. The student navigated the conflict by prioritizing apology and adhering to principles, ultimately achieving a positive resolution. The report analyzes the negotiation methods employed, emphasizing the importance of empathy, cultural awareness, and adapting communication styles to resolve cross-cultural misunderstandings effectively. The student highlights the significance of understanding cultural nuances to avoid conflict and foster positive interactions in diverse settings. The report also references relevant academic literature on negotiation, cultural intelligence, and conflict management to support the analysis.

Running head: NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT
Negotiation – Cultural Conflict
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT
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

2NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT
the store by talking in such a loud voice and that too continuously into the phone. The man was
not convinced with my answer. He continued to stare at me and told me that he felt harassed by
my behavior and that he was going to complain first to the store authorities and then to the store
detective about my behavior.
Soon enough the matter reached the ears of the store authorities who took the concerns of
the man very seriously and I was given little or no option to explain myself. Of course I was
heard out too and I tried to explain myself and my behavior as best as I could. The man informed
me that it was unacceptable in Chinese culture to be touched physically in the way that I had
touched him and to be interrupted when speaking to someone else, in this case over the phone. I
could see that he was very strongly connected to his Asian roots, was proud of his culture and
wanted to make me compensate financially for my behavior. Hence I decided to negotiate my
way out of this situation using two important methods, the first being to leave my ego
behind in the given situation and the second being to stick to my principles (Menkel-
Meadows 2017). I apologized sincerely to the man in front of the store authorities and also in
front of the store detective, who arrived onto the scene by then, and let him know that I was
unaware of this aspect of Chinese culture. I also folded my hands and stated that it was not my
intention to demean a person of any particular culture and that if I had offended his culture I was
deeply sorry for it but pointed out that his behavior too had been disturbing and was
unacceptable none the less (Ting Toomney 2015). The man was unrelenting at first, but could
see I was genuinely sorry and without saying a word, left the store in a huff. The store manager
told me that he understood my concerns and empathized with me, but advised me to be careful in
the future when dealing with people from cultural backgrounds that were different from my own
(Prause and Mujitaba 2015).

3NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT
In conclusion, I can say that the negotiation method that I adopting of forgetting my own
ego and pride in the given situation and also sticking to my principles worked out for me in a
positive way.

4NEGOTIATION – CULTURAL CONFLICT
References
Groves, K.S., Feyerherm, A. and Gu, M., 2015. Examining cultural intelligence and cross-
cultural negotiation effectiveness. Journal of Management Education, 39(2), pp.209-243.
Menkel-Meadow, C., 2017. Dispute processing and conflict resolution: theory, practice and
policy. Routledge.
Prause, D. and Mujtaba, B.G., 2015. Conflict management practices for diverse
workplaces. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(3), p.13.
Ting‐Toomey, S., 2015. Identity negotiation theory. The international encyclopedia of
interpersonal communication, pp.1-10.