Content area
Full Text
INTRODUCTION
Negotiation deals with two participants who have different needs and viewpoints attempting to reach an agreement on matters of mutual interest (Casse, 1981).
When an organization conducts business across international borders, there is interaction with people and organizations nurtured in different cultural environments (Kale and Barnes, 1991). The different cultural environments add uncertainty and difficulty to an already challenging procedure. In negotiations with the Japanese, the word "negotiate" and its usual translation kosho have different meanings. Kosho has nuances of fighting, conflict, strategy (senryaku), and verbal debate (au), whereas Western-style negotiation lacks these overtones and usually suggests discussion, concession, conciliation, and conference (March, 1989). Negotiation between Japanese is similar to that between father and son. The status relationship is explicit and important. The son (seller) carefully explains his situation and asks for as much as possible because he will have no chance to bicker once the father (buyer) decides. The son (seller) accepts the decision because it would hurt the relationship to argue and because he trusts the father (buyer) to care for his needs. So relationship and trust are paramount in the negotiation (Adler,1991).
According to John L. Graham (1984, 1986), intercultural negotiations consists of four major processes or stages:
relationship building: non-task sounding
task-related exchange of information
persuasion and compromise
concessions and agreement
Understanding these processes and the emphasis placed upon each by potential business partners can assist in a successful conclusion. The strategies and tactics differ among cultures as do the time spent in, and importance of, each phase. For example, the cultural tendency of the United States is to concentrate on the persuasion and compromise phase while minimizing the non-task (rapport building) phase. For many Asian cultures, Japanese being one of them, the priorities are the exact opposite. These crosscultural differences can lead to much confusion, misunderstanding, and frustration, resulting in little success (Tung, 1983,1982).
The Japanese negotiation process is based on the importance of maintaining harmony in relationships. Norms are established concerning obligations to others, benevolence, and the importance of others' attitudes. The Japanese see negotiation as a fluid process, calling for diligent preparation. Instead of addressing issues directly and openly stating the positions and counterproposals, they prefer to infer the other parties` assessment of the situation. The Japanese...