Global Negotiation Resources

Cuba and Global Negotiations

As the Obama Administration extends its hand out to the various nations of the world, some of us hope that it will do so to Cuba.  US / Cuba relations are at a crossroad once again.  Barack Obama has made several statements declaring his desire to change the present situation.  It is our intention to explore this neighbor just 90 miles to the south by beginning to understand, perhaps for the first time, in a systematic, theoretical as well as practical way, the means by which Cuba negotiates.

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36 Stratagems - Ancient Chinese Wisdom for Today’s Negotiators

A business colleague in, of all places, Brazil made me aware of the so-called 36 stratagems, an ancient Chinese set of principles for creative tactics that can be used in business negotiations as well as in everyday life. Learn more about them at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Strategies

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National Strikes Hurting Business in India (and Elsewhere?)

Has anyone ever thought of bizarre reasons that business can stop for couple of days in India. There had been some interesting incidents where people have protested brining life to standstill for a day or two, for
example ‘bandh’ was called few days back when government raised fuel price. State-owned Oil companies have been losing tens of millions of dollars everyday in selling gas at below their cost, how can people expect gas at year old price when price of oil has doubled from $70 to $140 a barrel.

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Pricing for Locals vs. Foreigners in India

India does pride itself on their nationality. When I took a trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra, it was unbelievable to notice the price differential between the locals and the tourists. It was nearly an 80% difference. My friend from college came with me on this particular trip, and he had never left the country before. He is a Mexican man, with thick curly hair and fair skin. When we walked up to the ticketing booth, he looked at him trying to decipher his nationality. He looked at them square in the eye and said what I told him to say: “Me Kashmir se atha hun”, meaning “I am from Kashmir”. They immediately gave him a price discount, noticing his fair complexion which denotes that he really could be from Northern India. Even if they didn’t, I think they respected the fact he attempted to speak Hindi.

There are some definite advantages to be from India in not just the business world but in everyday life when dealing with the Indians. Although you cannot control things such as the color of your skin or where you come from of course, being adaptive to their culture is key. They see it as a strength and respect it.

Changes in Japanese Negotiation Practices?

The Japanese companies are known for being very ethnocentric even in their overseas operations. However, as Japan is getting more competition from rest of the Asian countries, I feel that they are opening up to Western practices and styles of business. Are there any observed changes in Japanese negotiation practices recently due to the globalization of business and industry?

Negotiating in Kenya

Having grown up in Kenya, I feel that the locals are still being treated unfairly. Although it is true that a population largely deserves the Government it gets in a democracy, the situation in Kenya is quite different. Any foreign companies that enter into contracts in Kenya have to deal with the government. This is usually a case of a few million dollars to the right people and the deal gets approved whether the local companies like it or not. A lot of times there is hardly a negotiating table that the local companies see when there is the matter of large monetary dealings. It is a contract shoved down your throat. Is there any effective way of breaking this cycle by negotiating on terms and conditions and dealing with the govt by making them an active shareholder, rather than a simple wire transfer number? How would you even begin to fix things and who would you speak with ?

Information about Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been for decades. It was widely anticipated that democracy will bring the much needed reforms to turn this country around. However this has not happened. Even though the country officially is democratic and has elections, the same person has been in charge since 1991. The government is still heavily involved in the economy and has not privatized many businesses.

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Greeks Living in a Different Country

It is generally estimated that there are about 10 million Greeks living abroad versus the 11 million that live in Greece. This means that many of the business people you will come in contact with have lived in a different country for a period of time which is many times significant. I have observed that depending on where they have lived they have different cultural attitudes. So for example Greek Americans on average don’t share the same cultural attitudes with the general american population, but their attitudes are definitely skewed towards the american views with respect to the average greek population. The same for Greeks that have lived in Germany or in France or in England. Actually I can almost tell what the immigrant background is of a diaspora Greek from his or her behavior. So in negotiations it is a usefull fact to know what the international background is (if any). However unfortunately I have also observed that not all cultural traits are absorbed in the same degree. So a greek from the US seems to have a much lower power distance index, but still exhibits a high degree of collectivism. It would be an interesting study to see how immigrant populations change depending on what country they lived in and how their cultural attitudes are affected by their host country.

Japanese-American Relationships

Throughout my career in the automotive industry I have wondered the impact that initial relationships between Japanese and American manufacturers have had on business relations overall for these two countries.

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Contracts Aren’t Always Your Best Tool

Last week I helped a U.S. client prepare for his first negotiation in China. He had dealt with a few other Asian countries before but was clearly much more comfortable with the American style of doing business. After almost two hours, he looked at me and summarized some of the frustration he must have felt in this question: “You mean I can’t rely on a contract as a way to force them to do what they say they’ll do?”

Correct. I was glad he had gotten the point.

This is actually a source of deep frustration for many Westerners dealing with countries like China: the concept of relying on a legal document as the primary bond between Read the rest of this entry »

Advice on Negotiating in the Arab World?

In our “50 Countries”; we have a section giving advice on how to negotiate in Saudi Arabia. We are wondering how the advice we give on negotiating with Saudis is also appropriate for use in the UAE, that is, in places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as in other Arab countries? Those of you that are experienced in those places, please jump into the conversation.

Asians Use Their Brains Differently

According to an article on SpectroscopyNOW.com, an interdisciplinary research team found that when having to solve easy or more complex tasks, the brains of Asian and American individuals consistently show different patterns of brain activity. This aligns well with Richard E. Nesbitt’s observations in his book “The Geography of Thought - How Asians and Westerners Think Differently,” which I highly recommend. Both independently indicate that Asians focus much more on context and holistic thinking when interacting with others and making decisions. What does this have to do with negotiating?

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Deceptive Tactics and Lies

In the India section of Lothar Katz’ book Negotiating International Business, it reads “Deceptive techniques might be used and it may be effective to use some of those yourself.” The latter half of that sentence implies that it’’s ok to lie, etc. as in the next few sentences. For other countries, for instance Israel, it even says “…and can be effective.”

To that I’d suggest adding something like: “Of course, we advise against using such tactics….” The main point is that it is good to be vigilant for the use of deceptive tactics by foreign counterparts, but such tactics are inconsistent with the creative, long-term relationships that should be the main goal in most commercial negotiations.

Negotiation Style Differences Across China

On page 98 of Global Negotiation: The New Rules we provide some information about how negotiation styles differ across regions of the Greater China. Do those of you with long experiences living in the region agree? What should we add or subtract?

The Concept of Risk within the Banking Industry

Our experience has demonstrated that the concept of risk fluctuates within national cultures and organizational cultures. We find this is particularly true within the Banking Sector. In part because of the different legal / regulatory frameworks of each individual country, but also because of the individual executive’s risk taking propensity. We seek here to begin a dialog whereby we are able to explore this concept.