Global Negotiation Resources

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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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 »

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.

Bridging the Theoretical with the Practical

International business negotiations is “a science and an art”. This dycotomy has been expressed as representing the difference between the theoretical and the practical. We fully recognize that many of the theories and comments we make here have encountered difficulty in their application in the “real world”. To that extent we would like to open a specific area to the discussion of this gap and the means by which it can be bridged.

At times we realize that it may be simple a question of utilizing a specific technique or tactic to implement the theory, at other times we suggest that the bridging mechanism may be much more subtle. Within this space we hope to be able to explore the more practical side of the “art”.

Please share your thoughts on Cuba

If you have any experience to share (or questions you would like answered) relating to Egypt, please click on “Comment” in this entry’s title line. Please note that we will integrate your good ideas when we periodically update these materials, so your comments and criticisms will help others.