Cross cultural training is a useful skill in a world of globalization, because trade knows no boundaries anymore and business is harder than ever in times of economic crisis. Although some people are likely to believe that a job will succeed as long as it is financially attractive, the chance they underestimate the importance of cross cultural negotiation is bigger than you might think.
In Western societies, “meeting and greeting” happens with a handshake, but in other continents it may be classified as inappropriate. Or can you imagine that you present at a business meeting in Japan without a gift, while Japanese people consider this as protocol. Will you take such a risk?
I was wondering if cross cultural training really has influence on doing successful business. After reading this article, I am convinced that some preparation gives you a huge advantage over competitors. With some knowledge of other cultures you will have more chance to close a deal with a foreigner.
If I failed to close a deal in a foreign country, I would follow a course of cross-cultural negotiations as quick as possible!
Ken Merckaert
When you negotiate with other cultured people, training could be very useful. I agree with that but what type of training do you need and what if cross-cultural negotiations fail? Is this failure always a consequence of poor knowledge of the other culture? I don’t think so. There are so many aspects that can lead to misunderstandings, poor relationships, etc. I would like to give an example. When a person doesn’t succeed in arranging agreements in his own country, he probably won’t be capable of settling international contracts either. It would be better to teach him some negotiation skills first. As you can see, so many factors have their influence on cross-cultural negotiations. That’s why it isn’t always easy to see where negotiations went wrong.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenNils Meul