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TOEFL Directory > TOEFL writing > 26. International Business and Cross-cultural Communication
26. International Business and Cross-cultural Communication
The increase in international business and in foreign investment has
created a need for executives with knowledge of foreign languages and
skills in cross-cultural communication. Americans, however, have not
been well trained in either area and, consequently, have not enjoyed the
same level of success in negotiation in an international arena as have
their foreign counterparts.
Negotiating is the process of communicating back and forth for the
purpose of reaching an agreement. It involves persuasion and compromise,
but in order to participate in either one, the negotiators must
understand the ways in which people are persuaded and how compromise is
reached within the culture of the negotiation.
In many international business negotiations abroad, Americans are
perceived as wealthy and impersonal. It often appears to the foreign
negotiator that the American represents a large multi-million-dollar
corporation that can afford to pay the price without bargaining further.
The American negotiator's role becomes that of an impersonal purveyor
of information and cash.
In studies of American negotiators abroad, several traits have been
identified that may serve to confirm this stereotypical perception,
while undermining the negotiator's position. Two traits in particular
that cause cross-cultural misunderstanding are directness and impatience
on the part of the American negotiator. Furthermore, American
negotiators often insist on realizing short-term goals. Foreign
negotiators, on the other hand, may value the relationship established
between negotiators and may be willing to invest time in it for long-
term benefits. In order to solidify the relationship, they may opt for
indirect interactions without regard for the time involved in getting to
know the other negotiator.
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