In the next phase of negotiations, persuasion, the hard bargaining starts. Typically, both parties try to persuade the other to accept more of their position and to give up some of their own. Often, some persuasion has already taken place beforehand in social settings and through mutual contacts. In the Far East, details are likely to be worked out ahead of time through the backdoor approach (houmanO. For the most part, however, the majority of the persuasion takes place over one or more negotiating sessions. International managers usually find that this process of bargaining and making concessions is fraught with difficulties because of the different uses and interpretations of verbal and nonverbal behaviors. While variations in such behaviors influence every stage of the negotiation process, they can play a particularly powerful role in persuasion, especially if they are not anticipated.
Studies of negotiating behavior have revealed the use of certain recognizable tactics, which skilled negotiators recognize and use. Exhibit 5-4 shows the results of a study comparing the use of various tactics (promises, threats, and so forth) among the Japanese, Americans, and Brazilians. The results indicate that the Japanese and the Americans tend to be more alike in the use of these behaviors,
whereas the Japanese and the Brazilians are less alike. For example, the Brazilians use fewer promises and commitments than the Japanese or the Americans (only half as many), but they use commands far more often. The Japanese and the Americans use threats twice as often as the Brazilians, and they use commands only about half as often as the Brazilians. The Brazilians and the Japanese seldom behave similarly.
Other, less savory tactics are sometimes used in international negotiations. Often called dirty tricks, these tactics, according to Fisher and Ury, include efforts to mislead opponents deliberately.17 Some negotiators may give wrong or distorted factual information or use the excuse of ambiguous authority-giving conflicting impressions about who in their party has the power to make a commitment. In the midst of hard bargaining, the prudent international manager will follow up on possibly misleading information before taking action based on trust.
Other rough tactics are designed to put opposing negotiators in a stressful situation physically or psychologically so that they are more likely to give in. These include uncomfortable room temperatures, too-bright lighting, rudeness, interruptions, and other irritations. Specific bargaining pressures include extreme or escalating demands, threats to stop negotiating, calculated delays, and a take-it- or-leave-it attitude. In a survey of 18 U.S.-Korean joint ventures, for example, U.S. executives reported that the behavior of the Koreans during the course of negotiations was often abusive, resulting in shouting matches, desk pounding, and chest beating.
International negotiators must keep in mind, however, that what might seem like dirty tricks to Americans is simply the way other cultures conduct negotiations. In some South American countries, for example, it is common to start negotiations with misleading or false information.
The most subtle behaviors in the negotiation process, and often the most difficult to deal with, are usually the nonverbal messages-the use of voice intonation, facial and body expressions, eye contact, dress, and the timing of the discussions. Nonverbal behaviors are ingrained aspects of culture used by people in
their daily lives; they are not specifically changed for the purposes of negotiation. In a comparative study of the nonverbal negotiating behaviors of Japanese, Americans, and Brazilians, Graham assessed the relative frequency of the use of silent periods, conversational overlaps, facial gazing (staring at people's faces), and touching. He found that the Brazilians interrupted conversation about twice as often as the Japanese and the Americans and used much more touching and facial gazing; needless to say, they scored low on silent periods. The Japanese tended to use more silent periods and interruptions than the Americans, but less facial gazing. The Japanese and the Americans evidenced no touching whatsoever, other than handshaking, during a 30-minute period.
Although we have discussed persuasion as if it were always a distinct stage, it is really the primary purpose underlying all stages of the negotiation process. In particular, persuasion is clearly an integral part of the process of making concessions and arriving at an agreement.
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