Introduction

World is growing smaller day by day and with the help of technologies we are able to connect to people across the world more easily. Globalization is widely accepted around the world, through globalisation we are able to perform business transactions across the world. While doing business across the nations we come into contact with different people which results in communication. Cross culture communication plays a very important role in making business deals. Negotiation has become an important aspect of business transactions and cross culture negotiating styles are also not similar across the globe. Culture affects negotiating in many complex ways. As a person is said to be competence in making cross culture deals, depends on how well the person is able to interact and communicate with people from other cultures. For a successful intercultural communication, the important factor is that when a message is produced in one culture, it should be interpreted in the same manner in another culture. Failure in anticipation leads to culture obstacles.

Cross Culture Negotiation

When two people of different culture communicate, they rarely talk about the same subject matter, the meaning of their conversation is highly influenced by their culture. And most often misunderstandings, communication gaps or miscommunication takes place while negotiating because of different paths of logic, cross culture context.

For instance while communicating through your Japanese client, he says “that’s difficult” for you it may mean that you can negotiate more regarding the deal. On the other hand he may mean that he does not agree to the deal and is rejecting it. 

There is even need for the change of basic behaviour pattern while dealing with a person from another culture, because the negotiating style which is considered as highly effective in your domestic area, may be considered inappropriate in other cultures. For achieving success in cross culture negotiations one must understand the others and their culture. A party must understand what one wants from this negotiation and can help to turn negotiation deal into a win – win deal for both the parties.

For instance when Mc Donald’s came to India for setting up its business it had to change its menu according to the culture in India as in its burger they used to serve beef and according to Indian Culture beef isn’t eaten by majority Indians, so it shifted from beef to potatoes which is eaten by majority Indians to capture the large Indian market and establish its brand. If the Company had not changed the menu then it would be utter failure and would cause huge losses to Mc Donald’s. So understanding the Culture before setting up a business in foreign state is important. 

Sometimes Culture barriers may also create difficulty in understanding the behavioural patterns.

For instance while in India hiring of relatives is considered to be good, and securing of trustworthy and long term employees while American may view this as a practice of nepotism.

For efficient and effective communication for handling international business we should follow some simple rules.

·        Before interaction with your foreign partner try to have knowledge about their culture and the individual.

·        Be conscious about your own culture, and how people may think or interpret your culture.

·        Always have respect for the other cultures.

·        Try to find a solution for the cultural gap that may benefit you as well as your foreign partner.

 Therefore we can understand that cross cultural differences affect the business transactions. And due to these cultural differences business transactions are affected and can cause huge loss to the parties. And many times cross- cultural differences can become a source of conflict at initial or later stage, so to prevent such conflicts parties can use various methods of alternate dispute resolution such as deal mediation.

Deal Mediation:

Deal mediation is a type of dispute resolution process in which a mediator is appointed who helps both the parties to build their relationships successfully. The mediator is serves as a neutral cross – culture assistant. The mediator helps them to bridge gaps of culture and legal differences which often become a source of conflict between parties. By appointment of mediator it eliminates the miscommunication and builds a durable contractual relationship. Mediation is a process in which the mediator, who is a qualified attorney and is neutral, helps the parties to reach a settlement through which both the parties are satisfied. As it creates a win- win situation for both sides. Mediation can never be binding onto parties. And both the parties can equally bear the cost of mediation.

Advantages of Cross- Culture Mediation:

·        It is economic in nature, cooperative, interest based approach which creates a win-win situation for both the parties.

·        Helps to manage renegotiating before closing the final deal.

·        Can benefit parities in understanding the behaviour of each other.

·        It is a fair process.

·        Managing the intergroup conflicts and Ethical problems.

·        Retain business relationships.

Conclusion:

Understanding Cross- Culture is a complex task. With the help of the Cross-Culture mediation it makes it easier for the parties to deal with the foreign clients. And this method of dispute resolution eliminates all the obstacles which one may face during the Cross- Culture Negotiations.