Negotiations in LA

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Negotiations in LA
What the US does best is to understand itself.
What it does worst is to understand
others Carlos Fuentes
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A word about Paula Heusinkvelds book

• Remember that all cultural descriptions are
  simplifications
• It is not a complete picture
• It might be dated
• It might be biased
• It might lead to stereotypes
• Solutions
• Triangulate
• Learn by doing

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Relevant issues

• Live to work or work to live?
• Manual labor
• Rigid hierarchies
• Mistrust
• Palancas and mordidas
• Give a Latino a system and he will find a way to
  beat it.

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Relevant issues (cont)

• Buena educacion
• Dress code
• Politeness and courtesy
• Consideration
• Seniors
• Generosity
• Punctuality

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Why do we have to negotiate?

• Human nature
• Societies traits
• Types
• Sales contracts
• Licensing agreements
• Joint ventures
• Distribution agreements
• Cross cultural issues

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Direct effects of culture on negotiation processes

• Collectivistic-individualistic
• Beliefs about the law system
• Arguments
• High-low context cultures
• HC Careful interaction, trust and close
  relationships are a must.
• LC Utilitarian activity
• Polichronic-monochronic cultures
• P Interruptions, persuasive techniques used late
  in the negotiation process, longer time line

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Direct effects of culture on negotiation processes

• Power distance
• Difficulty to compartmentalize the process
• Uncertainty avoidance
• HUA More bureaucratic process and less
  willingness to take risk
• Outcome expectancies
• Partnership, deal/contract, profit, or winning

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Negotiation strategies

• Distribution

• Integrative

Cooperation
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Integrative approach

• Perceived similarity is an asset
• Trust
• Interpersonal attraction
• Communication
• Be afraid of perceived similarity, be very
  afraid.
• Power issues
• Nationality is an important factor
• Brazil and Japan are the most integrative
• Americans are somewhere in between

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Culturally responsive strategies
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Stages of negotiation process

• Nontask soundings
• Establishment of rapport
• Task-related information exchange
• Unbiased information exchange
• Persuasion
• Concessions and agreement

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How to measure success in negotiations

• Whether an agreement was reached (closure)
• Oral or written?
• Asymmetry?
• Individual and/or joint profits attained by
  buyers and sellers
• Seller's profits and buyer's satisfaction with
  interaction
• Individual and joint gains in terms of profits,
  satisfaction with interaction, degree of
  relationship building