Being tough doesn’t always pay off: The culture of honor vs dignity in negotiation

Early work on cross-cultural negotiation has focused on East-West differences. In the current study we investigate the negotiation scripts employed by Middle Eastern negotiators, more specifically Iranian negotiators, in an intracultural interaction, compared to North American negotiators. We examine how the Iranian worldviews, beliefs, norms, and social behavior influence their goals and aspirations, negotiation tactics, and ultimately final outcome. We formulated our hypotheses based on the theory of honor-dignity cultures and illustrate how the importance of preserving and maintaining honor influences the Iranian negotiation strategies in business dealings. Our results illustrate that consistent with the culture of honor, Iranian negotiators are more likely to be competitive, express emotions, and employ distributive tactics compared to Canadian negotiators. Moreover, this competitive mindset leaves Iranian negotiators at a disadvantage as the overall joint gain is significantly lower than Canadian negotiators

2. Talking it through: communication sequences in negotiation

If negotiation is like a dance The moves in negotiations are acts of communication. Negotiators communicate using oral and written messages, conveyed with various postures, facial expressions, rates of speech, and tones of voice, among other concerns In what follows, we first outline how scholars study the communication sequences that comprise the negotiation process. Then we examine findings on negotiation strategy and tactics, the primary emphasis of negotiation research on communication sequences. Next we examine findings on nonverbal communication. Finally, we consider lines of research that are opening up new kinds of sequences to explore

Computer Mediated Communication in Negotiations: The Effect of Intragroup Faultlines on Intergroup Communication and Outcomes

This work examines the effect of faultlines in virtual computer mediated communications of two collocated negotiation teams. We expand upon prior diversity literature by considering the effect of both surface and deep-level faultlines on the intergroup computer mediated communications in virtual negotiations. Faultlines are hypothetical lines that divide teams into multiple subgroups based on diversity attributes. We confirm that the effect of team diversity on intergroup computer mediated communications can be better captured through faultlines. Our results suggest that faultlines mediate the effect of diversity on teams’ computer mediated intergroup communication and that deep-level faultlines significantly lower the frequency and quality of intergroup communication of virtual negotiations

The Rhythm of the Deal: Negotiation as a Dance

In all the literature on the theory and practice of negotiation, the governing metaphor remains consistently one of war or fighting. This is true not only for tactical schools of power-based negotiation, but even for more constructive, interest-based approaches. Our language is infused with talk of tactics, flanks, concessions, gaining ground and winning. This article explores the possible consequences of abandoning this picture in favor of the far too little explored metaphor of the dance. We will see that both the content and the process of negotiation can change dramatically once when we think of bargaining as an aesthetic activity which provides intrinsic joy as well as extrinsic benefits. In such a dance, there is plenty of room for competition as well as cooperation, as movements can be spirited and confrontational as well as smooth and harmonious. We identify many forms of dance in negotiation, and explore three: the dance of positioning, where passions and presentations interact proudly; the dance of empathy, when the partners come to better understand each other; and then the dance of concessions, where the deal is struck and the music comes to an end. Finally, we will try to show how the dance can be employed pedagogically, in teaching and training negotiation and mediation. In particular, the Brazilian dance of capoeira illustrates holistically and experientially how movement and rhythm can be interpreted both as fight and as a dance and how we can come to see a process as both aesthetic and purposeful at the same time. First feeling, then thinking and finally speaking, we can use this medium to explore the dynamics of confrontation and cooperation in a negotiation setting

Cultural mosaic beliefs as a new measure of the psychological climate for diversity: Individual distinctiveness and synergy in culturally diverse teams

Pylin Chuapetcharasopon, Lukas Neville, Wendi L Adair, Susan E Brodt, Terri R Lituchy, & Aimy A Racine. (2017). Cultural mosaic beliefs as a new measure of the psychological climate for diversity: Individual distinctiveness and synergy in culturally diverse teams. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 1470595817745898. © The Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470595817745898This article introduces the concept of cultural mosaic beliefs (CMBs) as a component of effective multicultural work groups. Building on theories of group diversity and self-verification, and responding to calls to understand moderators that explain the impact of group diversity on performance outcomes, we conceptualize CMBs as a psychological climate that individual group members perceive to promote the recognition, acceptance and expression, and utilization of cultural diversity (values, traditions, and practices) in their work. We also propose that CMBs might attenuate conflict that can sometimes characterize culturally diverse work groups distinguishing groups that falter from those that flourish and benefit from the informational and other potential advantages associated with their diverse cultural composition. In a series of five studies (N = 1119), we develop a 17-item CMB scale comprised of three factors: perceived group diversity, cultural acceptance and expression, and culture utilization. We present evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, showing that the CMB scale is related to but distinct from other measures of diversity. We also demonstrate predictive validity, showing that the CMB scale is related to work group members’ identification with the group, commitment to the group, satisfaction with the group, and learning from the group. We conclude by proposing applications of our CMBs concept and measure to multicultural workplaces and offer future directions for research on cultural diversity, specifically the study of group CMBs as a moderator of cultural diversity’s effects on groups.Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada [SSHRC 400102