商务谈判中中西文化价值差异及对策3.docVIP

Introduction With the further development of economic globalization and integration, increased business activities at various levels among members of different cultures are becoming an inevitable pattern of human interaction. While intercultural communication takes place at organizational and interpersonal levels in various social and organizational settings, interpersonal and inter-group conflicts as a result of cultural differences are ubiquitous. During this process, cultural differences in terms of values, stereotypes, world views, and so on exert great influence on how businesspersons of different cultures deal with negotiations and how they perceive and manage the conflicts. Since China’s entry into the WTO, more and more American companies and projects have been flourishing in China, and likewise, Chinese overseas enterprises have been rushing to join the American market. The increased business gives rise to more communication across the two extremely different cultures, especially in the field of business negotiation. However, one common problem that faces most American and Chinese negotiators is the gap between different approaches to conflicts resolution. This always leads to incompatible communication behaviors, misunderstandings, or even the breakdown of negotiations. The knowledge of how cultural values affect conflict resolution styles will help negotiators better understand how members of different cultural backgrounds can communicate effectively with each other and resolve conflicts constructively. This can greatly improve the ability of negotiators to foresee the possible pitfalls of intercultural business negotiations. To investigate the interaction between culture, communication, and conflict styles in intercultural business negotiations, this thesis examines the underlying relationship between conflict styles and cultural values in Sino-US business negotiations. Based on Jeanne M. Brett’s (2000) Cultural Dimension Model as well as Thomas-Kilmann