The key in any negotiation situation is making sure to honor both cultures and businesses that will be participating. Since we are an international corporation, it is extremely important to know how to research situations that will arise when dealing with foreign countries. It is also extremely important to know what to do in these situations so that you do not permanently offend and ruin relationships with a potential business partner.
The first thing that must be done before the negotiations begin would be to research customs, etiquette, languages, and beliefs of the country that you will be working with. If there is someone that has worked with or lived in the country that negotiations will be taking place with, it would be best to try to have that person on the negotiation team. If they speak a different language and there is a native-speaking employee available, it may also be a good idea to include them on the negotiation team as well. When planning the teams, it is important to keep the team number equal to the other country's number so that it is fair and appears balanced. It is highly important to keep the same team members throughout negotiations due to the importance of building a business relationship with each other throughout the process. Age, gender, and rank are very important in Asia. For example, the Chinese view age as meaning seniority. Another way to display the rank of the people in the team would be to have the highest ranking member enter the room first. This would display that they are the “leader” of the team. In Asian countries, women are still not a major force in the business world and it is a strong possibility that they will not be taken as seriously as other members of the team. In all three countries, age and status are extremely important. It would be a good idea to have older, senior members on the team.
Once an actual team is in place, it would be wise to learn how to build relationships with the countries that you are...