A self assessment on intercultural negotiating skills Essay - 1

A self assessment on intercultural negotiating skills - Essay Example This paper looks at issues surrounding intercultural negotiations. Qualities of a Good Intercultural Negotiator A good cross-cultural negotiator should be a good observer and listener. He is able to observe how people from two different cultural backgrounds communicates and is thus able to develop a common ground where the two parties can understand each other. Another characteristic that a good communicator should bear is the ability to communicate clearly and precisely. He should be able to identify the root problem of the conflict and communicate it to the parties involved (JANDT, 2010: 65). He should then communicate the need to first deal with the root problem as a way of eradicating the problem completely. A good intercultural communicator should never assume anything. When in doubt about something, he should ask for clarification from the parties involved. He should also not shy away from paraphrasing statement to ensure that there is no misunderstanding Assumptions may lead t o the negotiator making decisions based on stereotypes and not fact. This would make the party which is affected by the cultural stereotype to be dissatisfied with the solution and the conflict is not amicably resolved. A negotiator should also be flexible in terms of negotiation (FISHER & PATTON, 1992: 32). It is okay to conduct a background research on the conflict and come up with ways of resolving the conflict before meeting the parties. However, a good negotiator should be able to change his solutions in line with new information acquired during the negotiation process. Self assessment on the Simulation of the role of an Intercultural Negotiator In the case I was negotiating upon as an MP of Dunston area involved convincing Spitzer UK Company to continue operating within the area. The company had invested in the area but was now closing its operations in Duston as it stopped some of its research projects respiratory and allergy. This move would result in 2400 people losing thei r jobs. This is against my promises to the people of increasing job opportunities. I resolved this problem by talking to Duston mayor to find a way that we could stop the company from leaving the district. A meeting was organized between the Spitzer company managers and the mayor. For the company to continue operating in the district, the mayor would provide the necessary infrastructure needed such as roads. He would also relax the tax requirements making this region attractive to Spitzer. This was with the condition that they retain all the employees. The company would then work on its existing researches in Dunston. Eventually the company agreed to continue with its operation but would have to reduce the current employees by 20% in order to cut on costs. One mistake that I made when going to the negotiations is that I believed that the only solution to the problem was having all the employees retained. However, after talking with the parties involved and almost repulsing the Spitz er company manager, I realized that there was another solution. If the company agreed to retain its operations in the district with 80% of employees, it would soon need to employ more people as it started working on new project. The deal may not be what I wanted at the moment but the company would employ more people in the longrun (GIBSON, 2002: 49). If the company refused the deal and moved its