International Business 

Negotiations
International negotiation is one of a variety of subfields within the broader field of intercultural
communication. International managers must have effective communication skills when negotiating
with international suppliers/buyers, delivering presentations, and motivating and leading diverse
subordinates. International negotiation is about much more than how foreigners conclude transactions.
It entails examining all possible influences on the proceedings. Thus, an international negotiator must
possess comprehensive knowledge of the country's history, system, political structure, and form of
government, in addition to its cultural dimensions. Negotiators and sales personnel gain an advantage
over competitors by undergoing cross-cultural negotiation training.

Negotiation is an interaction of influences that entails resolving disagreements, agreeing on courses of

action, bargaining for individual or collective advantage, or crafting outcomes that satisfy diverse
interests. Thus, negotiation is an alternative method of resolving disputes. Everyone benefits from a
successful negotiation.

Negotiation objectives: a. Establishing Trust: All of the preceding discussion of how to approach a
negotiation is predicated on each party being able to rely on the validity of information obtained from
the other party, even more so when such information is intended to influence the recipient's
negotiating position. If one believes that one's adversary is a dishonest source of information, little
that the adversary says during a negotiation will have any effect on the recipient's position. On the
other hand, if a negotiator believes his opponent is trustworthy and never lies, then what the opponent
says can have a significant impact on the recipient's position.
This results in a quandary. If the negotiator is too forthcoming, revealing the most significant
weaknesses in his or her position, the outcome will be worse than if the marketer is less forthcoming.
A skilled negotiator never lies outright, but also does not reveal everything he or she knows. Any
objective fact is susceptible to "spin." A skilled negotiator spins the facts in favour of his or her
position.

b. Re-Evaluation of One's Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: A skilled negotiator seeks not
only to influence his opponent's best alternative to a negotiated agreement, but also to improve the
accuracy of his own. Calculating the BEST ALTERNATIVE TO A NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT is
always a guessing game, at least to a certain extent. To the extent that a negotiator can obtain more
accurate data relevant to his own calculations of his best alternative to a negotiated agreement, a
marketer can negotiate more rationally.

c. Ascertain the interests of the opposing party: Real-world negotiations are more complicated than
the examples provided. Even in a straightforward negotiation over the sale of an automobile, the
parties are likely to have interests other than simple zero-sum monetary gain. Almost every time a
genuine negotiation occurs, each party seeks to maximise the value of a diverse set of interests. In a
real-world automobile purchase negotiation, each party is concerned with price, delivery date, driving
characteristics, warranties, insurability, and title status. Frequently, specific interests are added to the
array as a result of communication during the negotiation process.
d. Convince Opponents to Revise their Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: Because an
opposing party's position in a negotiation is determined by his or her best alternative to a negotiated
agreement, a negotiator can influence an opponent's position by convincing the opponent to revise his
or her best alternative to a negotiated agreement.

Sources

Shell, G Richard (1999). Bargaining for Advantage. United States: Penguin. ISBN 9780670881338.

Saner, Raymond. The Expert Negotiator, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2000 (p. 40)

McDermott, Rose (2009). "Negotiated Risks". In Avenhaus, Rudolf[; Sjösted, Gunnar (eds.). Prospect
Theory and Negotiation. Germany: Springer. p. 372. ISBN 978-3-540-92992-5.

John Nash, "The Bargaining problem," Econometrica XVIII 1:155-162, 1950; G C Homans, Social
Behavior. Harcourt, Brace and world, 1961

Follett, Mary (1951). Creative Experience. United States: P Smith.

Gates, Steve (2011). The Negotiation Book. United Kingdom: A John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Publication.
p. 246. ISBN 978-0-470-66491-9.

Coburn, Calum. "Neutralising Manipulative Negotiation Tactics". Negotiation Training Solutions.

Retrieved 1 October 2012.

Gates, Steve (2011). The Negotiation Book. United Kingdom: A John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Publication.
p. 245. ISBN 978-0-470-66491-9.

Jung/Krebs, p. 102.

Lewicki, R. J.; D.M. Saunders; J.W. Minton (2001). Essentials of Negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill
Higher Education. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-07-231285-0.

Lewicki, R. J.; D. M. Saunders; J. W. Minton (2001). Essentials of Negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill
Higher Education. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-07-231285-0.