International Negotiating: A Primer for American Business Professionals

Here is a framework for understanding new negotiating environments. International Negotiating covers the entire international business negotiating process, beginning with the initial planning and preparation that precede face-to-face meetings. In today's global economy, cross-cultural expertise limited to one country is no longer sufficient. An international businessperson must be able to negotiate effectively with people from many different parts of the world. The book does not focus on one individual country or region, but rather upon those negotiating challenges and situations that recur from one country to the next. It identifies negotiating skills that are transferable across cultures and borders and offers suggestions on how to improve these skills. International Negotiating is designed for individuals seeking a practical rather than a theoretical approach to international business negotiating. The book provides readers with the kinds of questions to which they should seek answers and contains guidelines for effective negotiating. It includes plenty of suggestions, but few injunctions--no foolproof recipes, ironclad rules, or pat principles of behavior. International Negotiating enables readers to identify and assimilate culturally specific information quickly because they will understand the underlying dynamics of intercultural business negotiating. Chapters discuss many pertinent topics, including:

the importance of research and planning to the negotiating process
the sequence and pace of the steps involved in negotiating (i.e., Does socialization take place before negotiations, after, or never?)
the relevance and importance of oral vs. written contracts
the importance of identifying the person who has the power to make decisions
the personalization of business
transferable skills, such as using interpreters and translators, monitoring and mirroring behavior, asking questions, and being tentative in making judgments and conclusions

To be successful in international negotiations, individuals must have both negotiating skills and an understanding of the foreign culture with which they are working. International Negotiating is a tool with which readers can improve these crucial areas. It is an illuminating and helpful guide for those involved in international business ventures with persons from outside the United States.