During life, people face many situations in which a lot depends on how they communicate with others. Such a helpful skill as negotiating is necessary to achieve the desired result through the communication process. That is why teaching proper business communication is an actively developing direction. The abilities obtained from it will allow succeeding in the process of education and effectively carry out communication in everyday life. The capacity to negotiate correctly is also of particular importance in cross-cultural and international negotiations where such aspects like religion and traditions are involved.
Assessment of one’s skills audit is of particular importance since it helps to track progress. The more often people realize that they have made some positive progress, the more their productivity and motivation to work further increases. Also, the analysis of the correspondence of their knowledge with the materials provided during the training course is important, since people are given the opportunity to see gaps in training. Therefore, they are given a chance to catch up before further study of new topics begins.
At the moment, there is a rapid growth of international contacts in all areas of human activity. The number of meetings of representatives of different cultures with their views, religions, and traditions is growing. For a successful business, in such cases, it is crucial to know and respect unique cultures in order to be able to adapt to them and achieve success in negotiations. The course MAN3705 introduced me to the knowledge about cross-cultural and multicultural negotiations. The main difference between these two types is that it is a communication process where each party has its own culture, values, and religion. In modern society, these two types of communication have become an integral part of economic and political interaction between countries.
Developing the skill of effective negotiations in a cross-cultural and multicultural business environment is of particular value. One of the most essential skills that all participants in negotiations should possess, including representatives of different cultures, is showing the interlocutor’s receptivity to someone else’s culture. It also includes accepting inconsistencies and translating a person’s culture onto oneself, and understanding it. In addition, it is vital to refrain from stressful situations and prevent them in advance and have a strategic plan for negotiating in case something goes wrong.
In the course MAN3705 I learned that before conducting any business meeting, it is necessary to educate participants about the features of different cultures, such as gestures, specific behavior, or speech. The basic skills that negotiators should possess include proving the advantages of the chosen party, the formulation of a correct and organized speech, which implies the choice of acceptable terms and expressions. It is also essential to listen to a representative of the opposite opinion and understand how to prevent unexpected emotional reactions.
Conducting effective negotiations is presented as one of the most challenging and most compelling aspects of doing any business. With insufficient preparation, multi – and cross-cultural negotiations can be complicated. In such case, it is necessary to consider the cultural characteristics of the parties of the negotiation to avoid stressful situations associated with the lack of education and awareness of some participants. I believe that the course has given me a lot of useful knowledge in the field of negotiations, which will definitely be useful to me in my future life and profession.