The success of the development of definite companies and business projects often depends on the effectiveness of the negotiating process in which colleagues, local and international business partners are involved. In this situation the character of the relationships between the negotiating parts can be considered as an influential factor for working out the effective solutions and developing contracts which are beneficial for the both parts.
There are many peculiarities of providing negotiations typical for different countries. The negotiating process in Australia is also characterized by a lot of specific features which require their further examination.
The peculiarities of developing negotiations in Australia are based on several significant notions necessary for providing effective relationships between the partners. These notions are ‘mateship’, trust, clearness, informality, and cooperation, and they influence the progress of all the negotiations in the country. Moreover, the important factors which also affect the character of relationships are the necessary rapport, the peculiarities of the length and decision-making process of the negotiations.
When Australians are involved in discussions they pay much attention to the personality of the partner or opponent rather than to his status or rank. That is why it is possible to speak about their vision of ‘mateship’ in business (Katz, 2006). The concept of trust also depends on this factor.
Australians trust those people who express their thoughts and opinions openly and clear without accentuating any hidden meanings. To make such relationships possible, the atmosphere of the negotiations should be informal in order to have the opportunity to express argumentative positive and negative visions of the issue. Thus, Australians concentrate on creating the cooperative atmosphere which leads to developing the most effective solutions.
To be able to work out effective decisions and solutions of the question discussed, it is necessary to establish the rapport between the negotiating parts. That is why the informal and cooperative atmosphere is significant. Such atmosphere contributes to providing short informal talks at the beginning of the negotiations for establishing the rapport.
However, the negotiating process can take a lot of time. In spite of the general informal atmosphere, Australians pay much attention to the careful discussions of the issue’s details which will be further described in the contract. The decision-making process is rather slow, and it is unnecessary to rush it in order to have the best results (Katz, 2006).
The decision-making process involves the participation of the top executives of the companies whom the person responsible for making the end decision consults even if they do not take part in the discussion. The necessity of consulting the individuals’ viewpoints and cooperating with all the parts can make the process long.
Moreover, Australians are inclined to focus on the empirical evidence and universal business principles rather than on the peculiarities of certain situations which can contradict the basic aspects (Katz, 2006). Objectivity is of great importance for the Australian businessmen.
Having analyzed the peculiarities of the negotiating process in Australia, it is possible to say that the modern development of successful cooperation between companies and business partners predominantly depends on the effectiveness of relationships between these groups and individuals. They can have specific national and cultural features which are significant to pay attention to.
Thus, the relationships realized during the negotiations in Australia are based not on the competitive principles, but on the aspects of cooperation and informal creative atmosphere.
References
Katz, L. (2006). Negotiating international business. USA: BookSurge Publishing.