英语论文

英语论文-论文化差异对中美商务谈判的影响.docx

摘要

文化是跨文化交际的根基,中美文化差异主要表现在语言沟通、非语言沟通等诸方面。

在跨文化商务交际中,交际者为达到交际目的,应积极地采取必要对策。

目前中美两国间经贸发展较快,双方商务谈判越来越频繁。

美国是世界上最大的经济实体,也是我国最大的贸易伙伴。

商务谈判在双方经贸往来中扮演着重要角色。

由于两国文化差异对商务谈判的各个方面都有直接的影响,对文化差异缺乏敏感的人用自己的文化模式为依据来评价另一种文化中人们的行动、观点、风俗,往往会导致文化冲突。

中美双方在商务谈判中必须增强文化差异的敏感性,了解在语言沟通、非语言沟通和谈判风格上的差异,为达成协议打下基础。

在语言交际方面，文化对语言交际的影响主要体现在不同文化中词的内涵意义和比喻意义不同；在非语言交际方面，对手势、面部表情、目光接触等行为的不同理解都会影响谈判；在谈判风格方面，从各个案例可见，中美谈判者对待人际关系的态度、决策方式、时间观念和对待冲突的态度都有所不同。

针对以上差异，从跨文化交际的角度对中美谈判者提出了利于和谐交际的建设性意见。

关键字：

文化差异；商务谈判；语言交际；非语言交际；谈判风格

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ABSTRACT

Cultureisthebasicelementininterculturalcommunication.TheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheUnitedStatesmainlylieinverbalandnonverbalcommunication,andsoon.Ininterculturalbusinesscommunications,peopleshouldtakenecessarymeasurementsactivelytoachieveeffectivepurpose.Atpresent,thebusinessconductedbetween thetwocountriesgrowsrapidly andbusinessnegotiationsareconductedmoreandmorefrequently.TheUnitedStatesisthelargesteconomicentity,andisalsothebiggestbusinesspartnerofChina.Businessnegotiationplaysanimportantroleintheirbusinessinteraction.Becausetheculturaldifferenceshavedirectinfluenceoneveryaspectsofthenegotiation,toevaluatetheaction,ideas,andcustomofpeoplefromanotherculturewithone’sownassumptionmaycausecultureconflicts.BoththeChineseandtheAmericansshouldenhancetheawarenessofculturaldifferences,trytounderstandthedifferencesinverbal,nonverbalcommunicationandnegotiatingstyles,andmakepreparationforsuccessfulnegotiations.Intermsofverbalcommunication,thecultureimpactonnegotiationmainlyliesinthedifferenceofwords’connotationandfigurativemeaningindifferentculture.Aboutnonverbalcommunication,thedifferentunderstandingsofsuchbehaviors:

gesture,facialexpressionandeyecontactcanalsoinfluencetheresultofnegotiation.Intheaspectofnegotiationstyles,wecanseethatChineseandAmericannegotiatorshavedifferentattitudestowardinterpersonalrelationship,differentdecision-makingpatterns,differenttimeconceptsanddifferentattitudestowardconfrontations.Consideringtheabovedifferences,weputforwardsomeproposalfromtheperspectiveofcross-culturalcommunicationforthenegotiatorsfrombothChinaandtheUnitedStates.

Keywords:

cultural differences;businessnegotiation; verbalcommunication;nonverbalcommunication;negotiationstyles

Contents

Introduction 错.误！

未定义书签。

1ASurveyofSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiation 错.误！

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1.1NegotiationandCulture 错误！

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1.2PresentSituationofSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiations 2

1.2.1Frequency 2

1.2.2Complexity 错误！

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2VerbalDifferencesAffectingSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiation错s

误！

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2.1WordswithDifferentConnotations 错误！

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2.2WordswithDifferentFigurativeMeanings 错误！

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3Nonverbal Differences Affecting Sino-U.S. BusinessNegotiations..............................................................................7..

3.1Gesture 7

3.2FacialExpression 错误！

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3.3EyeContact 错误！

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3.4GreetingBehavior 错误！

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4NegotiationStylesAffectingSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiations错.

误！

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4.1AttitudestowardInterpersonalRelationship 12

4.2DecisionMakingPatterns 错误！

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4.3DifferentTimeConcepts 14

4.4AttitudestowardConfrontations 错误！

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5SuggestionsforSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiation 1..8

Conclusion............................................................错..误！

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Bibliography 错.

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Introduction

ChinaandtheUnitedStatesaretwotypicalcountriesinAsiaandWesternWorld.Theapproachadoptedbyeachsideisstronglyaffectedbytheirculture.SoitisofgreatsignificancetoinvestigatetheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericanbusinessnegotiators.Beforeconductingbusinessnegotiation,fullyidentifyingtheinfluencethatculturaldifferenceswillbringtothenegotiationprocesscangreatlyhelpnegotiatorseliminateunexpectedmisunderstandingsandachieveadesiredagreement.InSino-U.S.businessnegotiation,inadditiontothebasicnegotiationskills,itisimportanttounderstandtheculturaldifferences,andtomodifythenegotiationstyleaccordingly.

Successininternationalnegotiationliesinsuccessfulexchangeofbothverbalandnonverbalmessagesthatcanbecomeincreasinglycomplexasbothintendedandperceivedmeaningvary.InSino-U.S.businessnegotiations,wefrequentlyfindthatthedifferencesinlanguage,food,dress,attitudestowardtime,workhabits,socialbehavior,andalltheseaspectscancausemanyofthebusinesscontactstobefrustratingorevenunsuccessful.However,theseissuesaccountforonlysomeoftheproblemsassociatedwithinterculturalcommunication.Mostmisunderstandingsgobeyondsuperficialdifferences.TheneedtounderstandsignificantculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandAmericannegotiatorsisthemajorthemeofthispaper.

ThispapertriestoanalyzetheinfluenceofculturedifferencesonSino-U.S.business negotiation through comparing the culture differences in verbalcommunication,nonverbalcommunicationandthenegotiationstyles.Itcontains5chapters.Chapter1introducestheconceptsandtheoriesaboutcultureandnegotiation,alsoaboutthepresentsituationofSino-U.S.businessnegotiation.Chapter2focusesonverbalcommunicationwhichcontainstwoparts:

wordswithdifferentconnotationsandwordswithdifferentfigurativemeanings.Chapter3analyzesthenonverbalcommunication,withdifferentunderstandingsofsuchbehaviors:

gesture,facialexpressionandeyecontactcanalsoinfluencetheresultofnegotiation.AlltheseprovideatheoreticalframeworkforafurtherstudyontheimpactofculturaldifferencesonnegotiationstylesadoptedbyAmericanandChinesenegotiators.Chapter4focusesonculturalanalysisofnegotiationstylesinSino-U.S.negotiations.Inchapter5,basedontheprimaryanalysis,weputforwardsomeproposalfromtheperspectiveofcross-culturalcommunicationforthenegotiatorsfrombothChinaandtheUnitedStates.Atlast,theconclusionsaredrawn.

1ASurveyofSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiation

1.1NegotiationandCulture

Negotiationisaprocessinwhichtwoormoreentitiesdiscusscommonandconflictinginterestsinordertoreachanagreementofmutualbenefit.（刘园,2004:

5）Ininternationalbusinessnegotiations,thedifferencesinthenegotiationprocessfromculturetoculture.

Cultureisimportanttobe understoodfor communicationinbusinessnegotiations.Althoughthedefinitionofculturehasevolvedfromthe1900stothe2000s,commoncharacteristicsofculturedonotchange.GaryP.Ferraro（1990）illustratestheconceptofcultureinageneralizedwayinhisbookTheCulturalDimensionofInternationalBusiness,“Cultureiseverythingthatpeoplehave,think,anddoasmembersoftheirsociety.”（Ferraro,1990:

152）

Communicationisattheheartofthenegotiatingprocess.Communicationprocesses,bothverbalandnonverbal,arecriticaltoachievingnegotiationgoalsandtoresolvingconflicts.

Asoneofthemostimportantandsophisticatedhumanactivities,communicationisculturallyinfluenced.Whencommunicatewithpeoplefromotherculture,weexpressdifferentvalues,attitudes,andbeliefs,andholdtheassumptionsofthecultureswithinwhichwehavebeensocializedandwhicharereflectedinourlikeordislike.Communicationisalsoaprocessthatcreatesconflictsandthroughwhichconflictsaremanaged.SamovarandPortersummarizeit,“aswegrowupinaculture,thatcultureconditionsustobelievewhatitdeemstobeworthyortrue.”（Samovar&Porter,1994:

36）Effectivecommunicationrequiresunderstandingthebasicvalues,motives,aspirations,andassumptionsofdifferentculture.Givensomedramaticdifferencesacrossculturesinapproachestosuchareasastime,space,andprivacy,theopportunitiesformiscommunicationwhileweareininterculturalsituationsareplentiful.Becauseofthefactorsresultingfromadiversityofculturalandindividualdifferences,conflictsareinevitableduringtheprocessofcommunication.Thisprocessbecomesevenmorecomplicatedwhenittakesplaceinamultiplecultural,ratherthanasingleculturalenvironment.

Culturaldifferencesmaycausenon-effectivecommunicationorcommunicationfailures.Factshaveshownthat,duringtheprocessofbusinessnegotiationsbetweenthetwosides,theculturalinfluenceisunavoidable.Awarenessofthesedifferencescouldhelpachievesuccessinbusinessnegotiations.

1.2PresentSituationofSino-U.S.BusinessNegotiations

1.2.1Frequency

Withthedevelopmentofeconomicglobalization,increasedbusinessactivitiesamongmembersofdifferentculturesarebecominginevitable.SinceChina’sentry

intotheWTO,moreandmorecompaniesandprojectshavebeenflourishinginChina,andotherwise,China’senterpriseshavebeenrushingtojointheAmericanmarket.Theincreasedbusinessgivesrisetomorecommunicationacrossthetwocountries,especiallyinthefieldofbusinessnegotiation.

BetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates,aconsensushasbeenreachedthattheSino-U.S.economicandtraderelationsarevitallyimportanttobothcountries.TheUnitedStatesisChina’slargestorsecondlargesttradepartnerintheworld,constitutingChina’slargestexportmarket,withanannualvolumeofexportsvaluedatabout$100billion;ontheotherhand,ChinaisoneofAmerica’sprimarytradingpartnersaswell,constitutingthefastestgrowingmarketforAmericanexport.TheUnitedStateisalsooneofthechiefsourcesforChina’sforeigninvestments.Since1999,theAmericanshaveinvestedover$4billioninChinaeveryyear.Mostofthebusinessagreementsbetweenthetwocountriesareachievedthr