The second task was to answer the following question:
DESCRIBE THE MAIN ROLE THAT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGERS PLAY IN THE NEGOTIATION ARENA AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS:
The role of international business managers or IB managers is to organize, plan, delegate and control projects for organizations with international connections.
Since they are responsible for all the organization's projects, they also have to deal with the negotiation prior to the accomplishment of them. IB managers are in charge of meeting the other party, negotiating their interests and finally reaching an agreement that works for both parties but also accomplishes the organization's goal.
So as stated before, international business managers are the ones who represent the organization and its interests, and therefore they are the ones who deal with cultural issues.
As said in the article "The role of Affect in cross-cultural negotiations", there are three cultural factors that affect negotiations, which are: individual differences, cross-cultural differences and contextual factors. That includes cultural aspects.
Additionally i have to add that IB managers are the ones who have face-to-face or any other type of communication with the other party, so they have to be aware of cultural differences and they also have to take them into consideration when the negotiation process takes place in order to conduct ir successfully.
Since negotiations are often cross-cultural, International Business managers can influence it a lot with their character, values, personality, etc. so they have to develop cross cultural management skills in order to know how to deal with some cultural issues that are essential for the other party. Good IB proffesionals know how to use their managerial skills in their favor to create a good relation with the other and they also know how to deal with cross cultural issues to create a good relation.
In conclusion, International business managers should care a lot more on developing cultural management skills because in a globalized world like the one we live in, cross cultural negotiations are too common and cultural issues can influence the course of the whole negotiations and its outcomes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
George, J., Jones, G. and Gonzalez, J. (1998). The Role of Affect in cross-cultural Negotiations. Journal of International Business studies, 29(4), 749-772. Retrieved from Business source complete database.
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