唐山学院
课程论文
论文题目：从跨文化角度看中美商务谈判中的身势语
系别：外语系
班级： 08英本（2）班
姓名：刘连连
指导教师：路仙伟
2011年12月
Body Language in Sino-US Business Negotiation from Cross-cultural
Perspective
Student: Liu Lianlian
Supervisor: Lu Xianwei
Department of Foreign Languages
Tangshan College
December, 2011
从跨文化角度看中美商务谈判中的身势语
摘要
随着经济全球化的不断发展，商务谈判对于促进各国之间的经济交流与合作发挥着越来越重要的作用。中美两国之间的经济往来也变得越来越频繁。但中美之间由于存在很大文化差异，身势语也不同。在中美跨文化商务谈判中非语言交际身势语起着非常重要的作用。本文从跨文化角度对中美商务谈判中非语言交际中身势语进行了简单的对比分析, 希望能有助于中美两国经济合作。
关键词：跨文化；中美商务谈判；非语言交际；身势语
Body Language in Sino-US Business Negotiation from Cross-cultural Perspective
Abstract
With the continuous development of economic globalization, business negotiation is playing a more and more important role in promoting economic communication and cooperation of all countries. Sino-US economic interaction is also becoming more frequent. However, there exists great difference in cultures of the two countries, resulting in differences in body language. Body language, one kind of nonverbal communication, plays a very important role in Sino-US business negotiation. Therefore, it is necessary to make a brief comparison and analysis of body language in Sino-US business negotiation from cross-cultural perspective, with the hope to help promote the economic cooperation between China and USA.
Key words:cross-cultural；Sino-US business negotiation；nonverbal communication；
body language
Contents
Introduction (1)
Part I A Brief Introduction to Body Language (2)
1.1Definition (2)
1.2 Classification (2)
1.3 Functions (3)
Part II A Brief Introduction to Business Negotiation (4)
2.1Concept of business negotiation (4)
2.2The business negotiation process (4)
Part III An Overview of Cross-cultural Communication (6)
3.1 Hall’s high-context vs low-context (6)
3.2 Hofstede’s value dimensions (7)
Part IV Diversities of Body Language in Sino-US Business Negotiation (9)
4.1Same body language with different meanings (9)
4.2 Different body language with the same meaning (10)
Conclusion............................. .. (11)
Acknowledgements (12)
Notes (13)
Bibliography (14)
Introduction
Since China entered into WTO in 2001, the communication between China and other countries has become more and more frequent economically and politically. With the deepening of China?s reform and opening-up, the standing of China is more and more important in world economy. The international trade by turns is one of the most important sources of China government revenue. The influence of Sino-US economic relationship is worth attention. It is anything but an easy thing to conduct Sino-US business negotiation due to the great cultural differences between China and American. So it is very important to have a good master of the cultural differences in order to promote the trade exchange .In addition, body language also plays a key role in the cross-cultural business negotiation. So as to improve economic cooperation and trade exchange, it is necessary to make a brief comparison and analysis of nonverbal communication –body language in Sino-US business negotiation.
Part Ⅰ A Brief Introduction to Body Language As the world is becoming closely integrated, economic communication between different countries has become more and more frequent. With the development of economy and the prosperity of trade, business negotiation has become very important. The role of nonverbal communication, above all, body language can not be neglected. So it is necessary to have a better understanding of body language from intercultural perspective. Now the thesis will introduce the definition, classification and functions of body language in detail.
1.1Definition
Body language belongs to nonverbal communication. It is also called body movement, body behavior and so on, which refers to all expressions and movements that send messages to help us communicate with each other. Body language is a process in which we use our physical behavior to deliver information and express specific meaning subconsciously which is unable to be conveyed by verbal language.
It is not easy to define body language. According to Knapp …nonverbal communication? refers to communication affected by meaning rather than words. Some scholars also claim that body language can be used without words. Some linguists take social conventions into account. Of course, there are numerous factors influencing how to make a definition of body language.
It is easy to see that body language is the most important part of all nonverbal communication. It consists of facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, posture and so on. Body language, like verbal language, is also a part of culture. But in different cultures body language may have different interpretations. Different people have different ways of conducting nonverbal communication. In cross-cultural communication, understanding the different cultural implication of Chinese and American body language can promote people?s cross-cultural communication competence, reinforce the heart-to-heart understanding and in the end will make it easier to conduct business negotiation smoothly and effectively.
1.2 Classification
There is no unified standard for classifying the body language. According to He Daokuan, body language refers to posture, stance, gestures, facial expressions, eye behavior, any other movement of any part of the body and appearances (including clothing, cosmetics, hair style and smell).Bi Jiwan thinks body language includes posture,
etiquette (handshaking, kissing, smiling and touching), and body movements (head gesture, face gestures, eye movement, arm gesture, hand gesture and leg movement). Although we can not classify body language exactly, we can see gestures, postures and touch are important part of it.
1.3 Functions of Body Language
Body language is also part of culture and the carrier of a certain culture. The functions of it should not be overlooked. Research shows that when people meet someone for the first time, only 7% of their initial impact on others is determined by the content of what they say; the other 93% of their message is made up of body language (55%) and the tone of their voice（38%）.We tend to accept what our body delivers in our daily life, because nonverbal communication sounds more natural, more real. So, it is obvious that we need to pay close attention to the functions of body language. Next let?s discuss the functions of body language.
Body language often can give a hand to our communication. Its functions are great benefit for us to conduct a smooth and efficient communication. There are five major functions: repetition, contradiction, substitution, supplementation, and regulation.
Repetition refers to the process to reinforce verbal communication through redundancy. For example, when we tell people how to go somewhere, we not only tell them the direction, but also point to the direction with hand at the same time. Generally speaking, gestures have the similar meaning with words and can repeat what is said.
Contradiction is what you body language conveys is opposite what you are saying. On some occasions, our body can betray us .For instance, you tell someone you are relaxed, but your hands are shaking.
Substitution is when we use body language to convey some message rather than speak it out. When we are having a meeting, we will put our finger on our mouth to tell others to be quiet.
Supplement refers to body language help to convey some subconscious meaning, such as smile functioning as a supplement to pleasure.
Regulation occurs when body language help to control the flow of verbal messages. We often use some body language to regulate and manage our communication such as eye contact showing interesting and nodding as a form of agreement.
Body language can play each function separately, and sometimes can work at the same time. It is necessary to have a better understanding of these functions to communicate effectively and smoothly.
Part II A Brief Introduction to Business Negotiation
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world is definitely shrinking and trade is helping to shrink it. Experts estimate that over fifty percent of an international manager?s time is sp ent negotiating. In effect, cross-cultural negotiations have begun to take on increasing importance to the multinational companies. Since international negotiations play a more and more important role in today?s business relations, a general understanding of negotiation is a must.
2.1 Concept of business negotiation
Negotiation is a basic human activity that most people do at some point every day, to sort out differences with other people, or to get what they want. A housewife with a salesperson over the counter for the price of fruits, a girl with her parent for lifting the night curfew, a driver with a policeman for removing ticket over a traffic violation, a purchasing agent with a supplier for the quality of a product, so on and so forth, all of which involve negotiation. As a matter of fact, negotiation plays an important role in our daily life.
A modern definition of negotiation is two or more parties with common and conflicting interests who enter into a process of interaction with the goal of reaching an agreement (preferably of mutual benefit). [1]Negotiation is a decision-making process that provides opportunities for the parties to exchange commitments or promises through which they will resolve their disagreements and reach a settlement. In brief, a negotiation is two or more parties striving to agree when their objectives do not coincide. Business negotiation can be conducted in the form of verbal and nonverbal communication, which is closely interdependent. Verbal and nonverbal communications both have a direct influence on the results and effectiveness of negotiations.
In order to carry on the business negotiation smoothly, the both parties shall conform to some principles such as Politeness Principle, Cooperation Principle, Principle of Trust, Principle of Interest Distribution.
2.2 The business negotiation process
Negotiations, when taking place in an international context, consist of four major stages: non-task sounding; task-related exchange of information; persuasion, compromise; concession and agreement.
Non-task sounding focuses on establishing a relationship among the negotiating parties. During this stage, the main aim of the parties is to get to know each other. Parties try to gather as much general information as possible on each other, such as the operating
environment, the infrastructure, the involvement of other third parties, competitors, etc. Non-task sounding is often more important in international business negotiations. Social, informal relationships developed between negotiators at this stage can be very helpful. Trust and confidence gained from these relationships increase the chances of agreement.
Task-related exchange of information focuses on providing information directly related to the issues under negotiation. During this stage, each party explains its needs and expectations. They not only have different perception of the process but also have different expectations for the outcome. It is, therefore, important that each party come to the negotiating table with an open mind and several alternatives. Parties evaluate the alternatives presented by the other party and select those that are compatible with their own expectations. Faced with the issues on which they are at odds, they enter the next stage of the negotiation: persuasion.
Persuasion focuses on trying to modify the other party?s views and expectations and make them closer to one?s own. A balance between firmness and flexibility is important at this stage. This stage of negotiation is often intertwined with other stages (i.e. persuasion goes on while exchanging information and making concession).
Concessions and agreement are the culmination of the negotiation process. To reach an agreement that is mutually acceptable, each side must give up some things. At this stage each party revises its former position and expectations to reach a settlement acceptable to both. All terms having been agreed upon, the contract is being drawn up and is ready to be signed.
It is worth mentioning that although all negotiations include these four stages, duration and sequence of the stages, emphasis put on the different stages, and strategies formed at these stages differ across cultures.
When business deals take place across the borders, negotiations will be beyond question influenced by the different cultures. Therefore, negotiations can easily break down because of a lack of understanding of the cultural components of the negotiation process. When Negotiators spend time understanding the approach that the other parties are likely to use, and then adapt their own styles to that one, they are likely to be more effective negotiators. Accordingly, it is worth the time to know the intercultural communication prior to entering into a negotiation situation.
Part III An Overview of Cross-cultural Communication
In this part the paper will introduce some basic theories about cross-cultural communication.
3.1 Hall’s high-context vs. low-context
High and low context refers to the amount of information that a person can comfortably manage. This can vary from a high context culture where background information is implicit to low context culture where much of the background information must be made explicit in an interaction.
A high-context communication or message is one in which most of the
information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message.
A low-context communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the
information is vested in the explicit code.
Most cultures are context-oriented. According to Anthropologist Edward T.
Hall?s theory of High-context and Low-context culture, we can better understand the powerful effect cultures have on negotiations. In his theory, context is the key factor which relates to the framework, background，and surrounding circumstances in which communication or an event takes place. High-context cultures (including much of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America) are relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative.People in these cultures are less governed by reason than by intuition or feelings. Words are not so important as context, which include facial expressions, postures, gestures and the like. High-context communication tends to be more indirect and more formal.
Low-context cultures are quite different from it. Low-context cultures (including North America and much of Western Europe) are logical, linear, individualistic, and action-oriented.People from those cultures value logic, facts, and directness.
[2]
Between China and America exist great cultural differences. If we want to succeed in reaching agreements and avoid causing disputes in our business negotiation with American, now let us learn some of the differences.
America is a typical low-context cultural country, people from this kind of culture tend to express their information directly and put less attention on the face problem than Chinese people. However, China has a high-context culture, so Chinese people are more
prone to communicate indirectly. In business negotiation, Americans are always confident and they have the born sense that they are superior to people from other nations and they are eager to get down to the business directly and conclude the negotiation effectively. Chinese prefer indirect communication seeing it as politeness and modest and prefer good preparations. In addition, China is a high power distance cultural country so that the right of the final decision-making lies in the hands of managers; on the contrary, the negotiators from America can change the conditions and have the power to make the final decision.
3.2 Hofstede’s value dimensions
Geert H. Hofstede is most well known for his work on four dimensions of cultural variability: Individualism-Collectivism，Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Masculinity-Femininity.
On individualist culture (such as America), Hofstede said that individuals should look after the interests of their own and their immediate family (husband, wife, and children). On the other hand, in collectivist culture (such as China), it was said that any person through birth and after events belongs to one or more cohesive collectives (“in-group”), from which he or she cannot detach himself or herself. The in-group (for example, the extended family with grandparents and either paternal or maternal uncles, aunts, and cousins or on a larger scale, the nation and its governmental institutions) should protect the interests of its members but in return can expect their permanent loyalty.
According to Hofstede & Bond, power distance is defined "as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations accept that power is distributed unequally". In other words people in high power distance culture like China is much more comfortable with a larger status differential than low power distance culture like USA.
This dimension refers to how comfortable people feel towards ambiguity.
Cultures which ranked low (compared to other cultures), feel much more comfortable with the unknown. As a result, high uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer formal rules and any uncertainty can express itself in higher anxiety than those from low uncertainty avoidance cultures.
The words masculinity and femininity are not referred to men and women,
but rather to the degree to which masculine or feminine traits prevail. Masculinity is the extent to which the dominant values in a society are male oriented and is associated with such behaviors as ambition, differentiated sex roles, achievement, and the acquisition of money, and signs of manliness. The more feminine cultures value interpersonal relationships, put quality of life before material acquisition and actively express concern for the less fortunate. As we all know, China is a more masculinity country than America, so we need to know its traits for our smooth business negotiation.[3]
Part IV Diversities of Body Language in Sino-US Business
Negotiation
There are many body movements carrying the same or similar meaning in China and America. A smile and an outstretched hand both show welcome, a frown is a sigh of displeasure, and nodding one?s head means agreement, in addition, displeasure, bad humor, resentment, the wrinkling of one?s nose represents dislike, disgust or disapproval. Handshake may be the most common gesture to show one?s delight to meet someone; waving an outreach hand to say goodbye; leaning back in one?s seat and yawning during a conversation or meeting to convey lacking in interest or boredom; patting one?s back to praise or encourage them; gritting one?s teeth to show anger…these gestures are accepted by both Chinese and Americans. They are part of the way in which both Chinese and Americans communicate in the similar fashion. However, there are still differences among the body languages of different countries. The diversities of body language in different cultures can divided into two parts:Same body language with different meanings and Different body language with the same meaning.
4.1 Same body language with different meanings
Stamping one?s foot shows anger, frustration in China but shows impatience in USA; speaker or performer clapping at the same time when audience applauds to express appreciation or good impression in China but it is understood as applauding oneself because of improper in America; staring gaping is a sigh of curiosity sometimes surprise in China but is regarded as impolite and making people feel self-conscious or embarrassed in USA; we can tolerate pushing in crowed shops, buses or other public places in China, however, pushing may seem unpleasant and aggressive to Americans .On the other hand, Americans like football match more than Chinese people.
4.2Different body language with the same meaning
Forefinger of one hand extended ,tip touches one?s own face several times quickly, similar to scratching but with the forefinger straight indicates shame on you in China but in America, the same meaning is conveyed by forefinger of each hand extended, palm down in front of one?s body and one finger makes several brushing over the back of other fingers; one or both hands open, slightly patting one?s stomach shows “I am full”in China ,but hand raised to throat, fingers extended, palm down often with the words “I am full up to here” which is the most appropriate body movement in USA…
In addition，there are also many body language and meanings have no equivalents in China and America. So, it is impossible to know all about the mystery of body language. In business negotiations, what is not said is in many cases more important that what is openly expressed by the parties involved. Emotional messages at the negotiating table are expressed nonverbally by gestures, tone of voice, or facial expressions. The other side?s interpretation of your statement depends on the nonverbal more than what was actually said. Nonverbal communication is significant. What cannot be conveyed through words is sent through gestures and body movements. When negotiating parties do not speak the same language and share the same value system, non-verbal communication becomes more important.
Effective negotiators are particularly good at controlling their body language and at the same time adjusting to the many nonverbal signals they will receive from the opposite negotiators. Chinese negotiators should be aware of the significance of non-verbal communications and be careful about their own body language and the meaning attached to the other party's gestures, tone of voice, silences and facial expressions. Visual aids like photographs, diagrams, drawings, catalogs, books and samples of products often worth more than words in a cross-cultural context. Try to use them to facilitate communication.
If we want to promote our business negotiation, we definitely need to know better about the similarities and diversities of body language between China and USA.
Conclusion
As business negotiation becomes more and more important in the broader and deeper development of business, it is necessary for us to have a better understanding of nonverbal communication from the perspective of cross-culture, in order to promote the smooth advance of business negotiation between China and America. Body language, as one of the most important manners of nonverbal communication in business negotiation, is worth great attention. Understanding and using body language correctly turns out to be very useful and effective in helping negotiating parties from China and USA achieve the business negotiating goals.
This thesis mainly talks about the body language, including its definition classification and functions, and makes a brief introduction of intercultural business negotiation. More attention is paid to make a comparative study of body language between China and America. With the further development of business negotiation, more and more attention should be put to study about body languages of different cultures to help the negotiating parties achieve the negotiating goals. Only when we make a clear understanding of body language, can we avoid misunderstanding and succeed in cross-cultural communication and making an efficient communication. The more we know about body language from cross-cultural communication, the more smoothly we can achieve successful and beneficial business negotiation and make contribution to the development of China.
Acknowledgements
I am greatly grateful to a number of people who have given me help and guidance in completing this thesis.
I would like to show my sincere thanks to my supervisor Prof. Lu Xianwei, for his invaluable instruction, inspiration and exhaustive revision .Without his precious advice and guidance, my thesis could not have been accomplished
My sincere gratitude also goes to the teachers who have taught me and my classmates who have made my college life colorful and meaningful.
Last but not least, my special gratitude must go to my family, especially my parents.
I would like to thank them for their encouragements and support, without their unselfish and endless help, I would never have overcome the difficulties during the past several years.
Notes
[1] 余慕鸿，章汝雯.商务英语谈判. 高等教育出版社， 2009：199.
[2] 许力生.跨文化交际英语教程. 上海：上海外语教育出版社，2007:201.
[3] 同上：109.
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