Discuss differences in the roles taken by members of negotiating teams from individualist cultures and compare them with roles on teams from collectivist cultures. In particular,refer to roles of leader-surrogate,suggestion-maker and consultant in a collectivist-culture team,and skeptic,recorder,and gatekeeper in a team from an individualist culture.

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The Answer is Members of negotiating teams perform a variety of roles which are the result of cultural values. Collectivist cultures place importance on protecting the face of the leader. In situations in which the leader's face may be exposed to slight or damage,the surrogate leader can substitute and take any face-threatening communication instead. Another value in collectivist cultures is harmony,so instead of confrontational disagreement,collectivists engage in suggestion-making. It is positive and face-giving,rather than negative critique. Because collectivists understand the ranking of authority to give appropriate opinions,some team members are probably silent at meetings. However,their agreement is important,so the consultant role allows them to participate in side conversations with the consultant. These three roles help consolidate the members in a unified team. They are unnecessary,however,in individualist teams.
Individualist cultures value successful outcomes of their teamwork. The skeptic challenges others' ideas and invites the others to probe them for weaknesses. The recorder keeps track of who is responsible for what,since individualist cultures value and expect individual performances. The gatekeeper's role is to ensure everyone gives an opinion,and to prevent some voices being drowned out by other,louder ones. These roles are unnecessary in collectivist cultures,but lead to strong outcomes in individualist results-oriented cultures.

Discuss Differences in the Roles Taken by Members of Negotiating