Question 1

In international business, global marketing strategies are almost always implemented through _____ with business partners and customers from foreign countries.
A) video-conferencing
B) face-to-face negotiations
C) online collaborations
D) international treaties
E) a memoranda of cooperation

Accepted Answer

Face-to-face negotiations are an omnipresent activity in international commerce. Once global marketing strategies have been formulated, once marketing research has been conducted to support those strategies, and once product/service, pricing, promotion, and place decisions have been made, then the focus of managers turns to implementation of the plans. In international business, such plans are almost always implemented through face-to-face negotiations with business partners and customers from foreign countries.

Question 2

At which of the following levels do cultural differences cause problems in international business negotiations?
A) Economy
B) Values
C) Leadership
D) Motivation
E) Resources

Accepted Answer

Cultural differences cause four kinds of problems in international business negotiations, at the levels of language, nonverbal behaviors, values, and thinking and decision-making processes.

Question 3

On a tour to Australia in 1992, George Bush Sr. flashed the victory sign at the Australian public, with the palm facing inwards, which was considered a rude gesture. This is an example of cultural differences causing problems at the level of:
A) thinking processes.
B) values.
C) language.
D) nonverbal behaviors.
E) decision-making processes.

Accepted Answer

Cultural differences in nonverbal behaviors are almost always hidden below our awareness. When the nonverbal signals from foreign partners are different, negotiators are most likely to misinterpret them without even being conscious of the mistake.

Question 4

In high-context cultures, where personal relationships are crucial, high-level business executives must stay in touch with their foreign counterparts.

Accepted Answer

Finally, follow-up communications are an important part of business negotiations with partners and clients from most foreign countries. Particularly in high-context cultures, where personal relationships are crucial, high-level executives must stay in touch with their counterparts. Letters, pictures, and mutual visits remain important long after contracts are signed.

Question 5

Which of the following is the reason for side conversations among foreign negotiators in their native languages?
A) Stalling the negotiations.
B) Sorting out a translation problem.
C) Diversionary tactics.
D) Sharing secrets.
E) A gesture of disapproval.

Accepted Answer

The usual purpose of side conversations among foreign negotiators in their native languages is to straighten out a translation problem.

Question 6

In the context of the effect of values on international business negotiations, the Japanese tend to emphasize hierarchical relationships that leads to hampered internal communications.

Accepted Answer

The Japanese emphasis on hierarchical relationships seems to hamper internal communications; subordinates don't pass along bad news, for example.

Question 7

Due to the great differences in the roles of women across cultures, gender should be used as a selection criterion for international negotiation teams.

Accepted Answer

Gender should not be used as a selection criterion for international negotiation teams, despite the great differences in the roles of women across cultures. Even in countries where women do not participate in management, American female negotiators are treated as foreigners first.

Question 8

Labeling Americans "cowboys" and associating the Japanese with the image of a samurai warrior are examples of:
A) national symbols.
B) linguistic identifiers.
C) social hierarchy.
D) racial discrimination.
E) cultural stereotypes.

Accepted Answer

The images of John Wayne, the cowboy, and the samurai, the fierce warrior, often are used as cultural stereotypes in discussions of international business negotiations. Such representations almost always convey a grain of truth-an American cowboy kind of competitiveness versus a samurai kind of organizational (company) loyalty.

Question 9

In the context of preparation for international negotiations, a thorough preliminary research eliminates the need for negotiators to make a list of key facts to reconfirm at the negotiation table.

Accepted Answer

No matter how thorough the preliminary research, negotiators should always make a list of key facts to reconfirm at the negotiation table. Information gathered about foreign customers and markets almost always includes errors, and things can change during those long airline flights.

Question 10

Which of the following images is a cultural stereotype attributed to American negotiators by foreign business negotiators?
A) The cowboy.
B) The suave, smooth-talker.
C) The pretentious connoisseur.
D) The "stiff upper lip".
E) The unpunctual, bungling fool.

Accepted Answer

The images of John Wayne, the cowboy, and the samurai, the fierce warrior, often are used as cultural stereotypes in discussions of international business negotiations. Such representations almost always convey a grain of truth-an American cowboy kind of competitiveness versus a samurai kind of organizational (company) loyalty.

Question 11

In the context of international business negotiations, bargaining skill is at the top of almost everyone's list of negotiator traits.

Accepted Answer

Preparation and planning skill is at the top of almost everyone's list of negotiator traits, yet it seems many Americans are still planning strategies during over-ocean flights when they should be trying to rest.

Question 12

In the context of international business negotiations, when faced with a complex negotiation task, most Asians divide the large task up into a series of smaller tasks.

Accepted Answer

When faced with a complex negotiation task, most Westerners divide the large task up into a series of smaller tasks. In Asia, however, a different approach is more often taken wherein all the issues are discussed at once, in no apparent order, and concessions are made on all issues at the end of the discussion. The Western sequential approach and the Eastern holistic approach do not mix well.

Question 13

In China, even the largest business contracts between companies are often sent through the mail for signature.

Accepted Answer

Informality being a way of life in the United States, even the largest contracts between companies are often sent through the mail for signature. But when a major agreement is reached with foreign companies, their executives may expect a formal signing ceremony involving CEOs of the respective companies.

Question 14

The first stage of the business negotiation process is nontask sounding, which includes all those activities that might be described as establishing rapport or getting to know one another.

Accepted Answer

The first stage of a business negotiation process is nontask sounding which includes all those activities that might be described as establishing rapport or getting to know one another, but it does not include information related to the "business" of the meeting.

Question 15

Which of the following groups of negotiators are considered to be the most reticent about giving information about themselves?
A) Israelis
B) Canadians
C) Germans
D) Americans
E) Chinese

Accepted Answer

The Japanese appear on the low end of the continuum of self-disclosures, with their score of 34 percent (along with Spaniards and English-speaking Canadians) being the second lowest across all groups considered, suggesting that they are the most reticent about giving information, except for the Israelis at 30 percent.

Question 16

In the context of the effect of values on international business negotiations, American buyers achieve better results than Japanese buyers.

Accepted Answer

Not only do Japanese buyers achieve better results than American buyers, but compared with American sellers ($4,350), Japanese sellers also get more of the commercial pie ($4,430) as well.

Question 17

The single most important activity of international business negotiations is oration.

Accepted Answer

The single most important activity of negotiations is listening. The negotiator's primary job is collecting information with the goal of enhancing creativity.

Question 18

Which of the following is an important lesson with respect to negotiation?
A) Regional generalizations very often are not correct.
B) The Japanese tend to be in the middle of the scale on almost every dimension of negotiation style.
C) National stereotypes tend to closely reflect the reality, more often than not.
D) On almost every dimension of negotiation style considered, the Americans are on or near the end of the scale.
E) Asian negotiation styles tend to be collectively similar across all dimensions.

Accepted Answer

Looking broadly across the several cultures, two important lessons stand out. The first is that regional generalizations very often are not correct. For example, Japanese and Korean negotiation styles are quite similar in some ways, but in other ways, they could not be more different. The second lesson learned from this study is that Japan is an exceptional place: On almost every dimension of negotiation style considered, the Japanese are on or near the end of the scale.

Question 19

Which of the following is considered to be the most common complaint heard from American managers in terms of the negotiation behavior of foreign clients?
A) The insistence on exchanging business cards to establish the rank of the negotiators.
B) The overt emphasis laid on punctuality and the tendency to waste time.
C) The lack of feedback, positive as well as negative, regarding the negotiations.
D) Foreign clients and partners breaking into side conversations in their native languages.
E) Frequent instances of facial gazing and touching that distract their counterparts.

Accepted Answer

The most common complaint heard from American managers regards foreign clients and partners breaking into side conversations in their native languages. At best, this is seen as impolite, and quite often American negotiators are likely to attribute something sinister to the content of the foreign talk-"They're plotting or telling secrets."

Question 20

Which of the following statements regarding national stereotypes is true?
A) Americans are the best negotiators because they will spend days trying to get to know their opponents.
B) The image of the cowboy used as a cultural stereotype reflects the organizational loyalty of the Americans.
C) Negotiations are conducted between people rather than national stereotypes.
D) The Japanese are the worst negotiators because they think everything works in foreign countries as it does in Japan.
E) The fierce, samurai-warrior stereotyped image of the Japanese embodies their brand of competitiveness.

Accepted Answer

Contrary to popular perception, there are many Americans who are excellent international negotiators and some Japanese who are ineffective. The point is that negotiations are not conducted between national stereotypes; negotiations are conducted between people, and cultural factors often make huge differences.

Quiz 19: Negotiating With International Customers, Partners, and Regulators

In international business, global marketing strategies are almost always implemented through _____ with business partners and customers from foreign countries.

At which of the following levels do cultural differences cause problems in international business negotiations?

On a tour to Australia in 1992, George Bush Sr. flashed the victory sign at the Australian public, with the palm facing inwards, which was considered a rude gesture. This is an example of cultural differences causing problems at the level of:

In high-context cultures, where personal relationships are crucial, high-level business executives must stay in touch with their foreign counterparts.

Which of the following is the reason for side conversations among foreign negotiators in their native languages?

In the context of the effect of values on international business negotiations, the Japanese tend to emphasize hierarchical relationships that leads to hampered internal communications.

Due to the great differences in the roles of women across cultures, gender should be used as a selection criterion for international negotiation teams.

Labeling Americans "cowboys" and associating the Japanese with the image of a samurai warrior are examples of:

In the context of preparation for international negotiations, a thorough preliminary research eliminates the need for negotiators to make a list of key facts to reconfirm at the negotiation table.

Which of the following images is a cultural stereotype attributed to American negotiators by foreign business negotiators?

In the context of international business negotiations, bargaining skill is at the top of almost everyone's list of negotiator traits.

In the context of international business negotiations, when faced with a complex negotiation task, most Asians divide the large task up into a series of smaller tasks.

In China, even the largest business contracts between companies are often sent through the mail for signature.

The first stage of the business negotiation process is nontask sounding, which includes all those activities that might be described as establishing rapport or getting to know one another.

Which of the following groups of negotiators are considered to be the most reticent about giving information about themselves?

In the context of the effect of values on international business negotiations, American buyers achieve better results than Japanese buyers.

The single most important activity of international business negotiations is oration.

Which of the following is an important lesson with respect to negotiation?

Which of the following is considered to be the most common complaint heard from American managers in terms of the negotiation behavior of foreign clients?

Which of the following statements regarding national stereotypes is true?