For America, Britain and most of the western world the main purpose
of a corporate negotiation is to acquire a contract. This differs
greatly from the Chinese mode of prioritizing 'relationship building'
during the negotiation procedure. Chinese businessmen gain these good
relationships through the act of wining and dining their foreign
business associates and essentially aim to create long term
relationships with their US, UK and European counterparts. The
difference in approach may explain why certain Chinese negotiators,
whose negotiating goal is the creation of a relationship rather than
just a contract, tend to give more time and effort to negotiation
preliminaries. In contrast to this, British companies tend to rush
through the beginning of a negotiation as they find it irrelevant to the
final outcome. The Chinese insist on performing vast amounts of due
diligence and research on the company they are doing business with -
doing so not only as a precaution but as a sign of respect.
This
one way system is mirrored in the Chinese business tendency to promote
translation services. Far eastern businessmen are more than willing to
commit vast amounts of time and resource to improving their own English
skills, as well as the English skills of their company. Does this have a
part to play in the development of a wholesome and developed Chinese
negotiation strategy - a strategy that outstrips the capabilities of its
western equivalents? I would say so.
Language has an enormous
role to play in the success of foreign investment. For too long, British
companies have relied on the enthusiasm of their Chinese counterparts
and their willingness to conduct operations in English - is it not time
to acknowledge that this leaves the Anglophone western businessman at a
serious disadvantage?
Thankfully, more and more savvy western
entrepreneurs are enlisting the help of simultaneous translation
services - encouraging large Chinese conference style negotiations to
remain operable in Chinese whilst relying on the trusted translations of
the agency they have used. This is beneficial for two reasons: firstly
it allows for a greater stream of respect, allowing native businessmen
to speak fluently and without undue effort and secondly it affords the
western businessman a real advance in securing the accurate translation
he needs. Going down this route negates the possibility of having the
wool pulled over one's eyes - and in business terms that is a useful
bullet to dodge.
