Some reflections of vietnamese and american cultural values on vietnamese american business negotiation 42

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ………………………………………………………………………… Acknowledgement ………………………………………………………………… Abstract …………………………………………………………………………… Table of contents…………………………………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale ………………………………………………………………………… Aims of the study……………………………………………………… ……… Scope of the study………………………………………………………………… Methods of the study ……………………………………………………………… Significance of the study ………………………………………………………… Organization of the study………………………………………………………… CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Culture ………………………… …………………………………… 1 What is culture? ……………………… Components of culture …………… Cultural values …………………………………………………… Vietnamese cultural values ………………………………………… 1 Collectivism ……………………………………… Harmony ……………………………………… 3 Respect……………………………………………………………………… Duty and honor……………………………………………………………… American cultural values……………………………………………………… Individualism………………………………………………………………… 2 Self-reliance………………………………………………………………… 3 Equality……………………………………………………………………… Competition ………………………………………………………………… Materialism and hard work………………………………………………… Communication…………………………………………………………………… What is communication? 2 Cross – cultural communication………………………………………………… Potential problems in cross – cultural communication ……………………… Negotiation ………………………………………………………………………… What is negotiation? Negotiation as a form of communication……………………………………… 3 Elements of negotiation………………………………………………………… Business negotiation……………………………………………………………… Characteristics of business negotiation………………………………………… i ii iii iv 1 2 2 4 6 8 9 10 10 11 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 17 18 18 v Cross - cultural business negotiation…………………………………………… Potential problems in cross cultural business negotiation…………………… CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY Research method…………………………………………………………………… Data collection instrument ……………………………………………………… Data collection procedure………………………………………………………… Informants………………………………………………………………………… CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Presentation and analysis of the data…………………………………………… 1 The negotiators – the actors of a negotiation…………………………………… The size of negotiation team…………………………………………………… Negotiation approach…………………………………………………………… Negotiating style ………………………………………………………………… Risk taking……………………………………………………………………… Goal of negotiating ……………………………………………………………… The role of attorneys in the negotiation………………………………………… Conflict management…………………………………………………………… Decision-making ………………………………………………………………… 10 Activities accompanying the negotiation ……………………………………… Similarities and differences between Vietnamese and American in business negotiation and the cultural explanation… ………………………………………… Similarities……………………………………………………………………… 2 Differences……………………………………………………………………… Potential problems in Vietnamese – American business negotiation and some suggested solutions…………………………………………………………………… Potential problems………………………………………………………………… Some suggested solutions……………………………………………………… CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… Limitation of the study…………………………………………………………… Suggestions for further study……………………………………………………… REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX APPENDIX 19 21 22 22 23 23 25 25 26 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 33 34 34 36 39 39 39 41 41 42 42 43 I CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study During the last few decades, the increasing globalization of the economy has resulted in the tremendous growth in international market As international business opportunities open, negotiations also increase There have been so many studies about negotiation skills across cultures, but they only focused mainly on developed countries Just few studies have been conducted in the Vietnamese market Located in the Southeast Asian region, the developing country Vietnam attracts a lot of foreign direct investments, especially after becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007 Among various foreign investors are those who come from the United States The U S -Vietnam Trade Agreement signed in July 2000 has created opportunities for US investors in Vietnam and also given Vietnamese businesses access to the U S market on the same terms as other nations With the increasing development in US – Vietnam trade relation, the negotiations between Vietnamese and U S partners grow to be a norm This shows the importance of understanding how differences in cultures, sexes, experience, and characteristics could affect Vietnamese – American business negotiation However, to cover all those differences in a study of this size seems to be overloaded This study, therefore, attempts to explore only one side of cultural differences - Vietnamese and American cultural values and to find out how they influence on Vietnamese – American business negotiation Aims of the study This study aims to investigate the potential problems in Vietnamese – American business negotiation and the Vietnamese and American cultural values that cause those problems To be more specific, the objectives of the study are: - to find out typical Vietnamese and American cultural values - to understand the nature of a cross cultural business negotiation - to examine the potential problems in Vietnamese – American business negotiation - to analyze how cultural values influence the negotiation process and outcomes These aims are formulated into following research questions: 1) What are the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and American business negotiation? 2) How are Vietnamese and American cultural values reflected in Vietnamese – American business negotiation? 3) What are potential problems in Vietnamese – American business negotiation? Scope of the study Dealing with all cultural factors affecting negotiation is too broad for a study of this type Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate only some typical cultural values of the two target countries: Vietnam and the United States; and to find out how they are reflected in Vietnamese-American business negotiation Methods of the study The study used mixed methods to find answers to the three research questions The instrument for data collection in this study was the questionnaire The data collected from questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively for descriptive statistics Considerations and comments will be made inductively Significance of the study This study points out the cultural values of the two countries that have influence on Vietnamese – American business negotiation and tries to find out some potential problems in that case The results of the study will be of some contribution to the literature of international business negotiation from cross-cultural perspective Moreover, the findings and comments of the study are believed to be useful for raising the cultural awareness of Vietnamese and American businessmen when they meet up in a negotiation so that they can achieve success when they business in the United States or Vietnam Organization of the study: This minor thesis consists of chapters: The first chapter is the introduction which reveals the rationale, significance, aims, methods, scope and organization of the study Chapter is the theoretical background centering on some typical cultural values of Vietnam and the United States, the cross cultural business negotiation with potential problems Chapter discusses the methodology of the study Chapter deals with findings and discussion, and implications of the study given by the findings The last chapter is the conclusion, limitations and suggestions for further study CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Culture 1 What is culture? Culture is an abstract term which is very hard to define The meaning of the word ―culture‖ causes a lot of debates by anthropologists as well as many other social scientists There are up to now hundreds of definitions of ‗culture‘ and different people define it in dissimilar ways But the most general understanding of culture is that it is learnt, not inherent Culture may be understood in the sense of ―high culture‖ as the appreciation of art, music, literature and so on, or ―low culture‖ as normal life with daily activities of human beings According to UNESCO, culture is an "aggregate of distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional traits, which characterizes a society or a social group It includes, alongside with arts and literature, ways of life, basic human rights, systems of values, customs and traditions, and faiths" This is the definition that helps to articulate the concept of cultural dimension of development Geert Hofstede (1984:22) describes culture as the ―collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another ‖ Therefore, the behavior of a person can only be understood from the knowledge of the culture that he belongs to Due to the fact that all negotiations take place in a socio-cultural environment, the culture of such a place will greatly influence the way the negotiators act, behave or perceive communications, both verbal and non verbal during negotiations Therefore, the definition ―Culture is a shared background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes, and values‖ by Levine and Adelman (1993:xvi) is the most suitable one for the scope of this study Components of culture Being passed down from generation to generation, the components of culture are extremely important to all aspects of a society They are necessary for members of society to competently participate in social life and interactions The actions of people can provide information on the culture they come from Sometimes, being submerged into another culture can lead to culture shock According to Stephen Moore (1985:4), cultures are composed of six elements: beliefs, values, norms, roles, role conflict and status - Beliefs: these are general, vague opinions held about the world and about the nature of society They vary by society and sometimes by subcultures, e g the ancient people were encouraged to think that the Earth was the centre of the universe and all other planets moved around us - Values: these are vague beliefs about what is right and correct in the world They imply that there are certain appropriate forms of action which ought to be taken, e g life is precious therefore, it is wrong to kill anybody - Norms: these are socially expected patterns of behavior (Actions that are regarded as normal) A norm of the British society is to say ―Hello!‖ on meeting someone, or to stand in a queue without trying to push in front - Roles: Social roles are patterns of behavior expected of certain people according to the occupation or position they hold in society - Role conflict: There are innumerable social roles – father, mother, child, shopkeeper etc All of us occupy a number of roles, which are generally complementary, but sometimes they may conflict - Status: This refers to the position of a person or social role in society according to the amount of prestige received from others In different societies/cultures, status varies Myron W Lustig and Jolene Koeste (2006, 86) have the opinion that culture involves four components: beliefs, values, norms and social practices - Beliefs: A belief is an idea that people assume to be true about the world Beliefs, therefore, are a set of learned interpretations that form the basis for cultural members to decide what is and what is not logical and correct - Values: Values involve what a culture regards as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust, beautiful or ugly, clean or dirty, valuable or worthless, appropriate or inappropriate, and kind of cruel Because values are the desired characteristics or goals of a culture, a culture‘s values not necessary describe its actual behaviors and characteristics - Norms: Norms are the socially shared expectations of appropriate behaviors When a person‘s behaviors violate the culture‘s norms, social sanctions are usually imposed Like values, norms can vary within a culture in terms of their importance and intensity Unlike values, however, norms may change over a period of time, whereas beliefs and values tend to be much more enduring - Social practices: Social practices are the predictable behaviors‘ patterns that members of a culture typically follow Thus, social practices are the outward manifestations of beliefs, values and norms Cultural values In the scope of this study, only the component ‗values‘ is focused among the components of culture mentioned above In the view of philosophers, value is a very common concept It relates to economy, politics, morality, art, religion, science, culture and even the common connotation and essence of gains and losses, kindness and evil, beauty and ugliness, pros and cons in every field of daily life Values are related to the norms of a culture, but they are more global and abstract than norms Norms are rules for behavior in specific situations, while values identify what should be judged as good or evil Different cultures reflect different values At the simplest level, cultural values are commonly shared concepts about what is right or wrong, possible or impossible, true or false and so on In other words, they may be seen as the commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc , in a community or society Values determine thought patterns, standards of morality and behaviors Each culture has its own value system which may be very different from that of another culture Vietnamese cultural values Known as a once war-torn nation, Vietnam has a complex culture influenced by many foreign invaders over the centuries However, it can be said on the positive side that, this history of war has contributed to shape the Vietnamese character Long years of fighting against foreign intruders have served to unify the country, fostering a sense of nationalism and pride In the early history, the country was dominated by Chinese for almost 1000 years Consequently, the Viet people and culture were subject to constant Chinese influence and significant attempts of assimilation Therefore, Vietnamese culture is said to have foundations in Confucian and Buddhist philosophies transmitted mainly from Chinese source In addition, it was traditionally the agricultural society that formed the Vietnamese character, which was characterized by the village community with many of its primitive vestiges retained The thoughts of farmers absorbed deeply into the Vietnamese agricultural society and their positive aspects made up the typical features of the traditional Vietnamese The basic administrative and social unit of the society was the village with affairs run by notables and the state rarely interfered The village culture highly valued emotional ties and attachment to relatives and community as well as help extended to each other especially to the less fortunate members In this way, it fostered the sense of collectivism Despite all the complexity of the structure of the Vietnamese cultural system as such, the core distinctive values of Vietnamese culture are still recognizable 1 Collectivism This cultural value means that the interests of the community or the group are considered to be more important than the interest of the individual Asian cultures place a higher value on the group and tend to see individuals in terms of their membership in and obligation to groups The Vietnamese are no exception Being a collectivist society, the needs of the group in Vietnam are placed before the needs of the individuals The concerns for family and community will almost always come before business or individual needs This is explained by Ellis C (1996) in her book Culture shock! Vietnam: A strong sense of community felt by all Vietnamese is an intrinsic part of their make-up and ethnographers believe it stems from their long reliance on wet rice agriculture The people had to cooperate and work together on intra-village irrigation systems to get the benefits of a good harvest This created a sense of unity… An expression of this value is the Vietnamese people‘s allegiance to their family There is a fact that family is the cornerstone of the Vietnamese society Vietnamese people cherish the complete and stable family, maintain harmony and avoid confrontations They usually live in extended families which may include three (or more) generations: grandparents, parents and children By virtue of the principle of collective and mutual responsibility, each individual strives to be the pride of his family Children are taught from early childhood to obey their parents and readily forget himself for the sake of his family‘s welfare and harmony The elder generation always tells the younger generation what they should or should not Before making a decision, the younger generation often asks for their parents‘ opinions Harmony Harmony is normally defined referring to the natural world as a cultural emphasis on fitting harmoniously into the environment (unity with nature, protecting the environment, world of beauty) More appropriately, it may refer to non-assertiveness in social relations For Vietnamese culture, according to Hunt P C (2002), the concept of harmony is based largely on the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism Total harmony is achieved by creating harmony within oneself and one’s family, as well as in the outer world of humanity and nature He also states that observing moderation and avoiding extremes are some ways an individual can to produce harmony That‘s moderation and avoiding extremes in verbal communication, daily life activities, consumption of food and drink and in social interaction This helps ensure their physical safety and they can adhere to the moral imperative to keep their dignity unimpaired 3 Respect Hunt P C (2002, 4) supposed that ―respect is the foundation of Confucius‘ teaching and it is the guiding principle of interpersonal relationships in Vietnamese society ‖ Vietnamese are expected to show respect to people who are senior to them in age, status, or position At home, they should show respect to their parents, older siblings, and older relatives This is expressed by obedience in words and action Respect is part of the concept of filial piety Insults to elders or ancestors are very serious and can often lead to severed social ties Outside the family, respect should be paid to elderly people, teachers, clergymen, supervisors and employers, and people in high positions through language and demeanor Puffer (2004, 204) explained that ―By giving respect, one gains respect The essential principle is: Show other people more respect than they apparently deserve; simultaneously expect and assert less respect than you deserve ‖ Duty and honor Duty and honor are among the highest cultural values Individuals are instilled from childhood with the values of honor, hard work and loyalty to the family Individuals have the ultimate duty to carry themselves with the utmost dignity in all circumstances so as to not bring shame to oneself and the family To lose face dishonors oneself and one‘s family The duty and role of each immediate and extended family member is well defined These duties and roles govern the actions of the individuals and are the sacrifices one makes to one‘s family For example, the role of the parents is to raise their children properly Their duties are not limited to providing food and shelter, but require them to educate and instill the children with moral values The children in turn have the duties to obey their parents 36 % 80 73 70 55 60 50 45 Vietnamese 40 27 American 30 20 10 very general principles the specific details Chart 15: Difference in negotiating style Vietnamese negotiators prefer the deductive style which means seeking initial agreements on the most general principles After the agreements on those principles are reached, they will continue to discuss each specific detail This style provides the framework for dealing with the issues as they occur and helps them avoid uncertainties in the negotiating process because all the principles have already been established up-front On the contrary, Americans usually negotiate inductively by dividing the large task up into a series of smaller tasks They often look for agreements on very specific details and then collect them to come to the overall agreement That is the way they are willing to face and deal with difficulties right away All these styles are expressions of the two different cultures: collectivist cultures value ―harmony‖ which means people try to be less confrontational, so they usually rely on a ―safe‖ solution However, the values of individualism, self-reliance and competition of American culture give people the willingness to cope with any problems This also explains the fact that American people are not afraid of taking risks when negotiating - Fourthly, American people tend to practice gift-giving and attend entertainment activities before or after the negotiation less than Vietnamese people They may think that it‘s time-consuming while in their mind ―time is money‖ and ―business is business ‖ Being known for ―hard work and materialism‖, they always try to make use of time and get works done as effectively as possible On the contrary, the Vietnamese are often more concerned with building relationship with their foreign business counterparts Giving gifts or inviting counterparts to restaurants or karaoke, etc are their ways to gain good 37 impressions from the counterparts and a good relationship as well as the trust between the two sides will be built - Fifthly, collectivist Vietnamese business people are normally more affected by the reputation and the status of the counterparts or the introduction of a trustworthy third party when they decide to cooperate And so, their basis for trust is often on mutual respect among the parties involved - Sixthly, the trust on mutual respect can also be seen in Vietnamese‘s more underestimation of the role of attorneys in the negotiation than Americans As for American negotiators, the appearance of attorneys in the negotiation is important and compulsory to ensure the legality of the contract This is because the individualist culture of Americans makes them more rational whereas collectivist Vietnamese tend to be more sentimental - Lastly, decision-making process differs much between the two countries Negotiators from individualist culture like Americans seem to be more independent and assertive in making decision whereas the collectivist Vietnamese tend to be much more interdependent All the differences mentioned above result from the differences in the two cultures with different typical cultural values These differences may cause many potential problems in international business negotiation between Vietnamese and American Potential problems in Vietnamese – American business negotiation and some suggested solutions Potential problems As discussed above, potential problems may arise in Vietnamese – American business negotiation as follows - More emphasis on the balance of status, position and age between two parties, Vietnamese negotiators may be unsatisfied with the younger and status-lower American negotiators - There also may be misunderstanding between two parties in suggesting and accepting activities around the negotiation Vietnamese negotiators are likely to experience the feeling of disappointment in such case as their American counterparts are not excited about participating in activities which are aimed at personal relationship building For 38 example, Vietnamese people consider gift-giving as an expression of harmony and it helps improve the relationship but Americans may think that it is the action of ―bribe‖ - In decision-making, U S negotiators often expect to be able to complete negotiations timely and efficiently So they may feel impatient when Vietnamese negotiators are slow in making-decision process as they have to consult every team member, or they even delay making decision (if the representatives are lower-ranked officials of the organization ) Some suggested solutions To limit the problems that may occur in Vietnamese – American business negotiation, the following suggested solutions may be applied: - In the most general way, before the negotiation, both Vietnamese and American negotiators should spend time learning about the counterpart‘s culture such as ways of thinking, rules of behaviors… When already having certain knowledge about each other‘s culture, each party should try to predict the possible situations if they negotiate with the counterpart and prepare possible solutions for those situations When being well-informed, each party will be more well-prepared which helps minimize misunderstandings, culture shock in negotiation - Vietnamese business people had better prepare carefully for the issues that will be introduced at the negotiation table, which can be conceded and which cannot With careful preparation and prediction, they will be more decisive and assertive In addition, Vietnamese companies should not send too many representatives to the negotiation as they can choose only who are with knowledge and negotiating skills, provide them with authority to decide right at the negotiation conference - For American business people who are doing business with Vietnamese counterparts, it is crucial for them to spend time building personal relationship with their Vietnamese counterpart to shorten the distance and create good impression Additionally, they should try to be more patient at the negotiating table while their counterpart comes to the final decision With the understanding and goodwill of both sides, it is believed that any conflicts that may happen in a Vietnamese-American negotiation will be successfully resolved 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION Conclusion From the above analysis, it can be concluded that cross-cultural negotiations are very complex and uncertain The complexity and uncertainty of cross-cultural negotiations are mainly resulted from the differences in the understanding and recognition of the ways of thinking and behaviors of people from another culture This is not an exception in the case of Vietnamese and American business people at a negotiation conference Coming from a highly individualistic culture, American negotiators tend to emphasis on individual values such as self-reliance, equality, competition, materialism and hard work These cultural values are expressed deeply in their negotiating actions They highly appreciate individual negotiators with negotiating skills, expertise and experience in negotiating with the counterpart, who can deal with any possible risks and has the complete authority to make decisions at the negotiation Their main objective is the negotiating itself, so they not care much about the position or age of the other negotiators or the size of the negotiating team, as well as not spending too much time on other activities around the negotiation such as giving gifts to the counterparts, going to restaurants or karaoke, etc During the negotiation, they follow deductive style to seek agreements and always find solutions to manage conflicts In contrast, Vietnamese negotiators are affected by their collectivist values such as harmony, respect, duty and honor Their ways of thinking and behaviors at the negotiation 40 meeting are clear expressions of those cultural values Their selection of negotiators also includes the criteria of seniority and status and they prefer a balance of age, position from the counterparts Coming to the negotiation table with a large team, they make decision together and take collective responsibility They expect an outcome with the winning of both sides Vietnamese negotiators think highly of building relationship and usually organize activities for that purposes such as dining, karaoke… or giving gifts to the counterparts Their negotiating style is inductive and they would rather reduce risks during negotiating Their approach to deal with conflicts is solution-oriented one The differences between Vietnamese and American negotiators may lead to conflicts during the negotiation process Those problems may be mostly on decisionmaking process and relationship building activities The solutions for these problems are based on mutual understanding, other-oriented attitude of Vietnamese and American negotiators Limitation of the study This study has been accomplished with great effort of the researcher but it still has some certain unavoidable limitations because of many reasons With the limited relationship, the researcher was unable to directly approach the informants to have some interviews which help to make their answers in the questionnaires more explicit with more ideas or explanations If only interviews were carried out, there would be more interesting findings in this research It must also be admitted that the time constraints, the shortage of available materials and the limited knowledge and experience in doing research of the researcher has resulted in more minor mistakes in this paper Suggestions for further study As mentioned above, the issue of cross cultural negotiation between Vietnamese and American business people was not fully covered in this minor thesis This may only be seen as a general view on the influence of culture on Vietnamese-American business negotiation, so following are some suggestions for anyone with interests in this study field: - The negotiating strategies used by Vietnamese and American business people - Non-verbal communication in Vietnamese-American business negotiation 41 - Cross cultural study on 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USA Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, Portlan, Oregon http://en wiipedia org I APPENDIX BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Tôi học viên cao học chuyên ngành Ngôn ngữ Anh trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, nghiên cứu đề tài ảnh hưởng giá trị văn hóa đàm phán thương mại Việt Mỹ Bảng câu hỏi có ý nghĩa quan trọng giúp tơi có nhìn thực tế thực đàm phán kinh doanh Việt Mỹ Xin quý vị vui lịng giúp tơi hồn thành Bảng câu hỏi khảo sát Xin cam đoan danh tính quý vị không bị nêu lên trường hợp Trân trọng cám ơn nhiệt tình quý vị PHẦN 1: Xin vui lòng cung cấp số thong tin cá nhân quý vị Giới tính quý vị: a Nam b Nữ Tuổi quý vị: ……… Quốc tịch quý vị: …………………………… Quý vị tham gia đàm phán thương mại khoảng …… lần? Quý vị tham gia đàm phán với đối tác Mỹ chưa? Nếu có q vị tham gia lần? a Chưa b Đã tham gia …… lần PHẦN 2: Quý vị chọn đáp án đưa ý kiến riêng cho câu hỏi sau Xin nhấn mạnh không đánh giá câu trả lời hay sai Vì quý vị lựa chọn đáp án với thực tế quý vị làm, theo, quý vị cho phù hợp/chấp nhận (Quý vị lựa chọn nhiều đáp án) Công ty quý vị chọn người tham gia đàm phán theo tiêu chí: a khả đàm phán b thâm niên công tác c lực chuyên môn d chức vụ e kinh nghiệm đàm phán với đối tác f tiêu chí khác: ……………………………… ……………………………… Quan điểm quý vị địa vị, chức vụ tuổi tác thành viên đồn đàm phán phía đối tác: II a Cần có ngang địa vị, chức vụ tuổi tác hai bên b Khơng vấn đề Theo quý vị số lượng đàm phán viên đồn đàm phán có ảnh hưởng đến kết buổi đàm phán khơng? a Hồn tồn khơng b Ảnh hưởng c Ảnh hưởng nhiều Một phái đồn đơng đảo có lợi ích đàm phán? a Tận dụng thơng thái nhiều đầu b Thể áp đảo đối thủ c thành viên tự tin d khơng có lợi ích e ý kiến khác quý vị: ………………………………………………… Quý vị theo chiến lược đàm phán nào? a Hai bên có lợi (win – win) b Đàm phán cạnh tranh (win – lose) Phía quý vị thường cố gắng đạt thỏa thuận ban đầu phương diện nào? a yếu tố, nguyên tắc chung b chi tiết cụ thể Quý vị có e ngại rủi ro đàm phán? a Chúng sẵn sàng chấp nhận đương đầu với rủi ro b Chúng cố gắng hạn chế rủi ro cách tối đa Khi tham gia đàm phán, mục đích chính, cơng ty q vị là: a thiết lập quan hệ hợp tác làm ăn lâu dài b ký hợp đồng (hoàn thành thương vụ ngắn hạn) c a b d ý kiến khác: ……………………………………………………………… Quý vị đánh giá vai trò luật sư buổi đàm phán nào? a quan trọng bắt buộc có mặt để đảm bảo giá trị pháp lý hợp đồng III b tùy Điều quan trọng tin tưởng hai bên 10 Quý vị chọn phương án để đối phó với xung đột q trình đàm phán? a xu hướng đối mặt b xu hướng né tránh 11 Là đàm phán viên, quý vị: a độc lập định b phải tìm kiếm đồng thuận thống từ thành viên khác trước đến định 12 Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến định quý vị đàm phán? a Danh tiếng đối tác b Địa vị đối tác c Sự giới thiệu bên thứ ba đáng tin cậy d Mỗi quan hệ cũ với đối tác e Yếu tố khác:………………………………………………… 13 Việc dành thời gian để tạo mối quan hệ thân tình với đối tác trước buổi đàm phán là: a Rất thiết yếu Điều góp phần vào thành công thương vụ b Không cần thiết Công việc công việc, không liên quan đến tình cảm c Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………………… 14 Phía q vị có thường tặng q cho đối tác khơng? a Có Việc thu hẹp khoảng cách thể thân thiện b Không Việc không cần thiết 15 Quý vị có thường bắt đầu hay kết thúc đàm phán hoạt động giải trí ăn uống, ca hát … khơng? a khơng b c thường xuyên CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN SỰ NHIỆT TÂM CỦA QUÝ VỊ! IV APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE The following questionnaire is designed for my research into the influence of American and Vietnamese cultural values on American - Vietnamese business negotiation Your answers to these questions will be of great suggestions for the enhancement of American-Vietnamese business negotiation Please response to each question below as frankly as you can since all your ideas are completely V confidential Your personal information will not be disclosed under any circumstances PART 1: Please tick or give the answer that is true to your situation Your gender: a Male b Female Your age: ……… Your nationality: a American b Vietnamese How many times have you participated in business negotiation? Answer: ……… times Have you ever been in a Vietnamese – American business negotiation? a Yes, ……times b No PART 2: Please circle the answer to indicate your best choice or give your own ideas in the space provided What are criteria for selecting negotiators? (You can choose more than option) a negotiating skills b seniority c expertise d position e experience in negotiating with the counterpart f others: ………………………………… What is your attitude toward your counterparts’ status, position and age? a There must be a balance between two parties in terms of status, position and age b It doesn’t matter Does the size of the negotiating team have any influence on the outcome of the negotiation? a Almost not b A little bit VI c A lot What are the advantages of a large team of negotiators? a making use of the smartness of many brains “Two heads are better than one ” b expressing the power over the counterpart c negotiators feel more confident d none e others: …………………………………………………………………… What is your preferred negotiation approach? a Integrative negotiation (win – win) b Distributive negotiation (win – lose) Your party generally seeks the initial agreement with the counterpart on: a very general principles b the specific details Are you afraid of taking risks in negotiating? a We are willing to take risks b We try to reduce risks as much as possible When taking part in a negotiation, the main goal of your company is: a establishing a long-term business relationship with the counterparts b signing a contract (a short-term deal is done) c both a & b d others: ……………………………………………………………… What you think of the role of attorneys in the negotiation? a important and compulsory to ensure the legality of the contract b it depends The more important thing is the trust between the two parties 10 Which approach you use to manage conflict during the negotiation? a solution-oriented approach b avoidance-oriented approach 11 As a negotiator, you: a are able to make decision independently VII b have to seek agreement from other team members before making decision 12 Which factors may influence your negotiating decisions? a the reputation of the counterpart b the status of the counterpart c the introduction of a trustworthy third party d your established relationship with that counterpart e others: ………………………………………………………………… 13 Spending time building a personal relationship with your counterparts before the negotiation is: d Very crucial It will contribute to the success of the deal e Not necessary Business is business f Others: ……………………………………………………………………… 14 Do you often give gifts to the counterpart? a Yes That will shorten the distance and show our friendliness b No It is not necessary 15 Does your team usually start or finish a negotiation with entertainment activities such as going to restaurants, karaoke … ? a no, never b sometimes c often THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! ... between Vietnamese and American business negotiation? 2) How are Vietnamese and American cultural values reflected in Vietnamese – American business negotiation? 3) What are potential problems in Vietnamese. .. American business negotiation? 2) How are Vietnamese and American cultural values reflected in Vietnamese – American business negotiation? 3) What are potential problems in Vietnamese – American business. .. influence of the size of the negotiation team on the outcome of the negotiation The majority of both Vietnamese and American people agree that the team size has certain influence on the negotiation