Task sequencing and time planning

In the process of advancing the tasks of the Chamber of Commerce negotiations, Europeans hope that the links will be interlocked, and the logic will move forward linearly. On the other hand, the Asian side will bring the previously discussed issues back to the discussion, and look for a balanced result among all contradictory results. This may be because the Asian side believes that the problem cannot be solved once and for all, so it will keep the contradictions and wait until the next time the problem arises before making the optimal solution. If the equilibrium cannot be established, it will give up, and if it can, proceed. Rather than eliminating risks at the beginning, Asia will be more inclined to think about how to solve them.

In other words, in terms of task sequencing and time planning, the West is more of a definite goal, while Asia is more inclined to general planning and pursues the ultimate goal, rather than the detailed time points brought by the refinement in the entire process. This often leads to the fact that the West believes that this negotiation has consumed the time they consider sufficient to prepare, but the Asian side still has a low degree of cooperation and poor results.

Moreover, Asians are more inclined to carry out many tasks at the same time than Europeans. This is a very disturbing situation for Europeans, because the West prefers to complete tasks in a certain order and concentrate on a certain point in time, which means doing one thing well.

 In the process of negotiations between the two parties, the West should be more adapted to Asia’s multi-time cultural view, and Asia should also respect the West’s single-time view culture and understand the logic of their linear thinking.

Body language differences

In face-to-face negotiation and business communication, a lot of information is based on non-verbal signals. Sometimes, nonverbal signals can even convey the true meaning. Nonverbal signals can strengthen and support verbal expression, or weaken or even contradict the verbal information expressed.

In the process of communication between the Asian and European Chambers of Commerce, one should be wary of the improper handling of non-verbal language that may cause unpleasant negotiations between the two parties: such as the unexplained increase in the number of people on the Asian side, the occasional answering of mobile phones, and the constant interruption of random entry by employees. Non-verbal language such as leaving the seat may make the European side have too many associations, and thus feel uneasy.

Moreover, when seeing Asian nodding and smiling and answering “yes” constantly, Westerners often have a taste of the victory. However, it is also necessary to be wary that the Asian side only values relations and attaches great importance to harmony and friendship in group interactions. They tend to avoid conflicts and expressing dissatisfaction or criticisms that make the other party lose face. Therefore, such nonverbal language is not very reasonable to express their intentions clearly.

Low-context and high-context cultures

There are big differences between Asian and Western contextual cultures. The West is dominated by low-context cultures. This kind of culture is based on facts and can be quantified without relying on subjective judgments and emotions. Under the influence of this context and culture, the West will show professionalism based on the logical inferences of facts, exclude problems in the existing relationship and deepen the relationship.

The Asian side’s high-context culture determines that they will pay more attention to feelings. Facts are always related to people, and maintaining interpersonal relationships is an important factor in their belief that negotiations are successful. Therefore, the Asian side will persuade them through role identification and emotional resonance. This is why after the start of the negotiations, the Asian side may repeatedly mention something they think will be good for the relationship, although the West does not understand it and is quite confused.

By Demi Zhang