Defence Forces Review 2010

How do Cultural Dimensions Impact on Negotiation in a Military Context?Ethnocentrism refers to unwarranted positive beliefs about one’s own cultural group relativeto other cultural groups. 34 In effect it means we attach much more importance to the views,standards, beliefs and attitudes of our own group than any other and “perceive our way oflife as the most reasonable and proper.” 35 Fisher sees culture as impinging on negotiation inways which could all have their roots in ethnocentrism. 36 He argues that one’s own cultureconditions one’s perception of reality and blocks out information inconsistent or unfamiliarwith one’s own culturally grounded assumptions. There is also a tendency to project meaningonto the other party’s words and actions which may not be accurate. All these could usher anethnocentric negotiator to incorrectly assume the motive of the other party. Ethnocentric biasis therefore likely to affect a negotiator’s interests, motivations and attitude to power.Cultural FluencyIf culture has such a powerful role to play in how we interact and ultimately negotiate, it isappropriate to examine how we, as individuals, react to different cultural experiences. Whatis it that makes some people more fluent and thus more effective when negotiating with thosefrom a culture alien to their own? The answer it appears is a matter of intelligence. Gardnerargues that all human beings are born with a multiplicity of intelligences and that there is moreto being intelligent than the logical, verbal or mathematical intelligence typically measured onstandard Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests. 37 Moreover he insists that these different intelligencescan be developed to achieve great individual accomplishment. He identifies seven categoriesof intelligence, namely; Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Body/Kinesthic,Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. Salovey and Mayer coined the term Emotional Intelligence(EQ) and defined it as “the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, todiscriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.” 38Goleman 39 and Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 40 further developed this concept. They drewon the work of both Gardner and Salovey and Meyer to explain it as depicted in Figure 2.Intrapersonal IntelligenceSelf AwarenessInterpersonal IntelligenceAwareness of OthersSelf ManagementRelationship ManagementFigure 2: Emotional Intelligence (Goleman et al, 2002:39)Kumar insists that “the dynamics of emotions in intercultural negotiations are likely to bemuch more complex than in intracultural negotiations.” 4134 LeVine, R.A. and Campbell, D.T. (1972) Ethnocentrism: Theories of conflict, ethnic attitudes and group behaviour, New York, Wiley.35 Ting and Toomey, Op Cit, p. 235.36 Fisher, G. (1980) International negotiation: A cross-cultural perspective, Chicago, Intercultural Press.37 Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, New York, Basic Books.38 Salovey, P. and Mayer, J.D. (1990) ‘Emotional Intelligence’, Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9:3, p. 189.39 Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, New York, Bantam Books.40 Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R.E. and McKee, A. (2002) Primal Leadership: Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Boston, Harvard BusinessSchool Press.41 Kumar, Op Cit, p. 97.77