Negotiation in Russia

Russia is a country that is known for a unique culture of its people. The country became a separate country in 1991. The majority of the business people in the country have had little experience of cooperation with other cultures and countries. This has led to the development of a unique negotiation culture among the Russian people, with its unique characteristics and requirements. This essay attempts to analyze some of the characteristics of the negotiation techniques of the Russian people. This negotiation analysis will consider the aspects such as relationship and respect, communication styles, initial contact and meetings, and the entire negotiation process (Katz). Relationships and Respect The Russian culture expects its people to uphold a certain sense of belonging and conformation to a group or society. In the negotiation process Russians expect to build a lasting and trusting relationship with the other negotiating party. This is a requirement for the success of the negotiation process. When Russians engage a party in a negotiation process without the establishment of a personal relationship, they may be intending to take unfair advantage of the individual (Katz). Communication In Russia, there are several native languages other than Russian. Many Russian negotiators do not speak fluent English. In fact, most of them may claim to understand everything that the other party says, when in actual sense, the Russian individual does not understand anything. When negotiating with Russians, one must consider having an interpreter.

Contacts and Meeting Russians always want to have full information of the client that they are meeting with before the negotiation process. Thus, it would be fair for the negotiating party to schedule the negotiation meeting at least two or three weeks before the actual day. This will give the other negotiating party ample time to provide information to the Russian counterparts. Russian negotiators have a tendency to try to convince the other party that they have the experience of being successful in a certain sphere of business. During the negotiation process, Russians tend to exaggerate their potential and abilities (Millitzer). The Russian Negotiation Process Attitudes and Styles In the Russian society, the primary approach towards a negotiation process is the employment of a distributive and contingency bargaining. Given the unstable nature of the country’s political and economic environment, most negotiators have a tendency of focusing on the short term benefits of the subject of negotiation. Most Russians consider a negotiation process to be a zero-sum game, where the gain of one side equals the loss of the other party. In the vent that the parties establish a relatively strong relationship, there are chances for the negotiation process to be personal. In addition, most Russians love technology and they appreciate and respect the western level of expertise. Numbers and size also impress Russians. Thus, any negotiator would get the best of the Russian negotiators in the event that he offers superior figures and size (Millitzer).

Sharing Of Information in the Negotiation Process

Most Russians believe that privileged information add a party to the negotiation process a competitive and bargaining edge over them. Thus, Russians are usually very reluctant in sharing information during the negation process. In most cases, they only disclose the basic information that the other party requires during the negotiation process, failing to disclose other key aspects of the deal (Katz). The Pace of the Negotiation Process Most Russians prefer a slow rate of the negotiation process. They tend to slow and protract the negotiation. In fact, during the early stages of bargaining and negotiating process, the other non-Russian party may feel that they are making