Characteristics Of Multiculturalism

Intro: Multiculturalism nowadays, Purpose of this essay

There are theories and studies that describe the characteristics of intercultural negotiation. Firstly, Edward Hall (Hall, 1959) defines two types of cultures depending on the context:

High-context cultures are those where the context has more importance than the words. In this type of cultures the word is not decisive and, as a result, less legal documents are used. This is why negotiations are slower in high-context cultures. Businesses are also slower because they require a personal relationship that establishes trust between the parties.

Low-context cultures are those where cultural messages are explicit and words convey most of the information. In this case legal documents are essential.

Thus, individualist cultures emphasize self-interest and put individual needs above those of collectivist cultures that prioritize the needs of the group as a whole over those of individuals.

In individualist cultures, norms promote the interdependence of individuals by emphasizing social obligations. Members of individualist and collectivist cultures differ in many ways and both confrontational and motivational behaviors may come from that cultural value. Consequently, resistance to confronting directly in a negotiation can derive from the emphasis on cooperation in collectivist cultures (Hall & Hall, Hidden Differences, 1995). While Germany is an individualist culture, Spain is an intermediate culture, between individualist and

Additionally, the relationship you have to have in the workplace, and especially during a meeting, always has to follow a line of politeness and respect. Relationships between bosses and workers are formal. On the other hand, for Spaniards, punctuality is not that important; it is more important to reach strong relationships. Therefore, they way the meeting is going to progress and the relationship between both parts is far more important than punctuality.

As of the materials used in the workplace, on one hand, Germans rely more on the printed work than the spoken work. Therefore, it is always important to put information and decisions in writing because it shows trustworthiness and it is more accepted. On the other hand, it is the opposite in Spain; more emphasis is given to spoken rather than written words. For example, when you do business, it is not enough to send the information written, it is very important to follow it up with a phone call to discuss