15-20. What other forms of advance preparation might a manager need to undertake before negotiating with someone from another country? Select a country in which you have some interest and about which you can readily find information (e.g., Japan as opposed to Bhutan). Go to your library or use the Internet and learn as much as you can about the behavior of people from the country you selected. Concentrate on such culturally based social phenomena as the following:

• The meaning people from the country attach to a few common English words

• The meaning they attach to common gestures

• How they interpret basic colors

• The basic rules of business etiquette they follow

• Their preferences regarding personal space

• How the country is characterized along Hofstede’s dimensions Team up with a classmate who chose a different country.

Each of you should pick a product or commodity that is produced in the country you studied (such as stereos, bananas, oil, or machine parts). Attempt to negotiate a contract for selling your product or commodity to the other. As you negotiate, play the role of someone from the country you studied as authentically as possible. For example, if people from that culture are offended by a certain gesture and your counterpart happens to make that gesture while negotiating, act offended!

Spend approximately 15 minutes negotiating. Then spend another 15 minutes discussing with your classmate how the cultural background each of you adopted affected (or could have affected) the negotiation process.