the application of contextual adaptability in international business negotiations【畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p>　　本科畢業(yè)論文(設(shè)計)</p><p>　題 目：The Application of Contextual Adaptability in International Business Negotiations</p><p>　學(xué) 院：</p><p>　學(xué)生姓名：</p><p>　專 業(yè)：英語&l

2、t;/p><p>　班 級：</p><p>　指導(dǎo)教師：</p><p>　起止日期：</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstract2</p><p>　　Introduction3</p><p&g

3、t;　　1. Introduction to Pragmatic Failures in International Business Negotiation3</p><p>　　1.1 Introduction to International Business Negotiation3</p><p>　　1.2 Pragmatic Failures in Internation

4、al Business Negotiation4</p><p>　　2. Theoretical Framework: Verschueren’s Contextual Adaptability Theory5</p><p>　　2.1 Introduction to Adaptation Theory5</p><p>　　2.2 Making Ling

5、uistic Choices5</p><p>　　2.3 Three Properties of Language6</p><p>　　2.4 Four Angles of Investigation of Language Use6</p><p>　　3. Application of Contextual Adaptability in Intern

6、ational Business Negotiation7</p><p>　　3.1 The Causes of Pragmatic Failure in International Business Negotiation7</p><p>　　3.2 Adapting to Communicative Context7</p><p>　　3.2.1 A

7、dapting to Language Users9</p><p>　　3.2.2 Adapting to Mental World9</p><p>　　3.2.3 Adapting to Social World9</p><p>　　3.2.4 Adapting to Physical World11</p><p>　　4.

8、 Strategies Taken to Reduce or Avoid Pragmatic Failure in International Business Negotiation11</p><p>　　4.1 Raising Cultural Awareness11</p><p>　　4.2 Developing Cultural Adaptation12</p>

9、;<p>　　4.3 Having a Good Command of a Foreign Language12</p><p>　　4.4 Cultivating Pragmatic Competence13</p><p>　　Conclusion13</p><p>　　References15</p><p>&

10、lt;b>　　摘要</b></p><p>　　國際商務(wù)談判是一種基于語言使用的跨文化經(jīng)濟活動，它的成功與否在很大程度上取決于語用策略的應(yīng)用。國際商務(wù)談判雙方要進行成功的交際，除了要掌握必要的談判技巧以外，還必須具備較強的語境順應(yīng)能力，懂得聯(lián)系語境來準(zhǔn)確地處理談判中話語的隱含意義，調(diào)整自己的談判策略，恰當(dāng)?shù)剡x擇語言，確保談判成功。隨著語境順應(yīng)理論的發(fā)展，越來越多的專家和學(xué)者開始關(guān)注語境順應(yīng)理論和

11、國際商務(wù)談判之間的關(guān)系，并從理論和實踐上進行了大量的研究，取得了一定的成果。</p><p>　　本文試圖探討語境順應(yīng)理論和國際商務(wù)談判之間的關(guān)系，強調(diào)把語境順應(yīng)理論應(yīng)用于國際商務(wù)談判，目的在于幫助來自不同文化背景的談判者避免國際商務(wù)談判中的語用失誤，提高談判者的跨文化交際意識和能力,從而成功地完成談判目的。首先，本文對國內(nèi)外關(guān)于國際商務(wù)談判的相關(guān)研究成果進行了分類概括，并闡述了國際商務(wù)談判中的語用失誤。然后，簡

12、要介紹維索爾倫的語境順應(yīng)理論中的相關(guān)概念，為下文做好鋪墊。其次，結(jié)合適應(yīng)性的語境相關(guān)成分分析了目前國際商務(wù)談判中產(chǎn)生語用失誤的原因，并探討了該理論在國際商務(wù)談判中的應(yīng)用。最后，本文將結(jié)合語境順應(yīng)理論提出一些適用于國際商務(wù)談判的策略。</p><p>　　[關(guān)鍵詞］國際商務(wù)談判；語境順應(yīng)；語用失誤；談判策略</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></

13、p><p>　　International business negotiation is a kind of intercultural economic activity based on using languages and application of pragmatic strategies. Both parties in an international business negotiation sh

14、ould master some necessary negotiation skills as well as strong ability of contextual adaptability. In order to make the negotiation successful, they should deal with the implication meaning connected with context and ad

15、just their own strategy, choose the words accordingly and make sure that negot</p><p>　　This paper attempts to explore the relationship between contextual adaptability theory and international business negot

16、iation, aiming at helping negotiators with different cultural backgrounds avoid pragmatic failures in international business negotiation and improving their awareness and ability of intercultural communication. The empha

17、sis has been laid on the application of contextual adaptability theory in international business negotiation. First of all, this paper introduces the researches </p><p>　　[Key Words] international business n

18、egotiation; contextual adaptability; pragmatic failure; negotiation strategy</p><p>　　The Application of Contextual Adaptability in International Business Negotiations</p><p>　　Introduction</

19、p><p>　　One of the famous scholars once said, “Negotiation is the process by which at least two parties with common (or conflicting) interests try to reach an agreement of mutual benefit (Raghu, 1987:10).” It i

20、s evident that international business negotiation has become one of the most significant parts of economic activities. Up till now, researchers and experts in growing numbers have paid much attention to international bus

21、iness negotiation, and they have achieved much progress in this area, especial</p><p>　　However, current international business negotiation results are far from satisfaction. Both negotiation parties may suf

22、fer negotiation breakdowns because of pragmatic failures caused by cultural differences. Most negotiators are lack of intercultural awareness and effective strategies of negotiation, which become the obstacles to achieve

23、 expected goals, and they can not make appropriate adaptation to a foreign culture. Although many scholars and experts have done researches on business negotiati</p><p>　　1. Introduction to Pragmatic Failure

24、s in International Business Negotiation</p><p>　　1.1 Introduction to International Business Negotiation</p><p>　　Negotiation is the process by which at least two parties with common (or conflict

25、ing) interests try to reach an agreement of mutual benefit (Raghu, 1987:10). Generally speaking, negotiation is a common human activity as well as a process that people undertake everyday to manage their relationship. Ne

26、gotiation means to communicate with others in order to arrive at the settlement which is acceptable to both parties. Therefore, negotiation is some kind of communication.</p><p>　　Business negotiation plays

27、a crucial role in the business activities. “Business negotiations often involve one party attempting to influence another to make a particular decision or sign a contract”(Garrison, 1996:210). It refers to the negotiatio

28、n that takes place in business world, especially between firms or economic organizations and copes with business relationship. In a business relationship, the parties negotiate because they have common business interests

29、. It is a process of problem-solv</p><p>　　International business negotiation occurs when negotiating parties are of different nationalities. It refers to the process in which different firms from different

30、countries come to discuss about some business terms for mutual interests. With the rapid development of the economic globalization, most companies are becoming more and more culturally sensitive and globally minded. Mean

31、while, international business negotiation is also becoming a significant economic activity in global business. In in</p><p>　　1.2 Pragmatic Failures in International Business Negotiation</p><p>

32、　　It is the English linguist Jenny Thomas who has first put forward the notion of “Pragmatic Failure” in her Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Failure in 1983. She defines pragmatic failure as “the inability to understand what is

33、 meant by what is said” and she points out that “pragmatic failure has occurred on any occasion on which the hearer perceives the forces of the speaker’s utterances as other than the speaker intended he or she should per

34、ceive it”.(Jenny, 1983:91-94). Simply speaking, her opinion is</p><p>　　Thereafter, many Chinese scholars represented by He Ziran and Qian Guanlian began to study this issue and do many researches on it. The

35、se Chinese scholars find out some defects in Thomas’ theory and argue that pragmatic failure results from either the speaker’s or the hearer’s for the reason that both of them have the responsibility to ensure the succes

36、s of communication. Therefore, pragmatic failure should be defined from two perspectives, the speaker’s and the hearer’s.</p><p>　　According to Wang (2006:13), the definition of pragmatic failure in internat

37、ional business negotiation is as follows: it refers to the negotiating break-down or negotiating failure resulting from the international business negotiators’ inappropriate production and faulty interpretation of verbal

38、 and nonverbal messages in the negotiating process. As a result, both negotiating parties can not keep good trade relationship and achieve the expected negotiating goal effectively and successfully.</p><p>　

39、　2. Theoretical Framework: Verschueren’s Contextual Adaptability Theory </p><p>　　After having introduced pragmatic failure in international business negotiation, in chapter one, the author will make review

40、of contextual adaptability theory, which provides theoretical background for analyzing the causes of pragmatic failure in international business negotiation in chapter three and putting forward strategies to reduce or av

41、oid pragmatic failure in chapter four. </p><p>　　2.1 Introduction to Adaptation Theory</p><p>　　Adaptation Theory is originated from Jef Verschueren, the secretary-general of the Internationa

42、l Pragmatic Association, in his book Pragmatics as a Theory of Linguistic Adaptation in 1987. And he further developed this theory in Understanding Pragmatics in 2000. In this book, Verschueren puts forward a completely

43、new perspective on language and defines pragmatics as a general cognitive, social and cultural perspective on linguistic phenomenon in relation to their usage in forms of behavior(Versc</p><p>　　In the follo

44、wing sections, the author will introduce Verschueren’s Contextual Adaptability Theory in detail, and such concepts as making linguistic choices, three properties of language, and four angles of investigation of language

45、use will be discussed one by one. </p><p>　　2.2 Making Linguistic Choices</p><p>　　According to Verschueren, “l(fā)anguage use must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices, consciousl

46、y or unconsciously, for language-internal (i.e. structure) and/or language-external reasons (Verschueren,2000:55-56). The following seven characteristics can make a further explanation for the process of choice making. F

47、irst, choices are indeed made at every possible level of structure involving phonetics, intonation patterns, cognation, grammatical formations, genre, etc. Second, speak</p><p>　　2.3 Three Properties of Lang

48、uage</p><p>　　After having introduced the concept of making linguistic choices, we’ll focus on three properties of language, variability, negotiability and adaptability, which will influence linguistic choic

49、es-making. In this section, they will be discussed in detail. </p><p>　　Language use is the process of utterance production and meaning interpretation. In the process of communication, we hope to choose the

50、most appropriate utterance to get the best communicative effects we expected. Three properties of language: variability, negotiability and adaptability will influence linguistic choices-making. First of all, variability

51、is the property of language which defines the range of possibilities from which choices can be made (Verschueren, 2000:59). Variability permits t</p><p>　　2.4 Four Angles of Investigation of Language Use<

52、/p><p>　　In Verschueren’s view, linguistic choices are made dynamically according to various degrees of psychological salience from the perspective of context and language structure, and there are four sides of

53、 explanation of language use: contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability, salience of adaptability (Verschueren, 2000:67). Contextual correlates and structural obj

54、ects are relatively straightforward notions which can often be conveniently use</p><p>　　3. Application of Contextual Adaptability in International Business Negotiation </p><p>　　According to th

55、e Adaptation Theory, contextual correlates of adaptability means the linguistic choices must adapt to the linguistic context and the communicative context. Since the business negotiation is a dynamic communicative proces

56、s, this paper will lay stress on the analysis of the aspect of communicative context which includes four aspects: language users, the mental world, the social world and the physical world. In this chapter, the author wil

57、l put adaptation theory into practical use fr</p><p>　　3.1 The Causes of Pragmatic Failure in International Business Negotiation </p><p>　　Language user originally refers to the utterer and the

58、interpreter involved in conversation. In this paper, it just refers to the business negotiators with different cultural backgrounds and there are some factors related to negotiators, such as gender, cultural background,

59、level of education, value system, which should be taken into consideration. Adapting to these factors of the negotiation counterpart and making appropriate linguistic and behavior choice is necessary and helpful to both

60、parti</p><p>　　In term of gender, it is different growing processes that influence thinking pattern and physiological structure of males and females. Therefore, it is evident that gender is a major factor in

61、fluence negotiators. Take Chinese and American different attitudes towards gender as an example, in old times, there existing a tradition of treating female as inferior in China, and the concept of admiring the masculine

62、 authority has been rooted in Chinese minds. In contrast, Americans are sensitive and ad</p><p>　　As we know, international business negotiation is a kind of professional economic activities. Therefore, the

63、knowledge background will greatly influence the negotiation process. International business negotiation always requires a wide range of professional knowledge, especially the knowledge of economics and commerce. Limited

64、knowledge background is an unfavorable factor which will become an obstacle for the negotiators to get a better understanding of the received information. In the process o</p><p>　　Besides language users, th

65、ere are three other contextual aspects, i.e. the mental world, the social world and the physical world, which will not take effect in language use until they have been activated by language user’s cognitive process. Once

66、 the negotiators fail to adapt one of them, pragmatic failures will occur. There are several mental factors, such as personality traits, emotions, beliefs, motivations, thought patterns, desires or wishes which may influ

67、ence his or her linguistic choice-</p><p>　　The social world in this paper refers to the social circumstances, communicative settings and communicative norms. The social circumstances are the macro social wo

68、rld, and they refer to the social political regime, material production mode, economic system and cultural tradition. Among them, cultural tradition, as the leading one, determines the linguistic choice. However, the com

69、municative settings are the micro social world. The communicative norms provide some rules for linguistic choice. Sin</p><p>　　According to Verschueren, “Temporal deixis and spatial deixis are the most studi

70、ed and visible ways of anchoring language choices into a physical world.”(Verschueren, 2000:95) Temporal reference includes event time, time of utterance and reference time. Spatial reference includes utterer space and r

71、eference space. In other word, the physical world is consisted of postures, gestures, physical appearance and conditions. As a matter of fact, in international business negotiation there is a great de</p><p>

72、;　　3.2 Adapting to Communicative Context </p><p>　　In the following part, the author will introduce the way how to adapt to communicative context combined with some practical examples according to the above

73、causes of pragmatic failure in international business negotiation.</p><p>　　3.2.1 Adapting to Language Users </p><p>　　For the reason that Chinese and Americans hold quite different views of gen

74、der, so when negotiating with American females, in order to avoid sex discrimination which will cause pragmatic failure, Chinese male negotiators should treat them equally and avoid interruption. When negotiating with Am

75、erican males, Chinese females should be confident and show their ability as much as possible. </p><p>　　Besides gender, knowledge background is also an important aspect. There is such a case in point. Once,

76、some Chinese negotiators discussed business with American negotiators about importing chemical products. Chinese negotiators proposed, “if you could reduce the price of your product to 2500$ per ton, we will place an ord

77、er of 800 tons.” The problem is that “the ton” has different measurement “l(fā)ong ton” and “short ton”, 1 long ton =1.1016 tonne; 1 short ton = 0.9072 metric tonne (1metric tonne =</p><p>　　3.2.2 Adapting to Me

78、ntal World</p><p>　　It is said that negotiators in different mental states will take different actions in the negotiation. According to Richard Solomon, Chinese negotiators are relationship-oriented, while A

79、merican negotiators are subject-oriented. For instance, Chinese negotiators tend to establish warm, harmonious relationship with their counterparts. On the contrary, American negotiators would like to negotiate the busin

80、ess topics directly and pay more attention to work efficiency. As a result, negotiators shoul</p><p>　　3.2.3 Adapting to Social World</p><p>　　When comes to social circumstances, we will take Ch

81、inese typical manners of politeness for example. Chinese style of showing politeness features degrading ourselves but upgrading others, while it is not true to those Americans. When praised, Chinese always deny those pra

82、iseful words and degrade themselves to show their modesty. When delivering words of gratitude, Chinese are anxious to regard it as their own duty and express that they expect no words of gratitude at all to show their mo

83、desty. He</p><p>　　Communicative Settings are another crucial aspect of social world. Whether the negotiation occasion is formal or not can affect the choice of linguistic styles and manners. To be specific,

84、 on formal occasions, negotiators will choose formal linguistic styles and higher degree of manners. However, on informal occasions, informal linguistic styles and lower degree of manners will be the right choice. In int

85、ernational business negotiation, some situational arrangement, i.e. the choice of negotiatin</p><p>　　Similarly, communicative norms also play a significant role in the process of linguistic choice-making in

86、 negotiation. Negotiators have to know different ways of greetings, introduction, farewell, request, proposal, apologizing in different cultures and choose proper linguistic styles to avoid pragmatic failures in internat

87、ional business negotiation. In the following example, the Chinese party and the American party interpret the silence and body language in the process of negotiation quite diff</p><p>　　American Party: In you

88、r letter, you ask for a price discount of 3% off the list price. While quite appreciating your order, we feel we must point out that our prices have already been cut to the minimum possible. But, if you raise your order

89、to 10000 pieces, we are pleased to allow you the requested 3%.</p><p>　　Chinese Party: (Thinking about the offer, and keep silence.)</p><p>　　American Party: (Waiting for answer) OK. You already

90、 give me the answer.</p><p>　　In the above example, the meaning of silence is interpreted quite differently by both parties. When the Chinese negotiators are in silence, it means that they need time to think

91、, considerate or check their decisions. While in Americans’ opinion, silence means agreement or acceptance. Therefore, the different interpretation of silence in negotiation brings about pragmatic failure. </p>&l

92、t;p>　　3.2.4 Adapting to Physical World</p><p>　　Physical world is consisted of postures, gestures, physical appearance and conditions. Take smiling as an example. We always regard smiling as a symbol for

93、expressing happy emotion. However, for Chinese, smiling can also help to clear up embarrassment, which may make Americans confused. As to make an apology, Chinese negotiators will say “I’m sorry.” accompanied by smiling.

94、 However, American negotiators will regard this kind of smiling as hypocritical. Therefore, having a good knowledge of the d</p><p>　　4. Strategies Taken to Reduce or Avoid Pragmatic Failure in International

95、 Business Negotiation</p><p>　　After having done some researches on pragmatic failure in international business negotiation combined with adaptation theory, then the author is going to put forward two questi

96、ons: How to reduce or avoid pragmatic failure in international business negotiation? What strategies should negotiators take? For business negotiators, they should raise cultural awareness, develop cultural adaptation, h

97、ave a good command of a foreign language and cultivate pragmatic competence in order to make internation</p><p>　　4.1 Raising Cultural Awareness</p><p>　　Cultural awareness refers to having know

98、ledge of the traditions or conventions of the host culture which influences the way people think and behave. In international business negotiation, a negotiator who has a good cultural knowledge about the other side’s cu

99、lture will be more competent to carry out the negotiation. In international business negotiation, negotiators should be sensitive to cultural awareness, including social customs, social norms, social values and social sy