МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТІ НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЇНИ

Донецький національний університет економіки і торгівлі

імені Михайла Туган-Барановского

Кафедра міжнародної економіки

Бізнес-протокол

Конспект лекцій

для студентів спеціальності 7.03050301 „Міжнародна економіка”

денної та заочної форм навчання

(англійською мовою)

2010-2011 н.р.

CONTENTS

CONTENT MODULE 1. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF BUSINESS PROTOCOL	3
THEME 1. ETIQUETTE AND PROTOCOL	3
THEME 2. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: THE MAIN ISSUES	9
CONTENT MODULE 2. BUSINESS PROTOCOL IN BUSINESS RELATIONS	14
THEME 3. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: ORGANISATION AND TECHNIQUES	14
THEME 4. NEGOTIATING PROCESS: PROTOCOL ASPECTS	22
THEME 5. PSYCHOLOGY OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION	41
CONTENT MODULE 3. NATIONAL PARTICULARITIES OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS	46
THEME 6. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: NATIONAL PARTICULARITIES	46
THEME 7. INFORMAL KINDS OF PROTOCOL CONTACTS WITH BUSINESS PARTNERS	55
LITERATURE	58

Content module 1. Theoretical aspects of business protocol theme 1. Etiquette and protocol

1. What is the ‘etiquette’

2. The etiquette of formal contacts

3. Protocol and its types (business protocol and diplomatical protocol)

1. What is the ‘etiquette’

Business etiquette is the established order of behaviour in sphere of business and business contacts.

Etiquette helps to avoid misses or to smooth in their accessible, standard ways. Therefore etiquette of the businessman, it is possible to define as the basic function or sense as formation of such rules of behaviour in a society, which promote mutual understanding of people during dialogue.

Etiquette is also one of main instruments of formation of image. Those firms, in which it is not observed etiquette, lose very much much. There, where is present etiquette, productivity is higher, there are better results. Therefore always it is necessary to remember one of the main postulates which is known by businessmen of all world: good manners are profitable.

The Business etiquette is a form of the business contact, which helps to be orientated in standard situation. The knowledge of the business etiquette promotes the mastering by skill in interpersonal relations, coming from principle and rates of the business ethics.

The Business etiquette comprises of itself variety of rules, forming base of the code of the behaviour, accepted in ambience of well-mannered people.

2. The etiquette of formal contacts

Whether you're doing business abroad, vacationing in a distant land or simply welcoming guests from another culture, with a little research and preparation, accompanied with some sensitivity skills training, you can make a lasting and favorable impression instead of a disastrous one. You never get another chance to make a first impression! In fact, remove the word "foreign" or "foreigner" from your vocabulary because in the dictionary it means "alien" or "not belonging". Better to refer to others as "visitors" or "guests." Here are ten protocol rules on social interaction to keep in mind:

1. Be patient when building trust in establishing relationships. People from other countries take much longer than Americans and they observe a greater formality than we do. As an example, to build trust, you wouldn't want to ask someone from Great Britain his or her occupation on first meeting.

2. It is courteous to always stand when you are introduced to another person, regardless of cultural background.

3. Before receiving or meeting an honored guest from abroad, prepare by researching such data as: their population, ethnic and religious composition, official languages, geography, especially the capital and major cities, government structure, national leaders and political parties. Not only will you appear informed but your guest will also be complimented because you took the time to learn something about him/her.

4. Conversation should avoid all sensitive subjects including religion and politics. The pride that one has in one's culture and tradition are safe topics.

5. Slow down your speech and don't raise your voice because you think the other person cannot understand you. Have you noticed how people just talk louder to be understood? Volume doesn't usually increase comprehension. People with foreign accents are not necessarily hard of hearing

6. Even though most people around the world speak English, it's often difficult to understand us, especially if we use slang, buzzwords, idioms, jargon, and lingo. One of my assistants would often tell the Italian Consul General, "Sherri's on another line but she'll give you a buzz back." She never realized that the Italians might think I wanted to take them out for cocktails on the town... It's smart to eliminate phrases like "It's raining cats and dogs" or someone who eats them in their country may just run to the window to watch the miracle!

7. If interpreters are used, they should meet with the person for whom they are interpreting in advance to learn their language patterns, any special terminology and especially numbers, which could change the whole dimension of things. Remember, interpreters are not translators, so the terms should not be confused. A translator renders what is written into another language. An interpreter does this orally in the presence of the speaker. There is an entire protocol regarding the use of interpreters in terms of where they stand, sit, etc.

8. Non-verbal interaction cues are extremely important. "Yes" or an affirmative nod often means "Yes I hear you" in Asian cultures, not "Yes I agree". By looking at the interaction through American eyes, you might think you just closed the deal of the century. By avoiding the word "No", some Asians believe they can avoid creating any disharmony, as harmony is a cherished value in these cultures.

9. Never mimic what you think may be a national gesture. If you are wrong about the meaning of the gesture, the results could mean disaster. For example, the American "OK" sign means money in Japan.

10. Never slap someone's back, the "good old Joe" American routine. Touching and rules of social distance etiquette vary in other cultures.

Greetings

The first area of uncertainty that the foreigner may feel in a country is what to say, or do when meeting others? Generally the verbal greetings can be straightforward and easily learnt. However, whether or not to bow, shake hands, put your hands together in a prayer-like gesture (namaste), etc can be confusing for first timers. The western aspect of shaking hands as the international form of greeting on meeting has slowly been permeating into the many cultures of the world. However the traditional forms of welcome in a country are not going to be readily replaced by a handshake. What we often see is a mixture of the traditional forms of greetings and a handshake when "East meets West". However, although handshakes may be an acceptable and/or common form of greeting, whether a male shake hands with a woman can be an entirely different matter in many countries. A general "rule of thumb" is if the woman does not extend a hand, you do not shake hands. It is also very important to understand that the bows, prayer like gestures and similar physical greeting gestures are very similar if not equivalent to a handshake. In fact, such gestures can in essence express a kinder and friendlier meaning of welcome than a handshake. For example, the common Hindi/Urdu greeting and farewell gesture is a namaste (or nawaskar). Used for greeting or a farewell, the palms of the hand are placed together and the tips of the fingers are chin high. It means, "I pay my respects to you". Muslim men may touch their heart with their hand after shaking hands and this means "Your greeting is being conveyed to my heart" and is a sign of strong friendship. The Korean and Japanese bows are a form of showing respect for age, seniority and your position in society. The bow is performed before you shake hands. Do you give a strong firm bonecrushing handshake or should it be just firm or a quite gentle handshake. This also varies between countries. A very gentle handshake in Australia would be regarded as portraying a weak person whereas it would be quite suitable for China. The one unbreakable rule in all situations is that you should always accompany a handshake with a smile.