面子观的差异对中美商务谈判的影响_邰首婧.docx

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1、 University Code： 10225 Register Code ： SI2598 Thesis for the Degree of Master DIFFERENCES IN FACE CONCEPT AND THE IMPACT ON SINO-US BUSINESS NEGOTIATION Candidate: Supervisor: Academic Degree Applied for: Speciality: Date of Oral Examination: University: Tai Shoujing Prof. Zhu Xiuzhi Master of Arts

2、 Foreign Linguistics And Applied Linguistics June, 2012 Northeast Forestry University 随着全球化步伐的加快，国际间的经济与文化交流也日益增多。作为世界两大经济 体，美国和中国之间的经贸合作近年来逐渐扩大并深化，可以说，中美两国的经贸发展 己经成为影响并推动世界经济进程的主要力量之一。国际商务活动的开展必须依靠跨文 化交际来实现，而要进行有效的跨文化交际，人们应采取适当的交流途径、克服文化差 异的不利因素和加强理解与融合。中美两国有着各自不同的文 化，而 “ 面子观 ” 是文化 的重要方面之一。中美对面子的认识

3、、关注程度以及处理面子问题的方式不同常常给中 美之间的商务谈判带来交流上的困难和误解，甚至成为谈判中的障碍。如何更好地进行 跨文化商务谈判，则已成为中美谈判者一个亟待解决的问题。虽然不少学者对面子问题 作过研宄，但有关面子问题对谈判的影响研宄却很少。 通过问卷调查的方法，本文就中美面子文化的差异对商务谈判活动的影响进行了较 为细致的研宄。作者通过对问卷调查反馈数据的研究，对中美商务谈判者提出一些具体 建议。同时，本文还从跨文化能力提升的角度对教学中的文 化导入提出了一些建议，从 而在教学中提髙学生的跨文化交际意识与能力，这样不仅总结了前人的跨文化交际理论 与面子理论，还将理论运用于实践，这是对

4、前人跨文化交际理论的丰富。 关键词： 面子；跨文化交际；文化差异；商务谈判 Abstract Abstract With the accelerated pace of globalization, the number of international exchanges is increasing，too. As the worlds two largest economies， China and Americas economic and trade cooperation has been gradually expanding and deepening, which indica

5、tes that the business and trade cooperation between China and America has become one of the main potencies to affect the world economic process. The achievement of business activities must rely on smooth cross-cultural communication. To realize effective cross-cultural communication, people should t

6、ake appropriate means of communication to overcome the negative factors of cultural differences and strengthen the understanding and integration. Both China and America have their own unique cultural habits, while the concept of face is one of the important aspects of the culture. Due to different u

7、nderstanding, degree of concern and ways of dealing with problems on the concept of face, invalid communications in the negotiation between China and America can sometimes bring difficulties and misunderstandings: and even obstacles. How to achieve better cross-cultural business negotiation between

8、Chinese and American negotiators has become an urgent problem. Although many scholars have done researches on face problems, only few have done researches on the impact of face concept in business negotiation. This thesis intends to do more specifically study on how differences of face concept betwe

9、en China and America affect business negotiation, and the main research approach is by questionnaire. By analyzing the feedback of the questionnaire, the author provides some suggestions for both Chinese and American negotiators on the frontline. Finally, the author also provides some suggestions fo

10、r the improvement of cross-cultural communicative competence from the angle of acculturation. The thesis does not only conclude the former theories, but also puts forward those theories and puts them into practical use. Keywords： face; cross-cultural communication; cultural differences; business neg

11、otiation -n. y Contents Contents . i Abstract . II 1 Introduction . 1 1.1 . Background of the Research. 1 1.2 Purpose of the Study . 1 1.3 Structure of the Thesis . . . 2 2 Literature Review . 3 2.1 Theories Related to Culture . 3 2.2 Theories Related to Politeness . 5 2.3 Theories Related to Face .

12、 12 2.4 Theories Related to Business Negotiation . 15 2.5 Summary . 19 3 Differences in Face Concept between China and US . 20 3.1 Collectivisim VS. Individualism . 21 3.2 Hierarchism VS. Egalitarianism . 22 3.3 Relationship-orientation VS. Rule-orientation . 23 3.4 Indirectness VS. Directness . 25

13、3.5 Summary . 26 4 Investigation on Different Face Concepts5 Impact on Sino-US Business Negotiation . 27 4.1 Questionnaire . 27 4.1.1 Purpose of the Questionnaire. 27 4.1.2 Method . 27 4.2 Question Analysis . 28 4.2.1 Method . 28 4.2.2 Analysis of the Qustionnaire5s Result. 37 4.3 Suggestions . 38 4

14、.3.1 Suggestions for Chinese Negotiators. 38 4.3.2 Suggestions for American Negotiators . .,40 4.4 Summary . 41 5 Improvement of Cross-cultural Communication. 43 5.1 Improvement of Cross-cultural Awareness . 43 5.2 Improvement of Cross-cultural Communicative Competence . 44 5.2.1 Different Values be

15、tween Chinese and American People . 44 -in- Contents 5.2.2 Face Concept Inputting in Teaching . 45 5.3 Summary . 46 Conclusion. 47 Bibliography . 49 Publications During M.A. Study . 52 Acknowledgements. 53 -IV- 1 Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 Background of the Research Globalization is an inevitab

16、le trend of the world today. After the Cold War, the US has become the only Super Power in the world, but more and more countries began to demand for mutual respect and equal cooperation with the US, so the world has quietly changed into a new pattern with one Super Power and Multi-polarization, and

17、 China is one of the countries with the fastest increasing economy in the world. With the booming development and entering World Trade Organization, China has made a significant contribution to the world economy, which has strongly accelerated the global economy integration. As the most advanced nat

18、ion in the world, America has played an indispensable role in the world economy and technology, th the most solid economy, America has been dominating the world economy with dollars, possessing up to 10% of the worlds total GDP by the end of 2011. These two nations, the world largest two economic en

19、tities, have doubtlessly been in a partnership of economy and trade. Hence, more and more trade affairs will be needed in the future. Where there is a trade, there is a negotiation. With the deepening of Sino-US cooperation, business negotiation has gradually become significant to the economic growt

20、h of both countries. Sino-US business negotiation can be affected by many factors. Among the factors, culture element cannot be ignored. It works invisibly but is very important in the process of the business negotiation. China and America are reckoned as the two typical countries of oriental cultur

21、e and western culture, so they totally differ from each other. Due to different historical reasons, international negotiators are supposed to cope with various people with diverse values appropriately. Finding the methods of dealing with cross-cultural communication is therefore of utmost importance

22、. 1.2 Purpose of the Study Face is an abstract but essential concept in culture. People from all over the world meet face problems every day as long as they communicate with others. This thesis intends to find out the different levels of face concept in Chinese and American cultures, that is? the si

23、milarities and differences in coping with face issues. After the research, the author will combine the theories with practical business negotiation, to find out what impacts face concepts have on business negotiation. Though lots of studies have already been done by the scholars on influence of cult

24、ure on business negotiation, yet only few them deal with face concepts impact on business negotiation or its causes and resolutions from the basic cross-cultural teaching. This thesis is going to deal with how face concepts could influence business negotiation 东北林业大学硕士学位论文 between two different cult

25、ural entities. After the statements and a questionnaire analysis, for the sake of avoiding false business negotiation and improving the cross-cultural competence of Chinese people, the author will provide suggestions for not only business negotiators， but also for teaching in fostering students5 cro

26、ss-cultural ability in college. 1.3 Structure of the Thesis The whole thesis falls into five chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to the background and the purpose of the study. Chapter Two is a literature review of the relative theories on which the thesis is based. Chapter Three deals mai

27、nly with differences of face concept in business negotiation. Chapter Four is hypothesis and methodology of the research, and then the questionnaire. Chapter Five is on improvement of cross-cultural communicative competence. 2 Literature Review 2 Literature Review 2.1 Theories Related to Culture 2.1

28、.1 Definitions of Culture There are a lot of definitions of culture given by many scholars. British scholar Edward B. Tylor, forerunner of cultural anthropology, defines culture in his work Primitive Culture: Culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is a complex whole which inc

29、ludes knowledge，belief， art， morals， law， custom， and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” Adamson Hoebel， a noted American anthropologist， defined culture as uthe integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristic of the members of a societ

30、y and which are not the result of biological iiiheritance”（ Hoebel， 1972). French writer and politician Edouard Herriot reckons culture as the thing that continues to exist when a person forgets everything. Carley H. Dodd, an American scholar of cross- cultural communication, defines culture in his

31、book Dynamics of Cross-cultural communication (Dodd, 2006) as t6a set of shared and enduring meanings, values, and beliefs that characterize national, ethnic, and other groups and orient their behavior55. In summary, culture is a set of shared values, concepts, habits5 patterns of behavior and so on

32、 that people comply with in a certain environment. The definitions are vague and people do things in their own cultural style unconsciously. As the old saying goes, Rome is not built in one day, so a culture is not formed in one day, either. It needs a relatively long time and large number of people

33、 to form a new culture, and people hold this cultural concept in their mind. Therefore, it is always not easy to change other peopled way of thinking or behaving. 2_1.2 Schneiders Model of Culture Scholar Schneider uses an iceberg figure as a model of culture. In his theory, only one- ninths of the

34、iceberg can be seen as the cap; and the rest of the part, taking up to eight-ninths of the iceberg, is submerged under the sea. Values, Beliefs, Norms1 V Behaviors, Artifacts, Institutions Figure 1 Culture as an icebergs Source: S. C. Schneider, Managing across cultures, (Upper Sadde River, NJ: Pren

35、tice Hall. 1997), 25. 东北林业大学硕士学位论文 As Figure 1 indicates, the cap of the iceberg (visible part) includes behaviors, artifacts and institutions. It includes obvious traditions, habits, customs and so forth. These things are reflections of the next layer in the iceberg 一 values, beliefs and norms. At

36、the base of the iceberg are fundamental assumptions about the world and humanity. The artifacts and customs that characterize a culture are not arbitrary; rather, they are manifestations of fundamental values and beliefs about the world. Thus, to change such expressions and customs would be a challenge to centuries-old beliefs