BARGAINING AND NEGOTIATION

Official name – French Republic

Population – 62, 752, 136*
Official Language – French
Currency – Euro (EUR)
Capital city – Paris
GDP – purchasing power parity $1.871 trillion*
GDP Per Capita – purchasing power parity $30, 100* French Culture – Key Concepts
and Values
The French Culture and Values
France is a modern and very diverse country, and one can only admit the deep
influence that France’s culture has had on western countries for the last hundred of
years, especially in art, literature and philosophy. The French are proud of their
history and their prominent culture is influenced by a mix of cultural and historical
differences.

One of the characteristics of the French culture is the centralization. France has a
long and notable history of centralization reflected in its geography, transportation
system, Government and business. France is organized pretty much around Paris. In
business, centralization is reflected in the concentrated authority. It is especially true
in SMEs, where the personality of the manager/founder strongly influences the life of
the company, because he/she has difficulties decentralizing power
.
To be successful in business in France, it is necessary to understand the culture.
Culture has indeed an impact on the values, which in turn affect the attitude, which
eventually influences behaviors. Let’s see, through the model of Geert Hofstede
(1970’s), which are the French values regarding business. We use this model here to
make our analysis understandable, since it has become a well-known standard.

 Centralization – France has a long and notable history of centralization reflected

in its geography, transportation system, Government and business. This outlook
originated in the power and authority of the earlier monarchs and despite the
democratic society, remains a significant part of the French presidency today. In
the world of French business, centralization exists in the concentrated authority
that generally lies with one individual.
 Power distance: France is getting more moderate. As Hofstede studied France for
his model, it was the only country scoring high on power distance. Nowadays, the
hierarchy is usually to be respected. Even though employees can bypass their
bosses, it is not often the case, and they often have to ask for their bosses assent
before taking a decision.
 Individualism VS Collectivism: the French love uniqueness and freedom of
opinion both in society and in business. The individualism is therefore a very
important cultural characteristic.

 Achievement VS Nurturing: the French place more interest in quality of life

(nurturing) than on their career (achievement). It’s obvious in the way they defend
their rights concerning their 5-week paid holidays and other social advantages and
benefits.
 Uncertainty avoidance: the French pay a lot of attention to rules and regulations.
Moreover, the French don’t like ambiguity and they try to reduce them by
establishing formal rules in order to avoid ideas and behaviours they don’t desire.
 Long term VS Short term orientation: France seems more short-term oriented:
the French look more in the past and try to keep their social system the way it is,
even though it will need reforms pretty soon. However, companies try to be more
long-term oriented, through commitment to sustainable development and other
future-oriented actions.

Doing Business in France:

France has always played a crucial part in both European and World events. After
experiencing two World Wars, the loss of an Empire and numerous political and social
upheavals, France has emerged as a vital component in the European Community with a
strong sense of pride and heritage. Today, the French business market boasts a variety of
international investors and is an important world supplier of agricultural and industrial
products. The country also demonstrates one of the highest rates of economic growth in
Europe. However, for those organizations wishing to enter the French business
environment, an understanding of the country’s culture is a vital skill for your company
to possess.

French Negotiating Behavior:

French negotiating behavior consists of a mixture of rationalism and nationalism, the

former a product of French cultural and intellectual traditions, the latter shaped by both
the glories and the miseries of French history. Schooled in the tradition of rationalism
that sprang from René Descartes and was later elaborated by the philosophes of the
Enlightenment, French officials worship the “goddess of Reason,” who demands an
emphasis on abstraction and the deductive approach. For the French, it is in the order of
things to find a philosophical framework first, to establish a vision of things, before
entering into practical matters.

The French are brought up to have an idea on everything and to express it with clarity. In
ancient usage, this was known as the tradition of the “honest man.” There is a carryover
of this tradition in the way France, as a collective identity, is compelled to express an idea
on all issues. When a French position, ergo logical, is refused or countered, the French
are taken aback by what they consider to be bad faith or stupidity. When
one “is right” one doesn’t compromise. Such an attitude inspires not only reluctance to
compromise but also a disinclination to prepare a backup plan in case France fails
to persuade its negotiating counterpart with its opening arguments. As
the French themselves recognize, they often pay a price—in terms primarily

Changes and Continuities:

Changing circumstances also produce variations over time. The advent of globalization,
for instance, has intensified anti-Americanism while also spurring recognition of the need
for France to make some accommodation to the non-Francophone world. Today, the
younger generation of French technocrats and business elites is generally characterized
by flawless English. France has even witnessed the development of a U.S.-style
entrepreneurial business culture in the past several decades.
The France of today is hardly the same as the France of fifty years ago, trapped as it was
in the Cold War and uncertain of its and Europe’s future. What may have seemed in the
past unshakable affirmations are changing with time and the pressures of globalization.

In short, despite globalization and a host of other profound alterations in the international
political, economic, and security environment, and despite, too, the real political and
cultural adjustments that these changes have elicited in France, the nation remains
recognizably different from the other major players in the Western world.

The Twelve Negotiating Variables:

1) Basic Concept of Negotiation:

There are two opposing approaches to the concept of negotiation: strategic and
synergistic. In the strategic model, resources are perceived as limited. The sides are
competitive and bargaining is perceived as who will get the larger portion of the pie. In
the synergistic model, resources are unlimited. Each party wants to cooperate so that all
can have what they want. Counterparts look for alternative ways to obtain the desired
results.

 Negotiation in France is treated as a logical problem it includes careful

preparation , research on possible precedents, and logically stated arguments
leading to a solution. They love discussion and will even negotiate minor details.
 Intellectual style: the French are very intellectual and have a high level of
culture. They also are very creative and political. The problem, as seen by
other countries, is that it makes them arrogant and they feel intellectually superior
to their negotiating partner.

2) Negotiator Selection Criteria:

These criteria include negotiating experience, seniority, political affiliation, gender,
ethnic ties, kinship, technical knowledge and personal attributes (e.g., affability, loyalty,
and trustworthiness). Each culture has preferences and biases regarding selection.

 Negotiating team organization: even though the French are fairly individualist
and seek often a solution “a la française”, they still want a negotiating team based
on consensus.
  They also choose negotiating teams based on the status of the individual. Status
includes social class educational and family background and individual
accomplishments.

3) Significance of Type of Issue:

Defining the issues in negotiation is critical. Generally substantive issues focus on control
and use of resources (space, power, property). Relationship-based issues center around
the ongoing nature of mutual or reciprocal interests. The negotiation should not hinder
relationship and future negotiations.

 Personal relations: French people don’t like to talk a lot about private life, but
they like when the other person shows interest in the French culture. Business
lunches are not as common as they used to be.
 Building lasting and trusting relationships is important and can be vital for the
success of your business engagements in France. However, they are usually not a
necessary precondition for initial business interactions. The French often focus
on long-term objectives and expect to establish strong relationships over the
course of their business engagements.

4) Concern with Protocol:

Protocol is the accepted practices of social behavior and interaction. Rules of protocol
can be formal or informal; for example, Americans are generally less formal than
Germans.

 Formality: it appears in different aspects of one’s behavior. First, the French

are formal in the way of talking: they don’t use the “tu”, the informal you, and
they usually expect the same behavior in return. Moreover, it is important to
be correctly dressed while negotiating with Frenchmen. It is a sign of respect.
They are extremely formal and their attention to manners, courtesy, and respect is
paramount in all business situations. Their courtesy should not be taken as
personal friendship.

5) Complexity of Language:
Complexity refers to the degree of reliance on nonverbal cues to convey and to interpret
intentions and information in dialogue. These cues include distance (space), eye contact,
gestures, and silence. There is high - and low- context communication. Cultures that are
high context in communication (China) are fast and efficient communicators and
information is in the physical context or pre-programmed in the person. Low-context
communication, in contrast, is information conveyed by the words without shared
meaning implied. The United States is a low-context culture.

 Styles of communication: indirect, because of the use of complex sentences

while speaking. That’s why the French feel uncomfortable speaking English,
because they can’t use as many language ellipses and images as they do in
French. Moreover they use the non-verbal communication a lot.
 Non-verbal communication: the body language is used a lot through the
 gestures and the facial expressions while talking.
 Verbal communication: most people prefer speaking French, because they
don’t feel comfortable with English or have a feeling of inferiority when
speaking English with their counterpart. If there is a real language problem, it’s
good to let the Frenchman speak French and the counterpart speak English or
another language and have someone who understands the subject translate.
 In addition, it is very important to start the negotiation by trying to know the
counterpart and not by getting to the business right away. It also is important
to keep in touch afterwards through e-mails, phone calls etc. Furthermore,
when a Frenchman says “yes”, you can usually trust it. But when he says “no”,
it often means that the negotiation should go on, and not stop right at that time.

6) Nature of Persuasive Arguments:

One way or another, negotiation involves attempts to influence the other party.
Counterparts can use an emotional or logical approach.

 French generally prefer a straightforward negotiation style, they also use

deceptive techniques, such as telling lies and sending fake non-verbal messages,
misrepresenting an item’s value, or making false demands and concessions. The
French are very good at pretending to be disinterested in the whole deal or in
single concessions, making you feel like a petitioner.
 Negotiators in the country may use pressure techniques that include opening with
their best offer, showing intransigence, applying time pressure, or making fi nal or
expiring offers.
 French are receptive and appreciate a rational, factual , and logical presentation
of issues they approach the process through reasons and methodically debate all
issues.

7) Role of Individuals' Aspirations:

The emphasis negotiators place on their individual goals and needs for recognition may
also vary. In some cases, the position of a negotiator may reflect personal goals to a
greater extent than corporate goals. In contrast, a negotiator may want to prove he or she
is a hard bargainer and compromise the goals of the corporation.

 The French focus on individual accomplishment so it is important for the foreign

negotiator to identify the correct individual to contact in the corporate hierarchy.

8) Bases of Trust
Every negotiator at some point must face the critical issues of trust. One must eventually
trust one's counterparts; otherwise resolution would be impossible. Trust can be based on
the written laws of a particular country or it can be based on friendship and mutual
respect and esteem.

 Business relationships in this country exist both at the individual and company
level. The French usually want to do business only with those they like and trust.
  Attainment of long term trust must be earned by once performance and they are
impressed by results.

9) Risk-Taking Propensity:
Negotiators can be perceived as either "cautious" (low risk takers), or "adventurous"
(high risk takers). If a negotiator selects a solution that has lower rewards but
higher probability of success, he or she is not a risk taker. If the negotiator chooses
higher rewards but a lower probability of success then he or she is "adventurous" and a
risk taker.

 French are said to be fairly high risk takers, probably because of their creativity
and also their feeling of intellectual superiority. The French always like to discuss
every little detail during the negotiation, which considerably reduces uncertainty
and, of course, the intensity of the risk taken. So we could say that French are risk
takers but in an environment they know fairly well.

10) Value of Time:

Each culture has a different way of perceiving and acting upon time. Monochronic
cultures emphasize making agendas, being on time for appointments and generally seeing
time as a quantity to be scheduled. Polychronic cultures stress the involvement of people
rather than preset schedules. The future cannot be firm, so planning takes on little
consequence.

 Time sensitivity: fairly low, because most of the French are always late. The
French expect punctuality, but will often keep a counterpart waiting as an initial
demonstration of their control over the negotiation.

11) Decision-Making System:

Broadly understood, decision-making systems can be "authoritative" or "consensual." In
authoritative decision-making, an individual makes the decision without consulting with
his or her superiors. However, senior executives may overturn the decision. In consensus
decision-making, negotiators do not have the authority to make decisions unless they
consult their superiors.
  Type of decision: the hierarchical organization of French companies has a
high influence on decision-making. If the Frenchman is high in the hierarchy,
he will have a lot of independence to make decisions. However, a person
lower in the hierarchy will have to ask his superior for agreement on the
decision to take, and the superior will take the final decision. We see here the
problem of power centralization in the hands of a few executives, and the
power distance.

12) Form of Satisfactory Agreement:

Generally, there are two broad forms of agreement. One is the written contract that covers
possible contingencies. The other is the broad oral agreement that binds the negotiating
parties through the quality of their relationship.

 Agreement form: the French prefer specific form of agreement because they like
to go over details while negotiating, so they’d rather have a detailed contract with
all the possibilities. The important part in the negotiation is the deal and not the
relationship.

Attitude to female negotiators: they don’t make any difference between men
and women. The person across the table is judged for what he/she represents and not
whether it’s a man or a woman.

Modus Operandi:

1) Separating the people from the problem:

It is definitely important to make a clear separation between people and issue during
a negotiation, to prevent emotions from creating difficulties. We can here compare
the French Negotiation Style with the four areas of concern in this process:

 Emotions: Even if they don’t show their emotions too obviously, French
negotiators tend to project their feeling onto the negotiation partner. They
often believe the negotiation is a war. Many observers claim that they seek to
impress, convinced of their own intellectual and cultural superiority. Therefore
it might happen that French people try to win this “battle” against the
negotiator, not treating people and issues separately enough.
 Perceptions: French people tend not to be able to perceive things in their
partner’s way. They are said to be quite self-centered so they believe their
own point of view is the right one. It is quite hard for them to develop empathy.
 Personality: The problem is more or less the same than with the emotional
factor. It seems to be quite hard for us to not to focus on the other’s
personality. French nevertheless begin to understand that they have to focus
on the topic at stake instead of the personality
 Communication: French people do not make any effort to speak their partner’s
language. They are not very good at languages (only a few of them can speak
 something else than English) and prefer to speak French in international
negotiations. But most of time they would listen actively their negotiation
partner, which is definitely a good point.
.

2) Concentrate on interests not positions:

French managers usually concentrate on interests and not positions. They are really eager
to clarify interests at the very beginning of the process and also during the whole
negotiation.

 In France, clear aims are indeed very often defined prior to every negotiation.
French negotiators set goals and won’t stop the negotiation until these goals
are reached. And after this, that is during the negotiation process, they speak
their mind, both using verbal and nonverbal tools such as acknowledgment, eye-
contact, nodding or clear and direct questions.
 French also pay much attention on principles, which can sometimes be a problem
to concentrate on interests rather than positions.

3) Invent options for mutual gain:

The French are generally well prepared to negotiate and extremely creative, meaning
full of plans and new ideas, which is a very positive quality for negotiators. They are
more argumentative than many of their counterparts, inventing options and solutions
which can satisfy both partners.

 Thus the French view debate as a simulating part of the negotiation, and consider
that an effective negotiation should include logical proposals, logical
arguments, and logical counterproposals. The French may seek proof that all
points have been taken into consideration and so they may push points to an
extreme. New ideas, even these not on the agenda, may be discussed.
 The French tend to be more risk-averse than Americans for instance, so more
time will be spent on assessing the pros and cons of each outcome. As a result,
one may feel that the French are talking in circles and not getting straight to the
point.
 Moreover, French negotiators are willing to listen to the ideas and interests of the
partners during the negotiations, so as to be able to stand back from the partners’
answers and then adapt to these new proposals by assenting or going even further.
 Nevertheless, the French are often considered more aggressive and
confrontational than other European negotiators. In general, the French will
take a slightly extreme position and stick to it until the last moment, before
relenting at the end to demonstrate flexibility.
 French negotiators give a huge importance to their interest and the interests of
their companies, so they could often lay the emphasis on pushing for that position
until it is either accepted or is no longer viable, and the effort made to ensure that
 France does not leave the bargaining table without gaining something for its
trouble.

4) Insist on using objective criteria:

To reach a common “win-win” agreement, both sides have to adopt a positive attitude
towards each other and stay as objective as possible, in particular in the solutions
they propose. Both sides have interests in the negotiation, that is why negotiators
often use standards that are commonly accepted to go further in the negotiation
process. They understand the same things and are sure of using at least at first no
subjective criteria. Examples of these standards could be expert reports, market
information, or for instance the BATNA. And actually French negotiators usually agree
on the fact that the price is not a part of the negotiation but the result of it. French
negotiators usually stick to that strategy, using official data, and then dealing with less
objective questions such as the role played by some managers, to eventually reach the
final goal.
.
Conclusion:

The French negotiation style is not so far from the one of our European neighbors, even if
we have some national particularities. French businessmen are often criticized concerning
a few points but everyone admits they are fair and loyal, which is certainly the most
important asset to build truly and friendly relationships in the long term. And we all know
such relationships greatly facilitate successful negotiations. Of course French
businessmen could improve in different fields of the negotiation process (being more
open-minded …) but every country style has its pros and cons. French people like
negotiating.