Casual communication in Russia reflects a subdued formalism that is unique region. A business meeting with a stranger warrants the use of their patronymic name to address them. A patronymic name is the surname originated from a paternal ancestor such as a father or grandfather. All Russian surnames are rooted on the individuals’ father with the suffix “ovna” or “evna” for women, which translate to “the daughter of”. For men the suffix “ovich” similarly translates to “the son of” pattern seeing in the women.
To add another layer of tradition, the Russian language has two version of the word “you”. In a formal setting Russians use “vy” to delineate courtesy and respect, but they also have the “ty” version to use with friends or family. In contrast, Brazil’s communication style is much more relaxed and informal. Brazilians often interrupt each other in conversations, a habit that is not considered rude by their standards. They also communicate in very close proximity and enjoy touching each other lightly. This practice is observed across gender roles.
For example, Brazilian men touch other men as well as women during conversations. Women do not consider this behavior sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. In fact, breaking away from this close proximity is considered an insult in Brazilian. High Context Society Russians and Brazil use the high context communication style. This style is to integrate oral and nonverbal messages to transmit their thoughts and feeling. Engaging a conversation with a high context communicator a person must be able to indentify the subtle nuance in body language to decipher what is really being expressed.
In short, many things are left unsaid in Russia, which makes operating and marketing a business slightly challenging. For example, in the early 1990s a Russian beer company struck marketing gold when its commercial aired during a Russian football game. The commercial depicted a football player with a dated haircut and a jersey with the words “I. Sussanin”. His supposed coach is seen attempting to motivate him by saying “You already played against the Polish, so just do the same with this team, lead them to the wrong direction”.
In response, the player says nothing and turns away. This commercial resonated well with Russian consumers because the humour was implied. All Russians have a strong understanding of their history and understood that this was in reference to the war hero Ivan Sussanin who tricked the Polish into going the wrong direction in the War of 1613. Thus, it is imperative to have excellent listening and observational skills to be an effective communicator in Russia and Brazil. Negotiating The political and economic landscape of Russia is an influential element in its negotiation style.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the protection of property rights still remains relatively weak and businesses are often subject to state control that is riddled with nepotism and corruption. Thus, Russian negotiations focus on the short-term gains and benefits of a business deal. In fact, communication in business deals can easily escalate into a highly contentious and adversarial experience. Dramatic reactions like threats to call off a deal, loss of temper, and even leaving the boardroom, are quite typical in business negotiations.
Russians subscribe to the idea that one parties’ gain should be equitable the other parties’ loss. Thus, compromising is seen as a weakness and there is strong expectation that there is only one winner in a business deal. – Leveraging relationships is an important element when negotiating in Brazil. Brazilians often employ distributive and contingency bargaining. While the buyer is in a superior position, both sides in a business deal own the responsibility to reach agreement. They expect long-term commitments from their business partners and will focus mostly on long-term benefits.
The primary negotiation style is competitive and Brazilians can be very aggressive negotiators. While proposals should demonstrate the benefits to both negotiating parties, neither of them should take attempts to win competitive advantages negatively. It is crucial to remain non-confrontational and avoid direct conflict throughout the bargaining exchange. Ultimately, the culture promotes a win-win approach and people value long-term business relationships. You will earn your counterparts’ respect by maintaining a positive, persistent attitude.
Do not openly show aggression or frustration. Should a dispute arise at any stage of a negotiation, you might be able to reach resolution by leveraging personal relationships Conflict Management For a long time Russia was organized into agricultural communes. Agricultural communes were communities and public farms that provided all of the food resources to the surrounding population. Food was distributed equally and Russians learned to cooperate and reduce waste whenever possible. Thus, Russian fondness for the group strongly influences their conflict management style.
If there is an issue within an organization, it is important to address the group, not an individual, about the issue and find a collaborative solution to the problem. Russians believe that helping their team members accomplish a goal really does benefit them directly, Russian like to be successful together. They are more confident that they can work together and make decisions and strive to understand the opposing position by asking questions. Brazilian prefers to avoid dealing directly with conflict. When issues arise, they are dealt with privately, through a third party, or through passive resistance.
Rather than state their opposition directly, Brazilians will problem solve their using the least amount of open dissension. Brazilian believes strongly in saving face, a concept that many direct communicators do not factor in when dealing with conflict. Saving face is simply dealing with an issue or concern in a manner that does not publicly embarrass Brazilians or cause them to lose respect in their own eyes or those of other individuals. Therefore, blame is not directly placed on anyone but is usually alluded to.