Successful Negotiation in Poland

Michal Zieba


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Poland, because of its historical background, is a country where doing business is not an easy task for foreign businesspeople. It is advisable in Poland to create a good relationship between counterparts based on mutual trust and respect. In terms of inter-cultural communication analysis, business contacts between Western and Polish managers are frequently the source of mutual misunderstanding. Westerners’ may be viewed as arrogant for their relatively strong focus on the substantive issues, highly competitive approach and for ignoring the relationship. This often leads to a breakdown of co-operation. Western businesspeople may also be perceived as arrogant for demonstrating the common prejudice that Poland, as a developing country, is far behind Western business standards and practices. One of the characteristics of Polish businesspeople is modesty, which is frequently misconstrued as being shy or even defensive. Modesty in public behaviour is a hallmark of well-educated Poles and evidence of good manners. By contrast, Poles can perceive self-confident Western businesspeople as hard-nosed show-offs. In fact, self-confidence is often a characteristic of the Western high-ranked social achiever. Due to the fact that Western counterparts often measure individual performance and reward efficiency and work discipline, in a polish business environment this can result in Poles feeling judged as ‘not being as good as one should be’ and therefore losing face in front of their colleagues. (D.Flader 2004) Due to Polish history and the fact that the country has been devastated, occupied and exploited by foreign forces, foreign arrogance can be branded as being ‘imperialistic’. As a result of mutual misunderstanding and wrongly perceived Western domination, Poles may feel intimidated and have their national pride and their individual self perception offended. Negotiations should not be progressed towards claiming value or achieving substantive goals if misunderstandings have not been clarified and trust established. Be aware that your Polish counterpart will not communicate his/her feelings until you develop a relationship based on trust. You will more than likely face silent resistance rather than outright assertive behaviour. (D. Flader, 2004). Below are a few key points to consider:

Obstruction of work – defensive non-cooperation

Polish defensive non-cooperation was adopted in order to counter the oppressor’s imperialistic dominance. Publicly or in front of superiors, all directives and decisions are accepted and confirmed, but in reality, few are turned into action. In a hidden way, the Poles block progress or even sabotage goals. Instead of cooperation, you can face a hidden desire for retribution and revenge. Poles will rather adopt a lose-lose strategy than a problem solving approach when negotiating with a stronger counterpart. It is advisable to look for mutual gains in negotiation instead of using your dominance to claim maximum value.

Being stubborn

The stubbornness tactic which is manifested by an unwillingness to move, cooperate or concede may be adopted especially in business negotiation. It is often difficult for Westerners to understand that this ploy may be adopted constantly, even if it brings a risk of losses and jeopardises the Polish company’s interests. A foreign businessperson, unaware of being perceived as arrogant, will be unable to find any reasonable basis for such behaviour on the part of the Polish counterpart. For the Poles it is a way of demonstrating their resistance and self-determination by confronting the ‘foreign power’ and evading its influence.

Social Guidelines

…Or in fact, a lack of them. Poles take social rules more as guiding principles, which they may or may not follow depending on the situation. As a result of such an irregular approach, it may happen that your Polish counterpart will not follow the agreements that were made during the negotiation. This attitude is a result of the historical compulsion to counter rules dictated by foreign occupants. There are many ways to avoid problems associated with this facet of Polish culture and mindset. One just needs to consider the roots of this particular way of thinking and try to build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. Sometimes it is worthwhile engaging the services of a mediator. It is, of course, worth remembering that success is better than winning.

Form of agreement

It is usual for Poles to focus on details and prefer a written form of agreement that will secure all possible circumstances and eventualities. Negotiation will likely start with agreement on specifics such as price, delivery, quality - the sum total of which forms the contract. In other cultures, such as Chinese, the contract is based on general rules. If unexpected circumstances arise, Chinese partners should benefit from their relationship to solve the problem (Lewicki, 2003).

Male – Female roles

Women in Poland range from orthodox homemakers and mothers to modern day businesswomen who support the household. Polish women often hold a dual role - balancing a challenging career, while at the same time being tough but highly effective homemakers. Poland is a country where masculinity is one of the characteristic dimensions of culture. Few women have reached top management positions and authority in business is mainly in the hands of men. Polish culture is also one where respect for women is strongly desirable. The approach to gender is peculiar in Poland. Even as early as the 19th century, women played important social roles and participated in decision making at the family and community level, and on economic matters. In modern Poland, statistically, women are better educated than men. However, this does not necessarily translate into higher wages and/or the ability to secure managerial positions. Women often accept employment that they are overqualified for. Although over 90% of the Polish society supports Sexual Equality, women are discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of age, marital and parental status and appearance, despite the fact that it is illegal to do so. In some types of distributive negotiations, women may lag behind men in their propensity to claim value.

Relationship & Task Balance

In some cultures, like Japanese or Chinese, the goal of negotiation is to create a long-lasting relationship. For Poles, it seems more important to aim at a substantial outcome. What you should establish in Poland with clients is ‘professional closeness’. Always remember to separate both business and private relationships; otherwise your Polish counterpart may expect favours, (e.g. a more attractive price for a service). Favours of this nature should not be confused with manipulation or blackmail. It is a common way of making deals in Poland. People have a habit of organising everything through personal contacts. Fortunately, in most cases they would be very happy to do the same for you. Old relationships based on nepotism are dying out and will be directly challenged. Special privileges help, particularly in the public sector, but they make less of an impact where results-based performance is significant. A good contact may get you through a rough spot, but performance will keep you with them in the long term. Negotiations may take months, particularly if the government is involved, or conclude quickly if you are dealing with one of the new aggressive entrepreneurs. Poles are usually short-term focused and individualistic. Older generations of Poles (post communist), especially in government institutions, may view a negotiation with foreign counterparts as a win-lose competition, where profits earned by a foreign investor mean losses for the Polish party. Instead of focusing on how to ‘expand the pie’ they may simply try to limit the investor’s profit. Never be condescending or offer an ultimatum – positional bargaining with Poles is unadvisable. Contracts are treated seriously. They should be clear, concise and translated into both Polish and English.

Level of Directness

Regarding verbal directness, you will face a low-context communication style in Poland. The meaning of what is said is reflected in the words themselves. “It is impossible” means literally that something is really impossible or at least extremely difficult to realise. Poles, despite their modesty, are surprisingly very assertive when it comes to saying “no”. A similar style is apparent when negotiating with French, Russian and Spanish cultures.

Decision Making

Traditionally, the boss takes decisions. Before starting any negotiation make sure that you are talking to the right person. To qualify your prospect before presenting your proposal you could say something like: “If the proposal meets all of your needs, is there any reason why you couldn’t give me a decision today?” Then, at the end of the negotiation you will avoid disappointment if it appears that you need to start again with the decision maker. Remember that the higher authority or mandated authority technique is a commonly used ploy, so seek to eliminate it from the outset.In government institutions, it is common to encounter a decision avoiding phenomenon among lower level employees. This is caused by risk of personal responsibility for wrong decisions taken. Formerly, the institution was responsible for all the results of its decision.

Level of Formality

In general, Poles are more formal than North Americans or Australians, and rather closer to Germans and the English. Polish negotiators tend to be reserved and taciturn. Periods of silence during negotiations are not unusual. Poles might take a little longer to build trust with a complete stranger, yet their reserve tends to fade away quickly as a relationship evolves. Rather than veering off to a safer topic, Poles often do not mind exchanging opinions. Disagreements are treated as a natural part of discourse. It is safe to start with a formal posture and move to an informal position when it is assumed that it will not generate conflict. Differences do not necessarily threaten rapport; they can kindle colourful conversation - but there are limits. When civility is lost and a loud circular argument drags on, social acceptability plummets. In business discussions, Poles usually move fairly quickly to substantive issues. After initial contact, Poles like a fairly personal approach, certainly when business is conducted over a long period of time. It is not unusual to be served vodka or brandy at an office upon the conclusion of a meeting. Strong hierarchical relations are visible in Polish society and are manifested by a top-down approach to management.

Corruption

The majority of Poles (over 90%) consider bribery to be a large and common problem in Poland. Of 145 countries investigated by Transparency International in 2004, Poland was placed 67th whilst The United Kingdom was placed 10th. (The higher the position, the lesser the degree of corruption). The area most likely to suffer corruption is the political arena.

Team Negotiation

Poles are viewed as very individualistic. If you negotiate with a team it is likely to be apparent who the leader is and who has complete authority to decide matters. Gain the trust of their lead negotiator, and you will generally be a long way on the road to winning the contract. The rest of the team usually acts as an advisory body. As can be expected, negotiating with a team generally takes more time than negotiating with one person who is prepared to make decisions more quickly. So when booking your stay in Poland, be mindful of your and your counterparty’s chosen negotiation team size. If you do not deal with the top manager it is important to consider that negotiators representing the other party are usually chosen according to their status and professional experience in a particular field, not necessarily according to their negotiation experience.

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