冲突在国际语境当中的含义

总结与建议

到目前为止，在跨文化传播方面和跨文化工作环境方面已经有了大量的研究。在Ting-Toomey关于跨文化冲突解决的研究中发现了个人主义和集体主义文化中人们在冲突状况下的根本区别。她总结道，个人主义倾向的人，比如美国人，他们关注的重点是冲突局势所导致的后果，特别会注意到相关人员的身份具体目标的达成情况。而集体主义倾向的人，比如中国人，他们关注冲突的进程，特别是保全面子和对冲突人员进行合适的应对等方面的问题。两种方法都可以成功地达成预定目标，但是对“成功”的关注重点和对怎样为“成功”的定义是不一样的。Ting-Toomey指出，一个成功的冲突管理是要顾及到对方以及他们的文化差异。

在对这项研究所进行的访谈中，中国人求职者讲述了他们在美国面试求职的经历。从这些访谈以及对冲突形态和管理策略研究的回顾中我们可以得到很多启示。比如，如果中国人了解到在美国文化背景下，就冲突问题进行直接的讨论不会伤害双方的关系，他们就会改变在处理冲突问题上的方式，可能会采取更直接的方式（Yifeng，Fang＆Dean，2003）。他们还可以根据具体的工作环境采取相应的方法，甚至在必要情况下，还可以采取竞争的方式而不必过分担心他们的工作。同样道理，在中国工作的美国人应该适应较为间接的沟通方式以给他们的同事和老板“留点面子”。

中国人一般情况下会避免与权威人士发生冲突。主要是因为中国人认为直接地顶撞老板会破坏和老板的关系。这并不意味着中国人总是冲突的逃避者，而是根据具体的时间，地点和对象来判断。随着对关系研究的深入，这项实践所带来的影响也增加了。假如一个中国员工认为自己是在按照关系办事，他/她会非常惊讶他们的美国伙伴会把这种行为看做是一种迎合。在工作背景中，这两种经历的结果是完全不同的。所有的这些因素都影响着跨国企业与中国子公司间的信息流动。

不管是管理者还是员工都应该更清楚地了解他们传送和接收的信息是属于高语境还是低语境，这样做是为了避免冲突的发生。要知道，他们传送的一个高语境很有可能会被来自低语境环境的人所误解。

从更加结构化的层面来说，类似于南孚冲突案的案例表明，设立旨在解决就业和工作岗位纠纷的机制时应当充分考虑到双方的文化惯例。例如，当跨国企业和另一家企业合并时，这种合并的结果可能导致管理层和员工在结构上的冲突。这些冲突很有可能起源于冲突处理的汇报系统，并由之前的人际关系模式，权力和资源的分配，地理的、物理的、政治或环境因素，时间框架的约束以及社会经济地位等等方面决定。

来自特定文化背景的个体或公司应该如何调整他们的冲突管理方式和策略，以适应未来我们工作的全球大环境，对于这个领域，还有大量的研究有待进行。

本文英文原发表于［China Media Research.2009；5（2）：104117］

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Resolving Conflict in the Chinese and U.S.Realms

for Global Business Entities

Linda M.Johnston　Hongmei Gao

（Kennesaw State University）

Translator：Jun Wu

（Communication Studies Institute，

Zhejiang University，Hangzhou，310028，China）

Abstract：This paper investigates the differences between American and Chinese conflict management styles and tries to decode areas of cultural differences that can lead to misunderstanding and conflict.Indepth interviews with foreignborn Chinese searching for jobs at American workplace and case studies with executives at American corporations in China were conducted.From analyzing the roots of Chinese culture，Chinese and American cultural differences，American and Chinese conflict management models，the paper proposes two fundamental differences in negotiation：a fourfold difference between the Chinese and Americans that could potentially cause conflict：directnesssubtleness，aggressivenessmodesty，courtesycommand，and American-Chinese experiential differences，as well as a difference in the choice of conflict styles and tactics between Chinese and American negotiators.The case study demonstrated that the Chinese subsidiaries of Americabased multinational corporations need to be more sophisticated in handling international business conflicts.The findings indicate that there is a strong relationship between Chinese and American value systems and in the choice of conflicthandling styles.Illustrations of how these parameters play out in the workplace and suggestions for both Americans and Chinese in handling conflicts are provided.Examples of how and where disconnects can occur are reviewed，as well as the hierarchy in which the conflict can occur and the potential impact on individuals and conflict resolution systems.［China Media Report Overseas.2009；5（4）：2236］

Keywords：Chinese，American，culture，conflict resolution，conflict style，conflict tactics，management，corporations，face saving，relationship