Negotiating with Managers from Pakistan

This chapter describes the negotiation style of Pakistani managers with a detailed analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. Further, the chapter recommends strategies for negotiating with Pakistani professionals. Before explaining the negotiation aspect, we briefly analyze the historical background, national culture, and general business environment of Pakistan. In particular, we analyze the cultural tendencies of Pakistanis in light of Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions. The analysis brings Pakistan to light as a society high in power distance and strongly oriented toward group relationship. It also reveals that Pakistani society lacks long-term orientation and most plans are built with a medium-term or short-term mind-set. The main strengths of the Pakistani negotiator are relationship orientation, street smarts, practicality, and good communication. Issues that foreign negotiators might find challenging in working with Pakistani counterparts are indirectness, polychronic approach to time, lack of commitment, and slow pace of negotiation. The chapter recommends the foreign negotiator to be relationship-oriented, open, indirect, and composed while negotiating with Pakistani business professionals. Opening a negotiation with extreme positions and then gradually moderating one’s stance can be beneficial while negotiating with Pakistanis.