[MUSIC] Good morning. Before we see how to profile national cultures in our next videos, we need to keep in mind that every negotiator belongs to several cultural circles. And that it is of greater importance to consider the multiple cultural identities of every negotiator. That's why we should also be cautious about the ecological fallacy, that assumes individuals will systematically exhibit the characteristics that are typical of the place they inhabit or originate from. Let's take a closer look at these different cultural identities. Beyond national culture, it's important to consider the regional cultural identity. For example, Chinese negotiators from Beijing, the political capital city, do not negotiate in the same way as Chinese negotiators from Shanghai, the business hub of mainland China. It's also equally important to consider professional culture. From their education to their work experiences, negotiators acquire a particular point of view, a reference system, a set of criteria, and certain behaviors on how to approach negotiation itself. Lawyers, for instance, due to their in depth knowledge of conflicts and judicial risks, will pay particularly close attention to guarantee clauses in any agreement. Likewise, a negotiation between a highly ranked official from an European institution and a manager from a telephone company will likely involve very different negotiation strategies. So in the end, all that more cultural differences between a human resources directive from California and the finance director from Texas, or between a Spaniard and an Australian who are both highly ranked officials working for the IMF, the International Monetary Fund. It's key, as well, to take into account the organizational culture of every negotiator. As institutions have develop their own negotiation guidelines. For example a Pakistani and the Moroccan who both with the United Nations for 20 years have acquired negotiations reflexes grounded in the institutional culture that go beyond national culture. And there's also the fundamental singularity of each individual who by choice or character behaves more or less a typically relative to the main characteristics to his or her nation, region and profession. Finally, the behavior of a negotiator from a particular culture will likely depend on the situational factors of the negotiation, in other words, the context of the negotiation itself. For example, a Sri Lankan negotiator will not negotiate the same way with an Indian negotiator or a British negotiator. Due to the different historical ties between those countries. Because of those multiple cultural identities, the typical Japanese or the typical Brazilian does not exist. Nevertheless, research shows that negotiators often give too much weight to stereotypes. Why is that so? In fact, stereotypes flourish because they simplify a reality that is much more complex. This simplistic reductionism provides a comfortable starting point for elaborating a strategy. The starting point however reassuring it may seem, is constructed however on a false foundation. That is why it's key to avoid these cognitive biases.