Face-Negotiation Theory

Face-Negotiation Theory is an interesting one. The theory aims to explain how different cultures respond to conflict. Specifically the culture examines the differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures. The main concept behind the thoery looks at how different cultures "negotiate face". Face refers to how we want others to see us, how we want them to perceive us. Therefore, the theory defines facework as the verbal or nonverbal messages that help us keep and/or gain face. I actually studied this theory in a buisness class I took a couple semesters ago. The example that popped into my head was a specific encounter I had while working on a project with someone from a different culture. The girl paired up with me to work on a project was from China. China is a very collectivistic culture in that they focus on group goals, and are very face-giving. The United States, however, is a very individualistic culture in that we are independent and focused on individual goals, and are usually more concerned with face restoration. We had just discussed this theory a little bit when studying how business owners interact with cross-cultural businesses and some of the problems that can arise. While working on the project, somehow there was a miscommunication between this girl and me, and we both thought the other person was working on the other part of the project, when in reality, we were working on the same part. When it came time to bring it all together, there was a little conflict because no one had completed the second part of the project. I demonstrated my individualistic tendencies by explaining myself, and restoring my face. She, on the other hand, started talking about how our group should have been more organized and how we needed this part of the project to be done, and since there was miscommunication she would go ahead and do the rest of the project. Looking back on it, it's interesting to see how differently we reacted to the situation because we were from such different cultures.

(By the way, we ended up splitting up the last part of the project, getting an 'A', and we are still friends to this day!)