Iran: Cultural Values, Self images and Negotiation Behavior

Speaking up, down and across status linesCommunication and NegotiationThe high sensitivity to hierarchy among Iranians is the source of two importantramifications in the relations between Iranians and non-Iranians: when interactingwith foreigners, Iranians expect their interlocutors to accept and respect theirhierarchies and to deal with them accordingly; in return, Iranians tend to respectforeign hierarchies even when they are much more subtle and less protocoldemandingthan the Iranian form. The differentiation between the social statuses ofindividuals is evident through a variety of verbal and non-verbal communicativedevices: language, posture, and eye contact. Many of these indicators of hierarchalrelations seem to a foreign eye tantamount to extreme sycophancy and unwillingnessof subordinates to contradict their superiors, or even to point out factual mistakes in asuperior's statements or decisions.Iranian hierarchy effectively neutralizes the subordinate in the presence of hissuperior and he ceases to act as an interlocutor, even if he was an active negotiationpartner when the superior was not present. Direct reference to a subordinate over thehead of the superior – even in technical matters that he had dealt with previously –isperceived as a severe breach of protocol, and may even bring the loyalty of thesubordinate into question. The obligations of the subordinates in all levels areabsolute and personal: Iranian bureaucracies have not developed a sophisticatedconcept of civil service in which the employee owes his loyalty to the system and notto his individual boss. Loyalty to a superior extends frequently even beyond the endof the formal work relationship, and one may frequently see senior Iranians actingwith deference to a person who was once their superior or teacher. 115Age and GenderIranians traditionally respect old age. This is reflected in the hierarchy of theIranian family and in religious institutions. Respect for age is particularly evident inthe time-honored hierarchy of the Ayatollahs. The Islamic revolutions, however,brought to power a generation of relatively young leaders who were then between 30-40 years old and are now in their 50s or early 60s. As a result, many of therevolutionary institutions (Basij, IRGC, and Ansar Hezbollah) are still led byrelatively young individuals. The outstanding example of this trend is the position of64-year-old Khamene'i, who was only 50 years old when elected to the post ofRahbar, which elevated him above all the aged and venerable Ayatollahs of Iran.Notwithstanding, authority, particularly moral authority, is still linked in theIranian mind with old age. This is also true regarding foreign dignitaries. It has beenpointed out that Iranians still perceive the age, personal record, and links to the Headof State (i.e., personal influence) of a foreign emissary to be an indication of therespect that that foreign power accords Iran.115 It is a custom in Iran for a student or subordinate to stand up when his teacher/superior enters theroom. One referent sat in a restaurant frequented by military officials. A retired official who no longerheld any formal position entered the restaurant. He noticed a wave of people standing up in deferenceto the retired officer as they noticed him, beginning from the tables close to the entrance and then thefurther ones. When he asked about the incident, he was told that almost everyone there had at one timeor another been under the direct or indirect command of that official.31