Using Commercial Contracts : A practical guide for engineers and project managers

Using Commercial Contracts : A practical guide for engineers and project managers

Using Commercial Contracts : A practical guide for engineers and project managers

Many years ago I was in Moscow, carrying out a negotiation in the offices of a state buying organisation. After my negotiation was finished I had to wait for the
formal signatures to the document that I had agreed. I passed the time sitting in one of the negotiation rooms. While I was waiting, a Russian buyer, whom I knew, came into the room to discuss a contract with a Japanese salesman. The contract was for the purchase of spare parts for some Japanese equipment installed in a Russian plant. It was written in English, and the discussion was taking place in English. It was the only language the two negotiators had in common. But there was a problem. As soon as the discussion got into detail
the negotiators could not understand each other. The Russian buyer had been taught a completely different style of English and vocabulary to the Japanese salesman. This, combined with differences in pronunciation, made it virtually impossible for them to communicate with each other.

David Wright