PRECIOS DE TRANSFERENCIA EN EL PERÚ

Also vital in the mediation process in the Niger Delta is the interplay of culture and its diversity relative to its external parties. Dodd (1998) defined culture as “the total accumulation of an identifiable group’s beliefs, norms, activities, institutions, and communication patterns” (1998:6). This definition implies that culture is an attribute of a group, and also acknowledges the fact that there may be as much variation within the group as between different groups. Cultural diversity can contribute immensely to any community through its scope for adding creativity, building intercultural harmony, offering diverse points of view and new perspectives, and adding to productivity by integrating these human capital assets. Culture plays a central role in the political, economic and social life of communities. Faure and Sjöstedt (1993) explained that “culture may determine the whole outlook of mediation, that “cultural background, conditions how the parties perceives issues, other parties, as well as their intentions” (1993:3). In the same vein, Weiss (1994:51-61),

emphasizing the importance of cultural perceptions on the negotiation process lists issues such as “the parties’ basic conception of mediation, their orientation toward time, their willingness to take risks, their protocol, and their decision-making style“. This view was also corroborated by Fisher (1980) who argues that conflicting beliefs, morals and methods of communication, all rooted in culture, influence negotiations in various ways. Some of these include shaping the individual’s perception of the situation, assigning meaning onto the other party’s actions and leading the individual to inaccurately interpret the motivations of the other.

It is generally agreed that culture is a neglected aspect of conflict resolution; however cultural mismatch and misunderstanding are additional confounding factors that complicate communication and create misperceptions that sometimes hinder finding a mutually acceptable compromise. This is especially true when an external third party, often from another cultural background, is added to mediate between the conflicting parties, as is sometimes the case in the Niger Delta where Multinational oil companies operate. The term “cross-cultural” is interchangeable with intercultural, multicultural and transcultural. Samovar, et al (1981:35) stated: “Intercultural communication is the overall encompassing term that refers to communication between people from different cultural backgrounds”. The importance of culture in mediation is in view of the disparity which exists between the parties in the conflict and the interplay of multiculturalism which exists amongst the diverse Niger Delta communities, who themselves speak up to 250 different dialects. It becomes vital to ask the question: Does the indigenous model, which is highly preferred by indigenous people as can be seen in the field report below in chapter six, have any negative impact on the internationalization or possible implementation of mediation in multicultural settings? This question is vital in the light of the fact that there have been debates amongst academics and practitioners as to viability of mediation in multicultural settings. A study conducted by Gehm (1990) found that among the 555 eligible victims willing to participate

in Victim-Offender Mediation, 47% of them were more willing to participate if the offender was white as were the victims.

In the same vein, Ann Bottoms (2003:110) argues that restorative justice is unlikely to work as well in contemporary (urban/multicultural) societies as it does in more traditional ones. This is because according to her restorative justice, even in traditional societies, only works well if the victim and offender have either a “thick” (familial) or “thin” (cultural) relationship with each other. In multicultural modern societies there may be no relationship at all, other than that related to the criminal event. Bottoms, (2003:110) argues that any attempt to use a “blanket delivery of restorative justice will always achieve modest and/or patchy results”. Similarly, Umbreit (2001:66) argues that in multicultural society the cultural background of victims, offenders and mediators are often different which if not carefully handled carries a risk of miscommunication, misunderstanding or, worst of all, revictimisation. The emerging discourse in the literature appears to point to the fact that indigenous mediation might be difficult to implement in multicultural settings.

Admittedly, cross cultural mediation may not be as easy as it sounds because indeed, the negotiation process is often more difficult than that of imposing a settlement. However, Llewellyn and Howse (2002:10) suggest that it is worthy of the effort given that negotiated resolutions tend to last because the processes through which the parties are to negotiate a resolution may be the issue between the two groups. The case of the Niger Delta and its western MNOC’s thus requires that the different communities or cultures come together to agree upon the details of the mediation model before such a process begins.

An important dimension of culture in the Niger Delta is the existence of two groups (the western and the indigenous group) and the extent to which members identify with the group (collectivism) as opposed to identifying themselves as individuals (individualistic). This identification is very crucial and significant to note in designing any model.

LeBaron added that cultures affect the ways we name, frame, blame and attempt to tame

conflicts. Whether a conflict exists at all is a cultural question. In an interview conducted in

Canada, an elderly Chinese man indicated he had experienced no conflict at all for the previous forty years (LeBaron and Grundison 1993:116). It was argued that this expression was largely due to the conception of what conflict was to him; people of other regions might have answered the same question very differently. In the same way that there are manifold definitions of “culture”, there is a dizzying array of cultural differences.

Conversely, Michael Desch (1998:141-170) is highly critical of culture as a key to conflict management. There is the fundamental challenge around defining the term ‘culture’; Desch stated that “definitions such as collectively held ideas, beliefs, and norms that cultural theorists commonly use are so broad and imprecise that they have proven difficult to operationalise”. Desch further added that cultural theories fall short because they tend to analyze single cases as opposed to looking at trends over a number of representative conflicts. Desch’s arguments, though valid, are not so convincing. Culture is a crucial part of the conflict management process. Misunderstandings between parties, emanating from a lack of cultural awareness and understanding, often create breakdowns in communication that contribute to the failure of the process. Culture plays a role throughout the entire process - from the start to the outcome.

One salient point to note on the role of culture is the need to be culturally fluent.  Cultural fluency means developing the ability to understand the cultural assumptions upon which the behavior and thinking of your international colleagues rests. Of equal importance is the ability to understand the myriad of subtle and not-so-subtle ways we are all influenced by

our own culture.  Cultural fluency is also the appropriate application of respect, empathy,

flexibility, patience, interest, curiosity, openness, the willingness to suspend judgment, tolerance for ambiguity, and sense of humor.

Cultural fluency has been argued as one major key that can unlock the hidden complexities of culture in developing a viable model for the Niger Delta. Cultural fluency, though sounding simplistic, when viewed properly emerges indeed as one of the major keys to unlocking the doors of stereotyping and other vices. Generalizations about how people from a specific culture may think or act can lead to inappropriate stereotyping, gross injustices and incorrect (and possibly disastrous) actions. In addition to cultural fluency, it has been argued that the following measures will also help to manage the interplay of cross culturalism in the Niger Delta conflict.

Learning the cultural stereotypes about the culturally different parties to the mediation.Investigating the actual people involved, as well as the problem, before running into conclusions or hasty generalisation. Being flexible, i.e keeping an open mind and an understanding that the parties may well act differently and that the stereotypes may be useful in the mediation.These measures will often produce inspiring and practical concepts and solutions not thought of within mainstream culture.

Gleaning from the foregoing, the Niger Delta diverse communities can all live and interact with each other through recognition, respect and appreciation of the diverse cultures and belief systems that exist amongst them all. This notion was well expressed by Magnus

Marsden when he said: “Balance is based on the understanding that all forms of life and all

peoples are intrinsically complementary, and will flourish if the domain of each is perceived

and respected“ (Marsden, as cited in Oman 2004:83). The way to manage diversity

successfully amongst the cultures and traditions in the Niger Delta is by maintaining the balance between unity and diversity. Bending towards unity results in uniformity and sameness, at the expense of our human uniqueness and distinctiveness; erring on the side of diversity magnifies differences and separation at the expense of a common, shared humanity.

Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognizing these differences as valuable; it enhances good management practice by preventing discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. Hence diversity is dependent on a given community or group who, though sharing similar values, differ on such values as is shown through behaviour. It is therefore argued that rather than use the golden rule we may use the platinum rule: “treat others as they want to be treated”. Moving from a frame of reference from what may be the default view (“our way is the best way”) to a diversity-sensitive perspective (“let's take the best of a variety of ways”) will lead to a more effective in a multicultural setting such as the Niger Delta.