Favorable in this case means pressing for the answer you want. The tactic, in its extreme, is to ignore the answers being received and vehemently continue to repeat and rephrase the question. The intent is to wear down the other person until they relent and accede to your request.
Older business people from Southeast Asian countries practice this tactic most vigorously. It seems to be handed down as a 'maxim' to their children. When pressed for a rationale, the younger people have no clearer explanation than it is just the way one behaves around money or trade. We have no research beyond our observations of this behavior pattern. It seems more prevalent in people from countries where, two or three generations ago, most trade was conducted in street-side kiosks.
You may notice recent refugees from these countries exhibiting this characteristic in a more pronounced way. Does this have a relation to our recognition that immigrants contribute much to the economic life of our country?
If you come from a different cultural background you may reject this tactic outright. On the other hand, you may elect to adopt the technique while tempering it to your own style.
When the tactic is being applied to you, you must exercise more patience and less anger if you detect it is a cultural trait. You could receive more respect if you kindly decline the request.
One of our more memorable insights into this aggressive bargaining trait was dealing with an elderly lady negotiating a transaction on her daughter's behalf. As the mother, visiting our office from Korea, became more aggressive the daughter begged her mother to be more reasonable. The mother would ignore her as much as our explanations of the standard arrangement for all clients. Later, the young daughter apologized for her mother's behavior. This is when we associated this with other experiences to reach the cultural and generational assumptions described above.
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