Negotiation

From Freepedia

Negotiation is the process whereby interested parties resolve disputes, agree upon courses of action, bargain for individual or collective advantage, and/or attempt to craft outcomes which serve their mutual interests. It is usually regarded as a form of alternative dispute resolution.

Given this definition, one can see negotiation occurring in almost all walks of life, from parenting to the courtroom.

In the advocacy approach, a skilled negotiator usually serves as advocate for one party to the negotiation and attempts to obtain the most favorable outcomes possible for that party. In this process the negotiator attempts to determine the minimum outcome(s) the other party is (or parties are) willing to accept, then adjusts her demands accordingly. A "successful" negotiation in the advocacy approach is when the negotiator is able to obtain all or most of the outcomes his party desires, but without driving the other party to permanently break off negotiations.

Traditional negotiating is sometimes called win-lose because of the hard-ball style of the negotiators whose motive is to get as much as they can for their side.

During the 1960s, Gerard I. Nierenberg, a successful lawyer, was the first to realize the role negotiation plays in resolving disputes in personal, business and international relations. He published a best selling book called "The Art of Negotiation," a classic, which has become the staple and foundation of all future negotiation publications and seminars. He believes that the philosophies of the negotiators determine the direction a negotiation takes. His “Everybody Wins®” philosophy assures that all parties benefit from the negotiation process which also yields more successful outcomes than the adversarial “winner takes all” approach. He also founded The Negotiation Institute, the world's authority negotiation organization.

In the Seventies, practitioners and researchers began to develop win-win approaches to negotiation. Perhaps the best known was articulated in the book Getting to YES by Harvard's Roger Fisher and Bill Ury. This approach, referred to as Principled Negotiation, is also sometimes called mutual gains bargaining. The mutual gains approach has been effectively applied in environmental situations (see Lawrence Susskind) as well as labor relations where the parties (e.g. management and a labor union) frame the negotiation as "problem solving".

Contents

3 Phases in Negotiation

A negotiation process can be divided into six steps in three phases:

  • Phase 1: Before the Negotiation
    • Step 1: Preparing and Planning: In this step, one should gather facts about the other party, learn about the other party’s negotiating style and anticipate other sides position and prioritize issues. To ensure smooth negotiation, one should also prepare alternatives proposals and establish BATNA (the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). The most ideal case is to come out with a win-win plan to both parties.
  • Phase 2: During the Negotiation
    • Step 2: Setting the Tone: In this step, one should firmly state his position and explain his interest on need base.
    • Step 3: Exploring Underlying Needs: It is also important to actively listen for facts and reasons behind other party’s position and explore underlying needs of the other party. If conflict exists, try to develop creative alternatives without losing the win-win focus. Neutralize tactic if necessary.
    • Step 4: Selecting, Refining, and Crafting an Agreement: It is a step in which both parties present the starting proposal. They should listen for new ideas, think creatively to handle conflict and gain power and create cooperative environment.
    • Step 5: Reviewing and Recapping the Agreement: This is the step in which both parties formalize agreement in a written contract or letter of intent.
  • Phase 3: After the Negotiation
    • Step 6: Reviewing the Negotiation: Reviewing the negotiation helps one to learn the lessons on how to achieve a better outcome. Therefore, one should take the time to review each element and ask oneself, "what went well?" and "what could be improved next time?"

Tactics

There are many tactics used by skilled negotiators, including:

  • presenting demands
  • deadlines
  • good guy/bad guy
  • limited authority
  • caucusing
  • walking out
  • concession patterns
  • high-ball/low-ball
  • intimidation
  • getting it in your hands
  • fait accompli (what's done is done)
  • take it or leave it

Negotiation as a Wikipedia technique of dispute resolution

Wikipedia:Dispute resolution contemplates users negotiating with one another on article talk pages and on user talk pages and as a part of mediation, see Wikipedia:Negotiation

See also

References and further reading

  • William Ury, Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in, Revised 2nd edition, Penguin USA, 1991, trade paperback, ISBN 0140157352; Houghton Mifflin, April, 1992, hardcover, 200 pages, ISBN 0395631246. The first edition, unrevised, Houghton Mifflin, 1981, hardcover, ISBN 0395317576
  • William Ury, Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation, revised second edition, Bantam, January 1, 1993, trade paperback, ISBN 0553371312; 1st edition under the title, Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People, Bantam, September, 1991, hardcover, 161 pages, ISBN 0553072749
  • Gerard I. Nierenberg, The Art of Negotiating: Psychological Strategies for Gaining Advantageous Bargains, Barnes and Noble, (1995), hardcover, 195 pages, ISBN 156619816X
  • Leigh L. Thompson, The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Prentice Hall 0ct.2000, ISBN 0130179647

External links

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