Advantages Of Integrative Bargaining

also lead to destructive actions. For people who wish to maintain a good relationship with the others involved, an integrative approach is better suited to long term relationships. However, if the relationship past the deal is not relevant and the negotiator is looking to maximize the value obtained in the bargain then distributive strategies are more useful.

The process of Distributive bargaining involves the consideration of the minimum and maximum values that one can accept before walking away from the deal, and the same minimum and maximum “walk away” values of the others involved (Spangler, 2003). The trick is to obtain an idea of where the opponent's walk away value is, and try to attempt to negotiate to something closer to your own

Distributive bargaining does play some role in integrative bargaining as the “pie” does ultimately need to be split up. To make the “pie” as large as it could possibly be, integrative bargaining is invaluable, unfortunately there is still only one “pie” and the value it holds must be distributed through negotiation. In an integrative process, everyone agrees on who gets what. The idea being that the last step of divvying up will not be difficult once the state is reached. This is due to the interest-based approach that creates a cooperative working relationship in which all parties feel satisfied with the outcome. Theoretically, everyone should know who wants what by the time the “pie” is

On the other hand, distributive negotiation is best used when you have a considerable advantage and are in a good position to bargain to acquire the most gains. Another factor to consider when determining the best strategy to use is whether resource being negotiated over is finite or infinite. When dealing with finite resources, a bigger piece of the “pie” is obviously beneficial and so a distributive mindset would be more advantageous. The long term relationship with the other negotiators is also a factor that needs to be considered. If a long-term friendly relationship or competitive relationship is desired with the other negotiators. If only a single deal is at stake and future help or negotiations will not be necessary, distributive is better. However, if long term dependability and help is needed, then the safest bet is