If the paperclip trade-up has taught me anything about negotiations it that the other party has to be interested in what you are offering. Throughout the semester we were asked to take objects of lower value, and exchange them for objects of higher value. Basing the negotiation off of monetary value leads to a zero-sum negotiation that is difficult to close. How would you convince someone to take lower value item if there was nothing else to offer? The answer lies in the creation of a value added negotiation. Negotiation by Harvard Business Essentials describes negotiations as having two primary types, distributive, and integrative (Harvard Business Essentials, 2003, p. 2). In distributive negotiation parties contend over a fixed amount of value; when one takes more, the other takes less. In integrative negotiation both parties are trying to find a maximum value between each other with the goal of creating maximum benefit for both parties. Through the paperclip trade up I have learned that many negotiations are a blend of distribution and integration. While I look to maximize my benefit, I also need to maintain and create a relationship with the other party. Creating relationships is a key part of integrative …show more content…
Once I had built a relationship based on an intrinsic negotiation, I would be able to return to the well again with a new object, and a trade would be accepted. By understanding and explaining my goals of trading an object of lower value for an object of higher value I was building trust. The other party had little reason to doubt my position, and they were able to talk freely about the objects they were willing to trade. As Negotiations warns, if I had pushed for extreme value creation other parties would would be less willing to participate in future negotiations (Harvard Business Essentials, 2003, p.
Lewicki, J. R., Barry, B., & Saunders, M. D. (2011). Essentials of negotiation (5th ed.). New
However this negotiation was totally different from the other ones as our goals were completely different. My counterpart was looking for fund for his boss' campaign whereas I was looking for a buyer for my dam projects. In such a case it's difficult to negotiate as we are not looking for the same things. Thus, we need to communicate effectively to understand the other part will and then be creative in order to offer the best solution regarding both parties interests.
The dynamic of a win-lose bargaining situation can cause negotiations to be exceedingly tense and volatile because only one side will gain at the end of these type of negotiations. This makes the concept of distributive bargaining controversial. Michael Wheeler, the author of the article, Three cheers for teaching distributive bargaining, discusses how many professors at an academy of management conference disapproved of distributive bargaining negotiation tactics. Wheeler explains, a huge majority of the attendees disapproved of exposing their impressionable pupils to the reality that in some negotiations, more for one party means less for the other” (Wheeler, 2012).
Negotiations styles are scholastically recognized as being broken down into two general categories and those are distributive bargaining styles and integrative negotiation styles. Distributive bargaining styles of negotiation are understood to be a competitive type of negotiation. “Distributive bargaining, also known as positional bargaining, negotiating zero-sum, competitive negotiation, or win-lose negotiation, is a type or style of negotiation in which the parties compete for the distribution of a fixed amount of value” (Business Blog Reviews, 2011). This type of negotiation skill or style approach might be best represented in professional areas such as the stock market where there is a fixed goal in mind or even in a garage sale negotiation where the owner would have a specific value of which he/she would not go below. In contrast, an integrative negotiation approach/style is that of cooperative bargaining, or win-win types ...
Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2005). Negotiation, Fifth Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Lewicki, J. R., Barry, B., & Saunders, M. D. (2006). Negotiation: Readings, Exercises and Cases (5th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2010). Negotiation: Readings, exercises, and cases. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
The authors, Roger Fisher and William Fury, encourages readers to view negotiations as a value add activity, rather than a competing activity. Parties involved in a negotiations should collaborate to reach a win-win situation, rather than take the stand of adversaries. To do so, it is essential to separate people from the problems – i.e. attack the problem and not the people. The following are problems exists among people:
Planning for this negotiation was more difficult than the first negotiation in class. The first negotiation had a point system; therefore I knew what the maximum, minimum and average amount points were. Not only does the Texoil negotiation not have a point system, but there were two people on my side (sellers) and only one on the other side (buyer).
Lewicki, R., Saunders, D.M., Barry B., (2010) Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases. 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill Irwin. New York, NY
During this course, I have learned a lot about negotiating. We learned about almost every negotiating technique there is. We learned about cross-cultural negotiations, body language, Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), variables in negotiating, and many more. Before this course, I did not know that much about negotiating. I thought that negotiating was just about trading or convincing someone to give you what you want and you did not care about the other side, resulting in a win-lose. I now know that negotiating is about getting what you want, but also giving the other side what they want as well to result in a win-win. This paper is about how I am going to improve my negotiating skills over the next six months. In order for me to improve my negotiating skills, I believe I need to improve the following skills- my body language, communication, planning, and my interpersonal communications. By improving those skills, I can become an effective negotiator.
The topic for my real world negotiation is to come to an agreement with my supervisor for a promotion as well as an increased salary. I currently work as a student assistant at the student services Planning, Enrollment Management, and Student Affairs (PEMSA) department. My goal is to increase my hourly pay from $10.15 to $12.70, a 25% increase. Having worked in this department for three years, I have taken on tasks not part of my job description such as processing return mail, data entry, and supervision.
Negotiation has been used as a vital communication tool not only in business but also in social intercourse. It helps people make common agreement and avoid conflict. So we need to use the tactics which we learned from this course and books to do more practice, only in this way we can gain advantages in negotiation.
Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2007). Essentials of Negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill/ Irwin.
Negotiation approaches are generally described as either distributive or integrative. At the heart of each strategy is a measurement of conflict between each party’s desired outcomes. Consider the following situation. Chris, an entrepreneur, is starting a new business that will occupy most of his free time for the near future. Living in a fancy new development, Chris is concerned that his new business will prevent him from taking care of his lawn, which has strict requirements under neighborhood rules. Not wanted to upset his neighbors, Chris decides to hire Matt to cut his grass.