The Roles of Negotiation in Construction

The Roles of Negotiation in Construction

Negotiation is a form of the decision-making process where two or more

parties jointly search a space of possible solutions with the goal of

reaching a consensus.

In the construction industry, collaboration is an essential key for

the success of projects. Since different participants from different

organizations try to work together in projects, competitive stresses

exist in their relationships and as a result, disputes or conflicts

may inevitably occur; negotiation is preferred by project participants

for the settlement of claims. Negotiation plays an important role in

resolving claims, preventing disputes, and keeping a harmonious

relationship between project participants. However, claims

negotiations are commonly inefficient due to the diversity of

intellectual background, many variables involved, complex

interactions, and inadequate negotiation knowledge of project

participants. Most project managers consider negotiation as the most

time- and energy-consuming activity in claims management.

Negotiation theories and principles

To address the complex technical and human issues in negotiation,

several important negotiation theories and principles have been

developed, which mainly include game theory, economic theory, behavior

theory, and negotiation theory.

Game theory seeks to get at the essentials of decision making and the

associated strategies in situations where two or more parties are

interdependent, and where, therefore, the outcome of their conflict

and competition must be the product of their joint requirements and

the interaction of their separate choices (Bacharach ...

... middle of paper ...

...on Collaborative Negotiatons for Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects-

(J. of Management in Engineering/ April 2001/ 121)

Pe -Mora, F., and Wang, C-Y. (1998)-Computer-supported collaborative

negotiation methodology ( J. Comp. in Civ. Engrg., ASCE,12(2))

Gulliver, P. H. (1979)- Disputes and negotiation: A cross-culture

perspective,

(Academic, San Diego)

Bacharach, S. B., and Lawler, E. J. (1981). Bargaining: Power, tactics

and outcomes (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco)

Young, O. R., (1975) Bargaining: Formal theories of negotiation

(University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Ill)

Zartman, I. W., (1977) The negotiation process: Theories and

applications (Sage,London)

Z. Ren, C. J. Anumba, and O. O. Ugwu. (2003)-Multiagent System for

Construction Claims Negotiation ( J. Comp. in Civ. Engrg.,

ASCE,7(2003))