Negotiation

Methods that address ethics problems between individuals, and between and within teams and organizations.

Negotiation takes 2 parties to carve some outcomes based on mutual interests. This mutual interest will be some dealing or even can be some dispute. But as in this subject I can solely contemplate dealings not disputes. A smart negotiator is one who produces a WIN-Win scenario between both parties.

Negotiation is something that may only be won by will power and confidence. Your thinking of better alternatives and understanding the limits of your negotiation can facilitate your most. Any negotiation is termed successful only when both parties win, "Winner takes all" approach isn't a better negotiating policy.

The necessity of negotiation

•          Teams are ubiquitous(everywhere). When do we need to negotiate? Used car, Ugli Orange case, Class teams

•          Levels

–        Between individuals

–        Inter-team negotiation

–        Intra-team negotiation

•          The need for ethical behavior

Negotiation Skills

Negotiation skills are requires to negotiate effective deals across a variety of contexts; including different industries, products and services. Negotiation skills are learnable, 'born negotiators' are a myth. Effective negotiation requires a variety of skills drawn from different disciplines. Negotiating skills include: communication, persuasion and influence, planning, strategising, tactics, process and systems, teamwork and many others. Since negotiation requires much face to face interaction, negotiation skills cannot be learned from a book alone. The better negotiation skills learning programs involve a great deal of role plays and feedback discussions

Negotiation Styles

The most popular way to divide the typical negotiation styles or approaches are: Competing (or Aggressive), Collaborating (or Cooperative), Avoiding, Compromise, Accommodating (Conceding). Most negotiators have one or two preferred negotiation styles. Ideal is to be able to choose to apply the most appropriate negotiation style to each type of negotiation, and to be able to switch negotiating style depending on who you are negotiating with and other important elements of your negotiation context. 

Understanding the Five Negotiation Styles

People often ask "which is the best negotiation style?" As with much management theory there is no single 'best' or 'right' approach. All five profiles of dealing with conflict are useful in different situations. Although we're capable of using all five, most of us tend to have one or two preferred negotiation conflict styles that we use unconsciously in most conflict situations. Why? Either because our preferred styles have worked for us in the past, or because of our temperament (nature) or because of our upbringing (nurture).

So if you're involved in business negotiations, which negotiation styles are likely to reward you with the biggest profit prizes? This question will be answered later in this article. First lets visit each of these important conflict profile styles.

Compete (I win - You lose)

Competitive style negotiators pursue their own needs - yes, even when this means others suffer. They often use whatever power and tactics they can muster, including their personality, position, economic threats, brand strength or size or market share. At its extreme negotiators call their behaviour aggressive or psychotic.

When to use?

When you need to act or get results quickly. Competition is critical when you are certain that something is not negotiable and immediate compliance is required.

Accommodate (I Lose - You Win)

The opposite of competing. For accommodating style negotiators, the relationship is everything. Accommodating profiles think that the route to winning people over is to give them what they want. They don't just give products and services, they are generous with information too. Accommodators are usually very well liked by their colleagues and opposite party negotiators

When to use?

When you or your company are at fault, repairing the relationship is critical, and if you have nothing else that would benefit the other side.

Avoid (I Lose - You Lose)

This is most often referred to as "passive aggressive". People who habitually use this style really dislike conflict. Rather than talk directly with you about the issue, avoid styles may instead try to take revenge without you knowing about it. The avoid style can be a typical reaction to high compete negotiators. Sellers will frequently call less often on high compete buyers (i.e. Avoiding Competitive buyers) - and may choose to invest marketing money and share their best ideas and prize promotions with non-avoid profiles.

When to use?

When the value of investing time to resolve the conflict outweighs the benefit; or if the issue under negotiation is trivial (trivial to both parties).
Sometimes there is just not enough at stake to risk a difficult conflict situation. If there is a lot of emotion in a negotiation, it's pointless pushing through and hammering it out. Better to allow people to calm down first, let the testosterone hormone leave everyone's system first so that reason and rationality can reappear. At that point an avoid style is likely the most pragmatic alternative - suggest a timeout of 15-20 minutes.
What to do when you're dragged into a negotiation unprepared? Under these circumstances, avoidance is probably the most sensible strategy. Either avoid the meeting, or avoid discussing the issues upon which you need to prepare.

Compromise (I Lose / Win Some - You Lose / Win Some)

Compromising is the style that most people think of as negotiation, but in reality compromising is usually just haggling. Compromising often involves splitting the difference, usually resulting in an end position of about half way between both party's opening positions. In the absence of a good rationale or properly exchanged concessions, half way between the two positions seems "fair". What compromising ignores however, is that the people that take the most extreme positions tend to get more of what is on offer.

When to use?

When you are pushed for time and you are dealing with someone who you trust. They also need to be clear that it would not be in their best interest for them to "win" a cheap victory. Both parties win and lose - but make sure you win the right things and lose the right things.
Meeting half way reduces strain on the relationship, but usually leaves precious gold on the table (and with the central banking cartel's gold suppression scheme losing its grip right now, every ounce of gold counts).
When you have nothing left to offer, and this is the only way to seal the deal. i.e. a lousy situation.

Collaborate (I Win - You Win)

Most people confuse "Win/Win" or the collaboration style with the compromising style. This is most definitely not the case. "Win/Win" is about making sure both parties have their needs met, and as much mutual value as can be created is created. "Win/Win" negotiators usually evolve through the other profiles, they grow into a collaborative negotiation style. This means collaborative profile negotiators can more easily revert to one or two of the other styles when pushed or when the situation calls for it. Collaborative profile negotiators are adamant that their needs must be met - and they acknowledge that the other party has needs that must be met too.
Tragically, too many account managers are overly accommodating and compromising. Resulting in competitive style buyers claiming more than their fair share. When these same competitive style buyers come up against skilled collaborative style negotiators, the competitive styles blunt coercion methods don't get rewarded with concessions.
Too many buyers are stretched and under tremendous time pressure, so temptation to compromise rather than invest time in collaborating wins out.

Often referred to as 'expanding the pie', collaborative negotiators are willing to invest more time and energy in finding innovative solutions, feeling secure in the fact that there will be more value to share out later on.

When to use?

Under most circumstances collaboration is the primary style you should use for most goals in business to business negotiations.

As mentioned briefly in the Compete section: if a relationship is important to you, and if your market reputation is important, if the other side needs to perform and not just exchange a standard product for cash, high risk (e.g. new market or new product or both), if there is a large amount of money at stake, then you are best advised to think about all the ways in which you can build a more trusting collaborative working relationship.

If you need to understand the feelings and deeper interests or motivations of all negotiators, then collaboration is your best path.