How to negotiate effectively /на англ./
HOW TO NEGOTIATE EFFECTIVELY
1. What is
negotiation
Negotiation is an
essential part of the every-day business life. It can take place at any time
and in any place. Negotiation is a kind of meeting, but contrary to the latter
it may be held in some unexpected and uncomfortable place such as the street or
on the stairs.
There are several
definitions of negotiation. It is said to be “the process for resolving
conflict between two or more parties whereby both or all modify their demands
to achieve a mutually acceptable compromise”. Thus, it is “the process of
changing both parties’ views of their ideal outcome into an attainable
outcome”.
The need of
negotiation arises when we are not fully in control of events. Negotiations
take place to handle mutual differences or conflict of:
·
interests (wages,
hours, work conditions, prices: seller vs buyer)
·
rights (different
interpretations of an agreement)
The aim of a
negotiation is to come to an agreement which is acceptable to both sides, and
to preserve the overall relationships. While specific issues are to be
negotiated, common interest are yet still to be maintained. Negotiations do not
mean “war”. Negotiators can still be friends and partners.
2. The
negotiation continuum
·
Overlap
The situations of
negotiation can be shown diagrammatically in terms of ideals and limits.
Ideal Limit
HIM
Bargaining area
Limit Ideal YOU
The limit may be
the limit of negotiator’s authority, such as a minimum (e.g. price) acceptable.
If there is overlap it is possible to settle. The final position within the
bargaining area, where settlement takes place, depends on the negotiators’
relative strength and skill.
·
No overlap
The aim of the
negotiator is to achieve a result, i.e. to find a solution, within the
bargaining area. However, it is possible that both parties set limits which do
not provide overlap. In this case the negotiators have to move their limits,
otherwise the negotiation will be broken down.
Ideal
Limit
HIM No deal
YOU
Limit Ideal
·
Too much overlap
The opposite case
is also possible. When one is careless and settles for less than he could. In
this case the limit of the opposite side should be found and the ideal should
be revised.
Ideal Limit
HIM
YOU
Limit Ideal Revised Ideal
3. The approach
There are four
main stages of negotiation:
·
Preparing objectives,
information, strategy
·
Discussing (argue) and
signalling willingness to move
·
Propose and bargain
·
Close and agree
While preparing to
the negotiation it is important not only to prepare supporting arguments but
also to define objectives. Objectives should be realistic and attainable and
have certain priorities. It is also necessary to investigate the opponent’s
plans and priorities, which can be rather difficult.
The objectives
should be classified basically as follows:
Like Ideal
but least important
Intend Achievable,
a range of possibilities
Ideal
Limit
AREA OF NO DEAL
Like
Intend
Must
The general
strategy for negotiation is to have a negotiating team of three people, who
will also be involved in the preparation.
·
Leader The
person who will do the talking and conduct the negotiations
·
Summariser The
person who will ask questions and summarise for control
·
Observer The
person not involved in the actual negotiations, whose role is
to watch, listen and record
80 % of the
negotiating time is spent arguing. If it equals 100 % the negotiation will
break down. There are two kinds of arguing:
·
Reasonable and
constructive Debates, discussions
·
Unreasonable and
destructive Emotional quarrels
The opponent may
try to divert you by escaping into destructive behaviour. In this case, your
behaviour should be not to interrupt, but to listen and control your feelings.
Even if the battle is won, the war can be lost.
A negotiator
should be constructive in arguments and try to get information by asking open
questions or even leading questions. One thing should be tackled at a time and
the opponent should be made justify his case item by item.
It is important to
be non-committal and to state only ideals at first. Later, the information
about the negotiator’s position can be given, and later alternative proposals
can be made. Sometimes it is necessary to challenge the opponent, so that he
demonstrates his strengths.
Negotiation means
movement. It may be that both parties move on one issue. It may be that each
moves on different issue. The motive forces are twofold:
·
Sanctions The
penalty of not agreeing
·
Incentives The
benefits of agreeing.
To signal is not
to show weakness. But if both parties wait for the other to signal, the result
will be deadlock.
The opponent’s
signals will show his willingness to move. So one should listen, recognise his
signals and interpret them, looking for the qualified words which are evidence
of willingness to move.
Another very
important point of negotiations is proposing and bargaining. Proposals should
be realistic in order not to cause argument and deadlock. The language of the
proposal signals one’s firmness. Weak language such as “we hope…, we like…, we
prefer…” should be avoided. Instead, a phrase “we propose…” is appropriate.
The final step in
a negotiation is closing and agreeing. There are two aspects to it:
·
When to close
·
How to close
The first is the
most difficult moment to recognise. There is a balance between:
·
Closing too early More
concessions from the opponent could have been
squeezed
·
Closing too late The
opponents squeezed excessive concessions.
The aim of closing
is to get the opposition to stop bargaining and to make an agreement. The final
thing to do is to write down the agreement and agree what is written down. It
is necessary to do this before leaving the negotiating table.
4. Characteristics
of an effective negotiator
What
characteristics should one have to be an effective negotiator. The first and
the most important characteristics, from the standpoint of many executives and
managers of large corporations, is preparation and planning skills.
The other very
important characteristics are:
·
Knowledge of subject
matter being negotiated
·
Ability to think
clearly and rapidly under pressure and uncertainty
·
Ability to express
thoughts verbally
·
Listening skills
·
Judgement and general
intelligence
·
Ability to persuade
others
·
Patience
·
Decisiveness
5. Conclusion
In spite of the existence
of negotiating theories, it is frequently difficult to apply theoretical and
conceptual knowledge in a practical situation. In order to be a good negotiator,
one should have negotiation skills as well as a theoretical knowledge. But
without a practical experience it is hard to negotiate effectively.
Interpersonal
skills are very important in the negotiation, but what can help a negotiating
party while thinking what to do is not an elaborated theory, but rather is it a
simple analysis and intuition.
Bibliography
1.
Raiffa, Howard. 1982.
The art and science of negotiation. Harvard University Press. Pages 119-133.
2.
Murcott, Owen. 1991. IBS
Management Training. Hanzehogeschool. Groningen.