Negotiation Science: Conflict Resolution

Negotiation Science

• In life, one doesn't get what they deserve, they get what they negotiate (Karrass, 1966).

Course Outline

• Module 1: Introducing Negotiations
• Module 2: Countering the Seller's Advantage
• Module 3: Planning the Negotiation
• Module 4: Cross-Cultural Negotiation
• Module 5: Personality and Negotiation
• Module 6: Power Play in Negotiation
• Module 7: Building the Concession Strategy
• Module 8: Winning Tactics and Techniques
• Module 9: Body Language in Negotiation

Scenario: Balancing Work and Family

• A project manager faces a conflict between a critical last-minute board meeting and their daughter's 18th birthday surprise party.
• The project manager has promised to be home but also required to attend crucial project discussions.

Courses of Action in Conflict Resolution

• When faced with conflicting interests, people often resort to:
• Convincing
• Imposing
• Threatening
• Buying
• Manipulating
• Haggling
• Compromising
• Arbitrating
• Suggesting solutions and alternatives
• Giving up

Examples of Actions

• Convincing: Requesting understanding due to family commitments and explaining the importance of being present for their daughter's birthday.
• Imposing: Declaring non-attendance without offering alternatives.
• Threatening: Implying negative consequences on work and productivity if unable to attend the party.
• Buying: Offering to work extra hours in exchange for attending the party.
• Manipulating: Hinting at potential negative reactions from their partner if absent from the party.
• Haggling and Compromising: Proposing to attend only part of the board meeting.

Unilateral Strategies and Their Impact

• These strategies primarily focus on one's own perspective, potentially neglecting the other party's needs and viewpoint.
• They may consider the other party as the problem.

Alternative Response

• A suggested approach involves framing the situation as: "What can I do so that my absence this evening is not damaging to the project?"

Defining Negotiation

• Negotiation is a process where two or more parties interact to reach a consensus or agreement.
• It involves a beginning, middle, and end.
• It allows parties to address differences and solve problems.
• It's a decision-making form with parties working to resolve opposing interests.
• Negotiation can be formal or informal, face-to-face or remote, and can consist of either short or extended interactions.

When Negotiation is Needed

• Negotiation is required in various situations, such as:
• Buyer and seller agreeing on price and terms
• Nations at war seeking a peaceful settlement
• Securing the release of a hostage
• Management and workers agreeing on new terms
• Parents discussing curfew with kids

Negotiation Dynamics

• Negotiations can occur between individuals or groups acting on behalf of members or a company.
• Multi-party negotiations involve three or more parties aiming for a single consensus or agreement.

Interaction in Negotiation

• Negotiation includes conferring for some exchange between parties.
• Face-to-face interaction is traditionally preferred, which increases the opportunity to understand the other party.
• Face-to-face interaction is not always practical, for example hostage situations.

Characteristics of a Negotiation Situation

• There are two or more parties.
• Conflicting needs and desires exist between parties.
• Parties negotiate by choice.
• Negotiation involves a "give-and-take" process.
• Parties would rather compromise than capitulate.

Interdependence in Negotiations

• Key characteristic of negotiation is parties needing each other to achieve objectives.
• Parties must coordinate to achieve objectives and decide to choose to work together on outcomes.
• Relationships between parties may be independent, dependent, or interdependent.
• Interdependent negotiators help each other for their own preferred outcome.

Interdependence and Outcomes

• The structure of the situation shapes negotiation processes and outcomes.
• Competitive situations where only one can win are “zero-sum” or “distributive”.
• In a zero-sum situation, one party's achievement blocks the other party's goal attainment.
• Mutual-gains situations where one party's success helps others are "non-zero-sum" or "integrative".

Zero-Sum vs Non-Zero-Sum

• Zero-sum, or distributive: Situations exist when there is limitied or scarce resource, one party achieving his or her goal means the goal of the other is blocked.
• Non-zero-sum or integrative situation: Parties' goals are linked for mutual gains, and there's a positive correlation.

Types of Negotiation

• Distributive (Value Claiming): Zero-sum negotiation; where one party's gain is another's loss, there is minimal collaboration.
• Integrative (Value Creating): Parties cooperate to maximize value, and find a solution that works for everyone.

Negotiation Outcomes

• Win-Win Agreement: Both parties achieve their goals and benefit, this is the goal of integrative negotiation.
• Win-Lose Agreement: One party wins and other is forced into agreement, common in distributive negotiation where one claims most of the value.
• Lose-win: Reluctant Agreement: Opposite of win-lose.
• Lose-Lose Agreement: Parties fail to reach agreement and no value is gained, happens often where there is a deadlock.

Zone of Mutual Agreement (ZoMa)

• The ZOMA is the range where agreement is possible because acceptable limits overlap.
• Our acceptable range: The range in which we are willing to negotiate.
• Their acceptable range: The range in which the other party is willing to negotiate.
• ZOMA (Overlap Area): Area where both parties' acceptable ranges intersect.
• Outside the ZOMA: If no overlap exists, no agreement can be reached unless one party expands its range.

Pre-requisites for Negotiation Success

• There must be two or more parties - A negotiation cannot happen alone.
• All parties must want or need to engage - Willingness or necessity is crucial
• There must be a means of interacting – A platform for discussion is required (e.g., in-person meetings, online communication).

Engaging Unwilling Parties

• Approaches to encourage unwilling parties to negotiate
• Offering incentives to sell potential benefits.
• Quantifying the cost of doing nothing.
• Enlisting allies to help back your cause.

Understanding the Psychology of Negotiation

• Human nature, personalities, and experiences shape how one negotiates.
• Negotiation is influenced by internal forces often beyond awareness.
• These forces shape behavior.
• Psychology aids understanding the dynamics and potential improved outcome.

Five Forces In Negotiation

• Our Need to win - Drive to outperform
• Our fear of failure - Not losing/ being anxious for a bad deal
• Our bias towards self belief - being over confident and clouding judgement
• The power of relationships - emotion ties
• Our need to trust - balance between scepticism and corporation

Mastering Five Forces

• Enhances emotional competence, leading to better negotiation outcomes

Need to Win

• Powerful internal force driving the need to achieve goals.
• Rooted in fear and survival.
• Leads to aggressive tactics.
• Useful in win-lose scenarios for short-term gains. Is damaging for long term agreements.

Personality Differences in Negotiation Styles

• Salespeople: High need to win.
• Procurement: Low need to win, focus on value/sustainability.

Fear of Failure

• Shame avoiding failure to protect self image
• Devaluing self esteem
• Avoiding feeling of uncertainty relating to future
• losing authority
• Not upsetting relationship
• Can lead to hesitation, excessive concessions and pushbacks against opponenets
• Can affect the stress felt, more so for those with low self esteem

Bias in Self Belief

• Over or under estimating abilities, and this impacts preparation.
• It is key to balance confidence with preparing.

Power of relationships

• Important relationships influence our behaviour, decisions and negotiation style.
• Strong relationship fosters collaboration but lack of can lead to increase in aggression
• Risking conflict is avoided a lot of the time.

Need to trust

• Important in the engagement with others, and key to take risk in all negotiation
• Important to feel secured and potential dependency
• Trust enhancers all influences

Developing Negotiation capability

• Need for knowledge, experince and the correct adaptability

Knowing What to do

• It is important and key to have a structured sequence of steps to execution
• Evaluate and use a position assesment technique
• Plan based on the event
• Tactical implementation
• Alternatives always
• Manage effective reactions

Knowing How to do it

• Knowledge can come from experience.
• Practice is key.
• Take notes from skilled negotiators
• Adapt tactics that suit the situation

3 Pillars of negotiation

• Balancing the critical elements
• Personality, Process. Repertoire