Conflict Management
&
Negotiation
Rupali Pandya
Meaning of Negotiation
Negotiating is taking action in order to
achieve a situation acceptable to both
parties.
Negotiation occurs when the interests of a person or
group are dependent upon the actions of another
person or group who also have interests to pursue and
whose respective interests are pursued by cooperative
means.
Essential of Negotiation
1. It requires two parties: It is a meeting between two parties
over issues which are important to both of them. The
parties should be in conflict.
2. The objective is to reach an agreement: All the efforts are
directed to reach an agreement, whether they reach or not is
secondary.
3. It is a continuous process: It is not an event but a process
that is continuous in nature in an organization. For
instance, production and sales departments involve in
continuous negotiations.
4. No winner/ No loser: There has to be a win-win solution to
the negotiation
5. Requires flexibility: Both the parties to the
negotiation need to be flexible. They have to identify
the areas where they agree and differ and try to
cooperate and/ compromise on the areas of conflict.
In case any of the parties is rigid on its
stand it leads to frustration , negative attitudes, non-
cooperation and refusal to reach agreement.
6. A process not an event: It is a process not an
event, the process involves steps like planning,
briefing, bidding, bargaining etc.
7. Needs effective communication: Effective
communication is a key to successful negotiation.
Functional Contents of Negotiation:
Information: It contains the content variables or functions self-disclosure (giving
information about oneself), and exclusive “we” ( to mean the speaker and someone other
than the negotiating opponent) and the structure variables, ‘self-repairs and ‘filled-
pauses’. Filled pauses hold the floor for speakers when they experience difficulties in
encoding a message.
Interaction: It contains the content (or function) variable request for information and the
structure variables “soft” (soft voice volume) , acknowledgement (giving feedback), and
echo (repeating a part, or all of the previous speaker’s utterance). These three variables
hlp the current speaker leave the floor to another speaker either through passive
acquiescence (feedback and soft volume) or through active involvement (requesting
information). Thus, this factor promotes interaction.
Metatalk: It contains only content variables. The three variables “recommendation”
(making a suggestion/ recommendation), shield (“I don’t know, “may be”, “I think” etc)
and inclusive “we” ( to mean the speaker and the other negotiators present) function
together to reflect or show a concern with the ongoing process. It is seen in suggestions
like –“ why don’t we may be first talk about fax machines?”. It is thus a part of procedural
discourse.
Concession: it has the content variable “concession”
(conceding to the applicant) with the structure variables
“slow” (slow speech rate) and loud ( loud voice volume).
They indicate deliberation and intentionality.
Agreement: it contains the content variables “commitment”
(agreement to do something) and positive response
(acknowledging the other speaker’s utterance with a positive
or agreeing response) and the structure variable ‘overlap’
(segment of talk which overlaps with another speaker’s talk).
This factor appears to indicate a willingness, even an
eagerness (as seen in overlap), to commit.
Negotiation Process
1. Planning
2. Briefing
3. Bidding
4. Bargaining
5. Settling
6. Ratifying
7. Reviewing
Planning
Under this stage the negotiator needs to study the attitude
and views of the other party to negotiation.
Information about the negotiator can be collected by
getting answers to the following questions:
Is the negotiator independent or part of a team?
Is the negotiator authorized to take decisions on his own?
Whether the negotiator is an experienced person?
What type of behavior can be expected from the other
party.
Briefing
The negotiating teams need to be briefed on the
negotiation process. Also the roles and tasks of the
negotiators have to be loked upon at the outset. It has
to be decided that who:
Takes notes
Act as chairperson
Deal with interruptions
Deal with conflicts
Deal with the pace of negotiation
Bidding
On the assessment of the other party a negotiator can Bid High
or Bid Low.
High bidding has the advantage that in case it is accepted the
negotiator shall be able to get away with a good deal.
At the same time there is a possibility of the other party walking
out of the negotiation considering him to be an exploiter.
A low bid can help in quick settlement but it diminishes the
chance of raising the bid later. Also the party on the behalf of
whom the person is negotiating will consider him to be a weak
party.
Therefore ideally the negotiator should bid high with the
flexibility to reach a consensus at a little lower level.
Bargaining
Bargaining depends upon the “power” position of both the
parties.
Bargaining strategy has to be devised depending upon the
given situation, there is no one strategy for all situations.
To bargain right, parties need to answer the following
questions:
How can the negotiator change the other party’s
expectations?
How can the negotiator increase the bargaining power?
What sort of strategies can the negotiator use?
Should he go for pre-negotiation conditioning?
Settling
Settlement can only be achieved when both the parties
to negotiation are able to and willing to reach a
consensus
A negotiator needs to find out the reasons for inability
and unwillingness to reach a solution; if the same is
due to the stance of the negotiator or what he is asking
for.
In case it is due to he being dissatisfied with what he is
getting, the negotiator may try to find out alternative
ways to reach a solution.
Ratifying & Reviewing
To avoid further misunderstanding or misinterpretation
once an outcome is reached, it should be written down
and signed by both the parties.
Act of ratification is a symbol of commitment of both
the parties.
After negotiation process is over, the negotiating teams
should sit and review it, to see if the members
performed their role well, whether the outcome was as
planned.
Integrative & Distributive process
The negotiation process can be divided into two categories
on the basis of the stability aspect of negotiated settlement:
1. Integrative
2. Distributive
Integrative situation is also known as the win-win
situation in which both the parties to negotiation are
satisfied and happy with the way in which the negotiation
is taking place.
Herein the success of one party is not based on the cost of
the other party.
Distributive negotiation is also termed as “Zero Sum”
and “Win-Lose” situation wherein one party gains at
the expense of the other.
It is called “ Zero sum” as the net effect is “zero” one
gains and one loses.
Both integrative and distributive process of
negotiation are present in every negotiation process.
