People negotiate almost daily, sometimes for essential things like a new job, other times for relatively minor things, such as who will take out the trash. Negotiations occur to create something new or to resolve a problem or dispute between parties.
Characteristics common to all negotiation situations include two or more individuals, groups, or organizations, interpersonal, intragroup, or intergroup process. There is a conflict of interest between two or more parties. The parties negotiate because they think they can use some form of influence to get a better deal. The parties prefer to search for agreement rather than fight openly, have one side capitulate, permanently break off contact, or take their dispute to a higher authority to resolve it. When you negotiate, expect to give and take. Successful negotiation involves the management of intangibles and well as the resolving of intangibles.
Interdependent relationships are characterized by interlocking goals; the parties need each other to accomplish their goals. A necessary step in all negotiations is to clarify and share information about what both parties want as outcomes. When one party accepts a change, a concession has been made. When a party makes a concession, the bargaining range is confined closer to one or both sides’ limits or resistance points. Two dilemmas all negotiators face are honesty and trust. Negotiators must understand the nature of the interdependence of the parties. Negotiators are seldom identical and may include differences in interest, opinions, risk aversion, and time preferences. The other potential consequence of interdependent relationships is conflict, which has several levels, including intrapersonal or intrapsychic, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup. One of the most popular areas of conflict management research and practice has been to define the different ways that the parties themselves can manage conflict. Each conflict management strategy has its advantages and disadvantages and is more or less appropriate given the type of conflict and situation in which the dispute occurs.
Discussion Questions (Original post should be 200 words and include your textbook or search online and at least one additional resource):
Define “zero-sum” situation.
Discuss a workplace-based scenario (that you have experienced or one that you find online) that you think there was a “zero-sum” situation.
Conflict also has productive aspects, and one of those is that conflict encourages psychological development. Elaborate.
