Bargaining With The Devil

I invested a significant amount of time to prepare for the Byrnes, Byrnes & Townsend negotiation meeting. I represented Mrs. Townsend, the plaintiff in this case and I chose co-operative strategies and tactics for this negotiation exercise. For me to address the liability and evaluate the case, I had to divide the facts in four categories: weaknesses and strengths of the opponent, weaknesses and strengths of my case. From the class discussions, I learned that the success of the negotiation directly depends on the preparation stage, therefore, I carefully assessed the obtained information, evaluated interests of both parties, set out substantive, intangible, and procedural goals, developed mine and my opponent`s BATNA, set the limits, and implemented negotiation strategy and tactics.

Last fall, my wife and I put our home up for sale. Our motivation was simple, with the money we would get from the sale of our home we could pay off all our debt and have plenty of money left over to invest, eventually saving enough to buy a bigger home. Emboldened by the allure of liquidity I listed our home for sale and waited for the offers. Indeed the offers did come in, in fact over the next few months we were in and out of escrow three times.

Prepare responses to the questions below after viewing the Negotiation Strategy and Tactics Tutorial in this week's lecture. In drafting your answers to the questions, make sure that you apply course concepts in your answers.

Kurtzberg, T. R., & Naquin, C. E. (2011). The essentials of job negotiations: Proven strategies

In this course, I have learned that it is possible to dramatically improve my ability to negotiate. I can improve my monetary returns and feel better about myself and the people with whom I deal. I also learned that there are several ways to test my intuition and approach. The course provided me with an opportunity to assess my “instinctive” bargaining style and provides suggestions for how to further develop my bargaining abilities. The negotiation exercises were a good way to cement several of the concepts from the book and lecture and gave me several opportunities to get to know my classmate more and test some new insights with them.

In our recent negotiation, my partner Dave and I assumed the roles of Alan Hacker, a computer software developer, and Alan Hacker’s lawyer. Being the lawyer in the negotiation my objective was to avoid litigation with my client’s partner Stanley Star and to aid in the continuation of my client’s co-owned company HackerStar. In addition, I would assist Hacker in coming to an agreement that would be satisfying for him both personally and financially. I felt that Dave and I presented a reasonable argument on Hacker’s behalf and, since I was able to apply some of our class readings during the process, I was overall pleased with the outcome.

By taking this course, we have learned the different types of negotiations and the strategies to be used in

Fisher, R & Ury, W. (1983). Getting to yes: negotiating agreement without giving in. New York:

version are available at reasonable cost from the Clearinghouse, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School, 518 Pound Hall, Cambridge, MA

Throughout the lecture and my prior knowledge, I identified that the influence tactics are obviously relevant to negotiation and they can be utilized in a variety of ways in negotiation. Looking back the activity, it enabled me to have a better understanding of these important techniques and skills as certain tactics my opponents and I may use were examined at the negotiating table.

Whether it is at work, church or in our private relationships, negotiations are a necessary tool for reaching an agreement. They are made by discussing each parties point of view with the aim being to reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial. For the most part, negotiation is the process by which those people involved successfully adopt or abandon their respective position through the use of positional bargaining. There are different types of approaches for the negotiation process - some hard and others soft in their manner of approach. The desired outcome of

Negotiation is a fundamental form of dispute resolution involving two or more parties (Michelle, M.2003). Negotiations can also take place in order to avoid any future disputes. It can be either an interpersonal or inter-group process. Negotiations can occur at international or corporate level and also at a personal level. Negotiations often involve give and take acknowledging that there is interdependence between the disputants to some extent to achieve the goal. This means that negotiations only arise when the goals cannot be achieved independently (Lewicki and Saunders et al., 1997). Interdependence means the both parties can influence the outcome for the other party and vice versa. The negotiations can be win-lose or win-win in nature.

Communication styles in negotiation are probably one of the most important skills or characteristics one will develop over a lifetime. From the point a human being begins to develop cognitive skills, the process of learning and understanding situations become more apparent. One will learn from a very young age the dynamics and characteristics of communication and its role in negotiation. To better understand the communication process, one must be able to recognize how they communicate, whether it is on an assertive, aggressive, passive, or passive-aggressive level of communication. The manner in which one conveys his/her message is critical, and the many methods in which they do it is

Negotiation is one of the most common approaches used to make decisions and manage disputes. It is also the major building block for many other alternative dispute resolution procedures. According to Christopher W (2012), negotiation is the principal way that people redefine an old relationship that is not working to their satisfaction or establish a new relationship where none existed before. Because negotiation is such a common problem-solving process, it is in everyone 's interest to become familiar with negotiating dynamics and skills. This section is designed to identify what worked well and not well in the negotiation. In addition, to present strategies that generally makes the negotiation more efficient and improvement in the next

An effective negotiator is a strategic negotiator, who is able to switch back and forth between different phases of a negotiation without losing the goal in mind. An effective negotiator takes time to process what is happening during the negotiation and ensures that the right problem is being resolved while taking into consideration other party’s intrests to finding a common ground. Concequently those type of actions facilitate in the process of a negotiation by creating a cooperative environment and enhance the furture relationship between the parties (Fells 2012; Sebenius 2001). An effective negotiator aknowledges that no party is the same and as every negotiation, every negotiator is different from one another. These variations explain the DNA of negotiation that requires an effective negotiator to take into considerations the strands of the DNA, such as “reciprocity, trust, power, information exchange, ethics, and outcome” that vary from person to person (Fells 2012, pg 8).