Importance of Negotiations

This paper presents my reflections on the Negotiations: Strategy and practice coursework in the MBA program at Said Business School, University of Oxford. My paper will present various reflections on different themes of negotiation simulation undertaken by me during the course. This course has allowed investigating and reflecting on key drivers of negotiation techniques for me. I have learned that transparency and coalition are the core tenet of negotiation for me. For the purpose of this reflective exercise, I will conduct a comparative analysis of the process, dynamics and outcomes based on the themes such as negotiation styles, bargaining zones, power, emotion, coalitions, value claiming vs value creation etc. for the below-mentioned simulations:

The negotiations class was an insightful experience. It helped me attain a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses both personally and professionally. It helped put into perspective a lot of my theoretical analysis conducted on group dynamics and, most importantly, has helped me become a more effective negotiator. My goal with this paper is to communicate the evolution of my negotiation skills during the progression of the course.

Negotiation occurs on a regular basis in a daily life and individuals negotiate in business occasions or outside of the workplace. Having superior negotiation skills is conductive to the success in personal life and career development. This essay will indicate that my natural preferences for different influencing tactics, comparisons between theory and practice, and a personal action plan to improve negotiation skills based on the role-play activity in my class.

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 this negotiation exercise, I was assigned as the Seaborne Governor’s negotiator as part of a six member party meeting to negotiate a deal with Harborco to build and operate a deepwater port off the coast of Seaborne. The Governor on the whole was very interested in seeing this deepwater port built in Seaborne as she believes that the size of the project would provide the stimulus for a dramatic recovery in the state.

Consequently, negotiation is a process that can be approached in many ways. No matter what strategy we choose, success lies in how well we prepared. The key to negotiating a beneficial outcome is the negotiators’ ability to consider all the elements of the situation carefully and to identify and think through the options. At the same time, negotiators must be able to keep events in perspective and be as fair and honest as circumstance allows. Because a common ground or interest has brought the parties to the negotiating table, a negotiator can benefit by trying to capitalize on this common

Pre-negotiation preparation is essential for the optimal outcome of a negotiation, as it allows one to design a strategy and plan that can increase the probability of a beneficial agreement. Good preparation means thorough understanding of one’s own and the other party’s relevant information, including interests, constraints, and tradable resources. An effective negotiator should know one’s own best

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

These include perception, emotion, and communication. Perception focuses on understanding the other side’s thought process and putting on their shoes to understand their point of view on the negotiation. This is often difficult as you are commonly defending your own standpoint but must be done in order to make sense of what is and is not an acceptable deal. The best way to do this is to step back and look at the issue objectively as if you were not involved. Emotion is also an important trait to be aware of as a healthy mindset promotes healthy negotiation. If both parties have a strong emotional attachment to the issue, the are more likely to battle one another than to work together to solve the problem. In order to support emotions, consider all of them as legitamate and try to be understanding of the other parties issues. Also, do not react to emotional outbursts as emotions on one side can often generate emotions on the other side and both parties may lose focus of the overall goal. Lastly, communication must be supported between both parties and should focus on talking to, hearing, and understanding the other party (Ury, 1981). It is important to speak to the other party in a way that is easy to understand and not send mixed messages. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Also, hear the other party’s concerns and actually focus on them without dismissing them to address your own needs. Also, be sure that all

My time in the negotiation skills workshop was very humbling. Before the workshop began my negotiation ability was one of the business skills I knew needed the most improvement. When going into negotiations at work, prior to the course, the only thing I knew was that I wanted a lower price then I was given. What actually surprised me most what that I did actually have some effective negotiating strategies but I was correct in my belief that I had a lot to learn. When you have a goal but lack a game plan on how to achieve it that makes negotiating very difficult and something that I approached with much reservation at work.

In order to make improvements in one’s negotiating skills, it is necessary to determine one’s current communication skills and negotiating style. The use of tools, such as The Personal Bargaining Inventory and Communication Competence Scale questionnaires can assist one in determining these skills. Developing an improvement plan, taking into consideration the five negotiating strategies, ten best practices of negotiating skills, and current communication skills and negotiating style will provide one with a tool to assist in improving one’s negotiating skills.

Although, I am not that strong in leading a negotiation towards it’s ultimate goal. In order to increase the probability of a successful negotiation, for me as an individual, first I should identify the required steps and the order they should be taken in the course of a negotiation and try not to skip any step. The second item in my action plan is to improve my ability to construct trust-based negotiation. If trust is the basis of a negotiation, then both involved parties can think of a long relationship rather than one time transaction and it is what matters.

We negotiate every day for different purposes, and each day we experience emotions, both positive and negative. When negotiating, formally or informally, with family or in the organizational workplace we often do not know how to handle ourselves, yet alone the emotions of the other person or group.

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

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).