Negotiation Strategies
Negotiation is not simply about winning or losing. It is about finding a positive way forward from a situation where parties appear to have conflicting interests.
There are five different strategies for negotiating:
1. avoidance
2. accommodation
3. aggression
4. compromise
5. collaboration
The strategy you use will depend on the importance you attach to preserving a good relationship with the other party relative to the importance of getting the result you want. For example, you are more likely to accommodate another person's wants when you are eager to preserve the relationship.
However, if the result of the negotiation takes precedence, you are more likely to negotiate aggressively. Of course, things are not always so clear cut.
You will probably use all of the following strategies at one time or another.
• Avoidance – is a useful strategy in cases where neither the result nor the relationship is of particular significance to you.
It may also be used if you think the means for achieving the result would not be justified by the end, or that pursuing the issue would be pointless because you would have no chance of succeeding.
• Accommodation – may be useful if nurturing a good relationship with the other party is especially important to you.
This may entail giving in to demands in order to be liked and to prevent conflict. You would opt for this strategy if you believed conceding ground on the issue at hand would help you gain ground in the long run.
• Aggression – as a strategy is most likely to be used in cases where your prime concern is to resolve the conflict your way, and to achieve the result you want.
This tactic is often used when there is an emergency, when you are short on time, or when decisive action is needed.
• Compromise – or give and take is a very common negotiation strategy. It is usually employed when both the relationship and the results are moderately, but equally, important to you.
Compromise can also provide a temporary solution – it does not fully satisfy the wants of both parties because nobody gets exactly what they want. However, neither party has completely given up on achieving their wants and needs.
• Collaboration – is best to use when it is very important to maintain a good relationship, but it is also essential to achieve results.
When you use collaboration, you are interested in seeing that everyone's needs are met fully. For this, you must be creative and solution-oriented. Frequently, collaboration generates an answer to the problem that had not been considered before. It also solidifies positive working relationships.
Effective negotiation All of these negotiation strategies may prove valuable at a given time. However, it is preferable to collaborate if you want both your business and your important long-term relationships to thrive.
Dealing with interpersonal conflicts the right away, through effective negotiation, helps bring about an atmosphere of open communication, conscious cooperation, and increased productivity.
Collaborating to Succeed
Collaboration is usually the most sensible negotiating strategy because it is the least confrontational and the most creative. This usually ensures sound working relationships and long-lasting solutions.
The aim of collaboration is to achieve a solution where everyone wins. The qualities required for effective collaboration are
• assertive communication
• empathy
• creativity
Assertive communication
Assertive communication means straightforward, direct talking. By employing it, you create the right atmosphere for collaboration by showing you do not have a hidden agenda. This gives the other party more confidence in the negotiation process.
Assertive does not mean aggressive. Aggression betrays the intent to dominate and perhaps to achieve your results at the expense of the other party. This is divisive. Assertive communication, on the other hand, proves your intention to communicate and reach a mutually satisfactory solution.
Avoid passive communication. It is too submissive. If you communicate passively, you have lost sight of your goals. It means that rather than striving to achieve what is best for you, you focus excessively on the other party's wants because of the desire to please.
Empathy It is essential to display consideration for the other party's point of view, even if you do not agree with it – this breeds trust and understanding, meaning people's minds are not distracted by rivalry, and they can give free reign to their creativity.
Creativity The objective of collaboration is to produce a solution that suits everyone. This requires creative problem solving.
To be creative, one must have an open mind. Be prepared to share your ideas and to listen to those of others. Do not cling rigidly to one outcome – be flexible, and examine the needs of all parties to see if there is another workable option. By keeping your mind open, you expand the range of possible outcomes. You can only benefit from this.
The key to creative problem solving is to approach the conflict as a shared problem, focusing on the issues, and not people's positions.
Cultivating collaboration To collaborate successfully is to find a solution that works for everyone involved. To achieve this ideal, your must communicate assertively, but not aggressively. Be clear, but not confrontational. This creates an atmosphere in which people work with each other, rather than against each other. And this in turn enables people to find creative solutions to problems.
If you are prepared to negotiate collaboratively and to encourage others to do the same, conflict can result in a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Obstacles to Mediation Workplace mediation offers important benefits to both employers and employees. It provides fast, creative, mutually-satisfactory solutions.
If the mediator is trusted and all parties believe they have had a fair input into the process, these solutions last longer, and work better than those that have been imposed or enforced.
However, there are a few reasons why mediation may fail:
• one or more of the parties may confuse mediation with arbitration
• the mediator lacks credibility with one of the people concerned
• the mediation is poorly timed
For mediation to succeed, it is essential for everyone involved in the process to understand the difference between it and arbitration.
• Mediation – is a confidential process whereby a neutral third-party facilitator helps people discuss difficult issues and negotiates a mutually acceptable agreement.
The mediator does not have any decision-making power about the outcome – parties in mediation create their own solutions.
• Arbitration – is a process whereby a neutral third party listens to the arguments put forward by both parties and reviews the evidence.
The arbiter generally then decides on the final resolution, and both parties must accept it.
Explain the process It is vital that the parties understand they are in a process of mediation, and not of arbitration. If they understand that it is not a win-or-lose situation and that they can help mold the solution, the parties will approach the process in a constructive way.
However, if they believe some undesirable outcome may simply be foisted upon them, they will not participate meaningfully.
The mediator's role The mediator also has to know the limitations of his role – he must not try to exert excessive influence on the outcome, believing he is the person who should decide the best way forward.
He is there to get the parties communicating properly so they themselves find the resolution that suits them best.
If you are the mediator, you must be seen as credible. If either of the disputing parties lacks faith in your ability to understand the situation, to be fair, or to be neutral, then the mediation is doomed.
When to mediate Mediation needs to be well-timed in order to be successful. Disputing parties will usually only agree to mediation when they can see no other way of getting satisfaction – it is basically a last resort for them. If you offer to mediate before they have explored all other options, they will not take the mediation seriously because they will be concentrating on pursuing those other options.
On the other hand, if you wait too long to mediate, the dispute may intensify as bitterness and anger grow deeper. Once these feelings take root, it is much harder to get the parties to focus on the issues – destructive conflict looms.
Mediation can be successful when
• its purpose is clearly understood by all parties
• the mediator is recognized as impartial and competent
• it is introduced at a time when it suits all parties to seek a negotiated resolution
It is not easy, but when successful, mediation mends and preserves damaged working relationships and fosters mutual respect through improved communication.
How to Mediate A workplace mediation facility can resolve a lot of difficult situations before they reach the point where parties are so firm in their positions that they refuse to contemplate more creative solutions.
Mediation is a voluntary process, therefore, each party must agree to it and be willing to look for a solution.
The mediator's function The mediator's function is to lead and manage communication between the parties in conflict. It is essential that you remain impartial and concentrate on steering the process and not the content.
In a good mediation process, the mediator follows six steps:
1. set the ground rules
2. listen to the story
3. identify the issues
4. get parties to communicate their feelings
5. encourage parties to identify solutions
6. formalize the resolution agreed on by the parties
It is important to get each of these steps right. They are explained here.
• STEP 1: Ground Rules – You need to set the ground rules to create an agenda, and gain both party's commitment to behavior that is conducive to success. The ground rules also ensure that people feel in control and empowered throughout the process.
• STEP 2: Listen to the Story – Give all parties the chance to describe the issue from their own point of view. A mediator can only guide people to agreement once they feel their side of the story has been taken on board.
It is therefore vital that you listen, clarify, and confirm that you – and the other parties – have understood them correctly.
• STEP 3: Identify the Issues – Once the stories have been heard, it is possible to work with the participants to determine the underlying issues. These should then be summarized and prioritized for the mediating parties so that they can focus on the problem areas.
• STEP 4: Communicate Feelings – Ask appropriate questions to get the parties to identify how the issues are affecting them emotionally. It is important that these feelings are released, otherwise they may come to the surface at a later date.
• STEP 5: Identify Solutions – Ask both parties to contribute potential win/win solutions. Each of these should be discussed, clarified, and checked for practicality and acceptability.
• STEP 6: Formalize the Resolution – Once the acceptable solutions have been decided on, the mediator writes up voluntary agreements for the parties to sign. Written agreements are preferable to verbal ones because they provide a permanent record so there can be no future dispute over what was or was not agreed.
The mediation process can be quite long. However, every step is vital and should not be bypassed. There are no shortcuts to conflict resolution.
The Roles of the Mediator
Very few people enjoy conflict in the workplace. It creates tension and negativity and can reduce the performances of everyone directly or indirectly involved. That is why it is useful to have someone with the skills and personal qualities to act as a mediator.
Qualities of a mediator To mediate effectively, you must be trustworthy, impartial, discreet, and an excellent communicator.
Roles of the mediator
These qualities will help you fulfill the four roles of the mediator, which are
1. facilitator
2. translator
3. clarifier
4. catalyst
The requirements of each of these roles are explained here.
• Facilitator – facilitating means ensuring that each party is encouraged to communicate by showing you are genuinely listening to what they are saying.
You can show that you are listening, for example, by simply restating what they say. This encourages parties to open up and talk freely about the problem as they see it.
• Translator – translating entails keeping the channels of communication open, the environment positive, and preventing miscommunication.
You can achieve this by paraphrasing anything that one party might misinterpret or find offensive so that it will seem more favorable. Do not change the original meaning, or you will be over stepping your role and risk angering the parties.
• Clarifier – clarifying means probing issues and helping the parties discuss the factual basis of each other's thoughts. This enables them to put what has happened in the past in another context and perhaps to devise new ways of progressing amicably.
• Catalyst – acting as a catalyst entails proposing options for the parties to consider. This stimulates the discussion of potential solutions and thereby helps the parties reach agreement.
Reaching Resolution Movement towards a solution is only possible when each party has expressed the three things:
1. what they think is wrong
2. what changes they want to see happen in the future
3. why they want to see this happen
Facilitator – In your role as facilitator, you will encourage people to express these three things.
Translator – As a translator, you will ensure they are expressed in a positive way.
Clarifier – As a clarifier you will eliminate ambiguity and make sure everyone understands them clearly.
Catalyst – You can play your role of catalyst by subtly suggesting one possible outcome – this may prompt the parties to get working on a solution themselves.
Overall, the most important skill for a good mediator is the ability to communicate clearly, tactfully, and deliberately. If you can do this, you can help disputing parties in your organization to overcome conflict and reach agreement.
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Originally Posted by Quốc Dân
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