This article was written by Marc O. Opresnik.
Negotiation happens in all kinds of situation in our life. This article prepares you how you can bring yourself in the efficient negotiation and achieve your goal.
<Summery of the article>
The author is describing that “negotiation” happens “when persons or parties pursue different interests and communicate with each other to reach an agreement.”
He says that we should recognize we are constantly negotiating in our daily life, which is found in “conflicts, relationships and transactions”.
And here is the conditions must be met.
– At least two parties or people, sometimes more
– A certain degree of interdependence
– A roughly well-balanced power relationship
– A conflict of interest
– A mutual willingness to concede
– To see an agreement as the goal of negotiation
And the aim must be to achieve a common agreement.
So, how can you measure the success of a Negotiation? The author suggest the three criteria to assess, which is Effectiveness, Efficiency and Negotiating climate which is to make sure not to destroy the relationship between parties and improve the relationship. Therefore a good negotiation should be feasible, fair, and useful for the parties and the outcome should be sustainable for both parties.
“In Negotiations the zone of agreement is referred to as ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) which defines the bandwidth of a possible bilateral agreement between two parties in any negotiation.”
You have to establish the zone with the negotiation partner with asking him/her what would be absolutely unacceptable and how we can reach agreement. The bigger the negotiation zone, the easier to determine it. As well as you should know clear what the best result for you, you should also prepare the alternative solution in case you do not reach the target.
“To evaluate the success of a negotiation, it is necessary to know its best realistic alternative (BATNA) and of course to know that of the other party.”
How to determine your best alternative is that creating a list of your alternatives and actions and select your BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement). And you should never accept a worse outcome than the BATNA.
Author examines the mistakes to lead people to failure in communication.
– Exerting pressure: One partner has bigger rank or position to the other, the pressure comes out consciously or unconsciously and makes negotiation harder to lead to the success.
– Lack of flexibility
– Aggression
– Compliance: When people are afraid to have conflict, they become submissive and fail to achieve their goal
– Inadequate preparation: Without preparation, it is hard to reach the mutually acceptable agreement. You have to analyze your alternatives and opponent’s in advance.
There are two fundamental forms of negotiating types and the patterns.
Hard- Competitive, and Soft – Cooperative.
In the hard bargaining, the other party is considered the opponent, not a partner.
In the soft negotiating style, the other party is considered as a partner and aim to make a long term, mutually acceptable agreement.
Depending on the situation, either style can be effective and efficient.
According to Harvard University’s Negotiation Project, there are four aspects for appropriate negotiation.
<People> Treat People and problems separately
Harvard concept states the SOPHOP principle, which is soft on people, hard on points. To make sure to be soft on the people but hard on the matter so that you can see the opposite position and find mutual benefits and increases the changes of sustainable outcome. For achieving the successful result, you have to recognize the relationship problems and treat them separately and before tackling the tangible problems. Mutual trust and communication are the key.
< Interests> Put the interests at the center, not the position. Find as many interests as possible
The author brings the metaphor by Roger Fisher and William Ury about the dispute over an Orange. Two parties are arguing over an orange and came to a conclusion to cut it and take half each. However both parties were not satisfied as they didn’t get the result they wanted. As one party could be happy with the peel to make marmalade and the other could be happy with the pulp to make juice. If they had an open communication and reveal their underlying interests, both parties could get winning result. It is very important to identify as many interests behind the positions to get the satisfactory conclusion in both parties.
<Options> Develop range of options before deciding
You should develop as many options with all the stakeholders and know their hopes and fears so that you can react better in negotiations and find the solution to meet for all parties.
<Criteria> Build the result based on objective decision making principle
Focus on objective criteria such as reports legislation, scientific studies etc. for potential solutions. So that you can develop fair standards to evaluate options that both parties can commit.
The author finally states that “Negotiation is not a single event but a process.” Effective preparation and follow-up would be the key for the success of the negotiation.
<Evaluation and Comment>
The article states clear and concise how we can be prepared for achieving the successful result in negotiation. Understanding and establishing ZOPA and BATNA is the key of successful negotiation. The author explains well the importance of communication with the other party, which people tend to forget or ignore with rushing to get his/her own target. I would like to know further detail and efficient approach on the different type of people and style in negotiation, such as to the cooperators or to the individualists.
As we learned from this article, successful negotiation is not defeating the opponent, but finding an agreement and to aim for the mutual achievement for both parties. For that, we should develop good communication skills, and research and prepare enough so we can make our situation better for each other.
As negotiation happens all the time in our life, having good negotiation skills would be the key to make our and other’s life better.
In the public sector, it is especially important to understand how we develop effective communication and find a mutual trust in negotiation. We should always keep in mind to have a clear and fair view to the people who have different needs and who seek support. Working collaboratively with other ministries and departments also require a lot of preparation and consideration to the other parties prospectives for achieving the mutual goal. We should be able to see the multiple positions of people and bring the best possible outcome to everyone.
After all, a negotiation is not a fight, but a tool and responsible action to lead us to create better world for everyone.
Reference:
Opresnik, Marc O. 2014. “The Hidden Rules of Successful Negotiation and Communication. Getting to Yes!” Springer International Publishing. 1-11.
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