Negotiation Learning, Essay Example

The negotiation course facilitated the practical and effective techniques that are used in both personal and business situations. Some of the topics discussed in the class were negotiation theory, case discussions and how to apply these theories and cases to the actual situation at hand. It was also indicated throughout the course and through several cases that the art of negotiating was not secluded to just a business boardroom meeting discussing multi-million dollar business deals, but also to everyday situations. Therefore, this course explained thoroughly how to become an effective negotiator in all types of situations, such as between managers and employees, buyers and sellers and even deciding upon where to go out to eat or what movie to see with a group of friends. This paper, discusses the art of negotiating in both a personal situation and business situation. The personal situation in this case is buying a used car. In the negotiation of buying a used car, the paper describes the strategy and planning of distributive bargaining, personal communication styles, and how to manage conflict. For the negotiation in a Business situation, the Pakistani Prunes simulation is used as an example and the strategy and planning of integrative negotiation, sources and power of business ethics and cross cultural communication skills are discussed.

The type of bargaining used in car sales is usually distributive bargaining. Distributive bargaining is usually used on the sale of an item when the total price is the main concern. The person involved needs to be competitive, ruthless, and manipulative and out to make the most money for the sale. In order to get the individual to buy into the negotiating, the personal communication style is the focus. In addition, there are some key points that must be used in the personal communication style. For instance, the negotiator should be aware of the bargaining power that persists in the business or the economy during that time period. If the economy is not doing so well, the buyer might have more power over the bargaining than the seller; however, if everyone is buying cars and economy is up, the seller might have more power over the bargaining. In car sales, however, the buyer is aware that the seller makes commission off the sale and this can put them in front of the bargaining power, whether good economy or not. Another factor is perception. Both the buyer and seller should be aware of what each has to other, and what they think each other has to offer. For instance, the seller may look for hints of how much you can afford and if you have a trade-in or money down. They can pick up on hints about your credit or whether you have a good job and can afford more. The buyer on the other hand can tell the desperation or need for the seller to sell the car. The third factor is understanding the options and having different alternatives if the buyer or seller is not accepting the negotiation. If there are more alternatives, there is a better chance that the negotiation will go your way. Have alternatives by modifying the situation and making the cost look more beneficial.

In distributive bargaining, the management of conflict is also required. The negotiator needs to seek the desires of the buyer and gain their trust; however, this is hard for the distributive bargainer because they tend to withhold information and lose the trust of the buyer. In addition, they can be extremely pushy, which leads to conflict and mistrust between the buyer and seller.

The other type of negotiation strategy in this paper is integrative negotiation. This type of negotiation is usually used in a business type of situation. For this paper, the Pakistani Prunes is used as an example. Firstly, integrative negotiation is the type of bargaining that tries to have gain for both the buyer and the seller. This is completely the opposite in the case of the used car sales negotiation. Basically this is more a win-win type of business situation and both individuals and parties both benefit from the deal. In order to come to a win-win agreement in this type of negotiation, each party must be flexible to some extent and participate in the negotiation. There are multiple methods in which integrative bargainers use in order to strategize their plan, such as sharing information openly with both sides in order to understand their needs. This can benefit both parties because it leads to the ability of the parties to problem solve and identify a solution.

Integrative bargaining also involves using calmer and softer methods compared to the distributive bargaining. Instead of feeding bluffs, lies and manipulations to the other party, the negotiator is more honest and upfront about everything. Here there is way more of a trust. In addition, again, the integrative bargainers integrate everything into their bargaining. They are always open to new ideas from either party. Again, the main goal of the integrative bargainer is to create a win-win situation. If they are manipulative the other party may back out of the deal. In addition, in Integrative bargaining it is important to no to jump to any conclusion before meeting an agreement. The Pakistani Prunes negotiation is a good example. In the Pakistani Prunes simulation, one of the parties was to purchase a prune harvest. The seller and buyer came to an agreement; however, the agreement was made too fast and instead of taking about every solution to reach the win-win situation, the most important factor was over-looked. The fact that both of the parties needed different elements of the prune harvest was overlooked and the final agreement was not a win-win situation. This led to the negotiation not reaching the full capacity for both parties. Had the negotiation strategy been developed using integrative negotiation, all solutions would have been discussed and both parties would have come to the ultimate and most satisfying decision that would have benefited everyone.

Business Situation Negotiation also relies heavily on sources of power and business ethics. Business ethics are just what it sounds like: Choosing right or wrong in a negotiation. The example of distributive negotiation is a good example of unethical practices in negotiation, where one of the parties holds back information and just tries to get the quick sell with a big payment; whereas, in integrative negotiation, both parties discuss of the possibilities and solutions and want to meet a win-win situation. Therefore, no information is withheld and it is more of an ethical business transaction. Sources of power are connected to business ethics in a negotiation. For instance, in negotiating the negotiator wants to gain the bargaining power. It is therefore up to the negotiator to have more information, but at the same time be ethical in their negotiating. Having more information than the other party increases the negotiators bargaining power. In Business Situations, it is also important to understand different cross-cultural communication barriers. Knowing ahead of time which words or phrases could possibly offend the other party is extremely important, both ethically and for coming to a good negotiation.

Overall, there are different types of negotiations whether personal or business. It is important to understand the different strategies and find the best solution that leads to the most ethical upon entering a negotiation. Understand the different types of situations and the different types of negotiation strategies that are normally used in those situations. For instance, if buying a used car, be aware that the seller is going to use a more distributive strategy during the sale negotiation. It is therefore important to be prepared and have as much information as possible in order to increase the bargaining power during the negotiation process.