Negotiation Skills, Essay Example

Assuming you are the senior vice president of operations, exactly what would you do in this situation regarding the conflict between Joe and Charles?

First, I would talk to each of them individually about the situation. I would explain my neutrality to each. I would give them each my cursory take on the situation. Then, I would call them both into a mediation meeting and explain I understood there was some miscommunication between them. I would ask them to be seated, and offer them coffee or water. I would tell them I want to help clear it up for the good of the company and explain how I saw the situation. I would ask each to explain how they see they situation. As they spoke, I would take notes on the meeting. If things were taking a turn for the worst, I would calm the situation and explain that I expect only one person to talk at a time. I would reiterate the major points each made. I would ask them to tell me what they would like to see happen with the situation. I would take their suggestions and help them formulate a viable solution. We would collectively prioritize steps involved in resolving the dispute. Then, we would create an action plan to effectuate a resolution. I would clarify each role in the resolution process, and I would ask to set a time frame for completion. I would reiterate what was agreed upon and explain that I will be monitoring the follow through. I would congratulate them on their efforts and dismiss the meeting. Last, I would follow up as specified in the agreement.

Why would you take this action? What are your primary objectives by intervening in this way?

I have diverged partially from the suggestions presented in the text. The reason was that I prefer a process in this case that is a bit informal. Reason being that I am dealing with seasoned, educated professionals, and that we all share a common goal in resolving the conflict – fiscal performance of our organization. Nevertheless, I did apply many of the suggestions even though I reordered some of them. The main reason I changed the order of the private talk is because I wanted to have a heads up on their individual perspectives. At the initial group meeting, I did the best I could to relax the parties before we started talking about the problem. In this case, I didn’t really think it mattered much how who spoke first. It probably would have been Joe wince he was the one that was cut out of the 5-year planning process. Also, I dispensed with some of the formalities, because we all work together regularly so we all know who we are and such. We have a history of at least some communication. I took notes to make sure I didn’t forget anything important, and I engaged them specifically in the process so as to underscore their ownership of the solution. In this case, I think the major hurdle was just to establish a protocol of communication about strategic planning initiatives between executives of the company. Most of the time conflict resolution is more a matter of clarifying misunderstandings created by miscommunication.