The Common Thread: Negotiation as Universal Behavior, Essay Example

Overview

In the 16^th Edition of Organizational Behavior, Judge and Robbins present a pragmatic and cleanly logical assessment of negotiation as a process.  It is synonymous with bargaining, and is easily defined as such, as, “The process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate for them” (Robbins, Judge 411). What is interesting about this precise and comprehensive definition, however, is the enormous range of interactions contained within it.  Goods, services, and exchange rates themselves are terms vastly open to interpretation, and by no means apply only in commercial arenas. Then, even commercial forms of negotiation inherently affect and reflect the states of being of those engaged in them.  This is apparent in how the chapter discusses various elements of the subject; the distributive and integrative strategies, for example, are based on the goals involved, with that of the former more defined than the latter, and integrative negotiating working toward outcomes not necessarily identified beforehand.  More to the point, the authors also convey how personality, gender, and culture influence, or have little bearing, on bargaining processes.  Consequently, and the practical approach notwithstanding, the chapter reinforces how bargaining is a consistent human activity engaged in by all.  Negotiation, in all its many forms, may then be said to be a process defining humanity in universal terms.

Discussion

The ways in which negotiation expands to be both a vital concern to people in universal terms and applies to virtually every type of agreement is emphasized in Fisher’s and Ury’s Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in.  As with the textbook, the authors here tend to focus on financial and commercial realities of negotiation, from salary bargaining to selling a home.  This is only reasonable, and it in no way lessens the impact of negotiation on other aspects of living; after all, human beings and societies rely on standardized values of goods and services to function, and to enable personal and collective advantage.  Then, and further reflecting Robbins and Judge, the authors underscore the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, or BATNA, as the universal “bottom line” in any bargaining situation.  This relies on careful consideration of all the circumstances of both parties engaged, as it interestingly also goes to how forms of individual power often do not translate to advantage in negotiations.  For example, there is the wealthy tourist interested in purchasing a pot from a Bombay street vendor.  He has power, but the unique circumstances of the negotiation render it irrelevant; far more important is his understanding of the seller’s options apart from himself, and the likelihood of his finding another such pot elsewhere at a comparable price (Fisher, Ury 102).  His BATNA, in other words, is based completely on the individual and specific character of the potential transaction, and his wealth is meaningless.

At the same time, the authors consistently bring into play how such fiscal negotiations are meaningful to the lives conducting them, and in important ways.  The person seeking a higher salary, for instance, may easily decide that they have the advantage of choosing an alternative lifestyle or career, rather than settle for a lower wage.  Herein lies the danger of aggregate thinking; the person contemplates a variety of life choices and mistakenly groups these as one, rather than correctly assessing each possibility as the alternative it would be (Fisher, Ury 101).  The interesting psychological aspect of this aside, it clearly conveys how even so ordinary a negotiation as a job raise goes to the individual’s actual existence and/or personal satisfaction.  Once again, commerce reflects human life, and is no distanced part of it.  This being the reality, all negotiation then encompasses universal human ambitions and modes of living, as each is conducted to enhance life in some way.

Examples of this expansive impact and universality of negotiation may be found in virtually any specific case of bargaining.  Robert Moore, for instance, discusses the technique of strip-lining as it occurred in his own company.  He presents the technique as derived from the fishing strategy of allowing the catch to “slip away” before reeling it in, but it goes far beyond this.  In the case presented, a sales representative in his company was faced with a returning prospect, who had declined purchasing in the past.  The salesman then presented the scenario to the prospect as likely hopeless, directly stating that, as the product was the same, there was little chance this new interaction would lead to the prospect’s committing to buy.  The tactic worked because the prospect had in fact returned more ready to purchase (Moore), but what is most interesting is that there is actual honesty within the strip-lining strategy itself.  By stating the facts of the negotiation plainly and in a detached manner, both parties are better enabled to assess their real interests.  Put another way, this tactic of bargaining reflects basics of human communication, and in its way supports that acting in a candid manner benefits all concerned.  Once again, then, negotiation and human living are inextricably connected.

Along these sames lines, and reflecting the cultural issues discussed in the textbook, Deb Weidenhamer presents difficulties she has known in bargaining with Chinese partners.  She cites several instances of conflict, but all go to the Asian view than a signed contract, particularly with a Western partner, by no means translates to complete agreement.  In one such contract, she describes how the client demanded that the luxury watches to be auctioned, and purchased by him, needed to be reduced in price.  At that point, no such restructuring of price was possible, but Weidenhamer saved the contract by offering other advantages, such as the contact information of buyers (Weidenhamer).  More than cultural differences are then exposed in this case, then, in that the Asian perception of negotiation is deeply connected to a sense of personal value; the Chinese partner’s sense of self was implicated, in that a satisfactory arrangement required enhancing in his eyes.  Negotiation, then, once again is seen as representing vital human needs and behaviors, even as it provides the mechanisms of essential commerce.

Personal Perspective

I am inclined to believe that this view of negotiation as encompassing so many realities of human living will be of immense value to me as I move forward in my own life and career.  I have in fact “negotiated” the progress I have thus far enjoyed, as a Romanian native who made the necessary efforts to relocate to the United States and gain better opportunities.  By next year, I anticipate securing a position in the finance sector, and I look forward to exploring and developing the bargaining skills this will demand, from attaining the job itself to conducting the work.  Even now, however, as I work in the restaurant industry to support my studies, I am increasingly aware of how negotiations occur constantly, and how “goods and services” are really only other names for whatever we can offer and whatever it is that we want.  In a class, another student will ask my help and assume that the basic human drive to help others will motivate me to offer it, so that I receive a “reward” in the aid.  In the restaurant, a customer will leave an unusually large tip because they are certain it will gain them greater attention on their next visit.  In plain terms, we all negotiate constantly, and I feel that understanding the human relevance to the processes, and perceiving less obvious motives, is immensely valuable when any bargaining is undertaken.

Conclusion

Without question, the technical study of negotiation is important.  The process is certainly formulaic to an extent, and marked by distinct ambitions, advantages, tactics, and potential strategies going to success.  It is clearly a critical mode of interaction in all business.  At the same time, however, negotiation transcends business even when business is the interaction itself, because a vast range of human thinking and feeling inevitably goes into it.  In plain terms, goods and services only have value at all because they are wanted, and it is human motivation that creates wanting, and thus generates the ensuing bargaining.  To conduct negotiation well, then, equates to comprehending how it is ingrained in, and reflective of, human living itself.

Negotiation, in all its many and varied forms, may then be said to be a common thread defining humanity in a universal way.

Works Cited

Fisher, Roger, and William Ury. “What If They Are More Powerful?” Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in.  New York, NY: Penguin, 2011. 97-106. Print.

Moore, Robert J. “In a Tough Negotiation? Try Strip-Lining.” nytimes.com. The New York Times, 11 July 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

Robbins, Stephen P., and Tim Judge. “Negotiation.” Organizational Behavior, 16^th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. 411-23. Print.

Weidenhamer, Deb. “The Contract Is Signed. And Now the Negotiation Begins.” nytimes.com. The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.