Argument: Activity of Negotiation - Essay Example

? Negotiation Contents Contents 2 Negotiation 3 Argument: Activity of negotiation 4 Rationale for argument 5 Definition of terms in the literature 6 Discussion with examples 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Negotiation Negotiation is an activity that includes dialogues and conversations between two or more people involved in putting their own views with an objective to bargain and achieve the objective aimed at fulfilling the collective interests of the individual, group, etc. The activity of negotiation depends on the attitude of the participating individuals, the proactive approach and power of communication backed by critical thinking ability of the individual. The process of negotiation has the objective to gain an advantage over other parties in the course of discussion in order to achieve the desired outcome (Luecke, 2003, p.49). The activity of negotiation takes place in all spheres of personal as well as professional life. Negotiation takes place in personal events such as marriage, parenting and divorce in daily life. In various professional activities of business, legal matters, economic and financial decisions, negotiation brings about logic and counter logic as support system for decision making. Negotiation requires a pro-active action on the part of the negotiator which enables him to get his desired objective or goal (Fisher and Ury, 2012, p.59). The individuals who are go-getters are able to negotiate well as they endorse their opinion with support logic that conquers any other counter logic. Rather than waiting for somebody else to take the initiative, a better and fruitful way of negotiation is to initiate the proceeding and control the course of discussion with the help of strong communication skills backed by logical reasoning. The process of negotiation is complete when an advantage over other opinion is achieved with the help of proactive action, strong communication skills and logical ability. Argument: Activity of negotiation It could be argued that the activity of negotiation is influenced by the proactive approach of the individual engaged in the course of discussion. The argument is valid since the negotiator is the person who is most aware of his strategic choice and is the only person fittest in the group to endorse his opinion or ideas. The underlying roots that led to his ideas and opinions could only be clarified by the individual. The effects of the activity of negotiation are also known best to the individual. Since the course of discussion includes several opinions from the individuals in the group and is not a monologue, there will be diverse proposals on a certain topic from the participants (Hall, 1993, p.53). The acceptance of the ideas among all the group members is an activity of negotiation that needs clear and articulated approach of the participants engaged in the course of activity or discussion. The person needs to stand out of the crowd in terms of logical power and the ability of reasoning. A critical thought needs to be put on the process of bargaining and negotiation with others for acceptability of ideas (Spangle and Isenhart, 2003, p.31). The power of reasoning that would put an individual ahead of others in the process of negotiation needs to be supported by strong communication skills. With the help of excellent communication skills, the negotiation on desired matters could be carried out effectively. Finally a proactive approach needs to be implemented rather than waiting for other to take action in the process of bargain. A go-getter who is able to put forth his views and obtain a consensus on his proposals is able to attain advantage over others in the process of negotiation. Rationale for argument The rationale for the argument on negotiation that requires the essential qualities of a go-getter, strong communicator and a logical person has been explained as follows. A proactive approach is required for endorsing the strategic choice of the individual in the process of negotiation because if the pro-active step is not taken, it would lead to some other person taking the pro-active action. This might create a situation where the individual might loose ground on proposing the logic behind the formation of his thoughts and beliefs. Also waiting for others to take action would not bring out the communications in the way that the person has thought of. For this reason, a proactive step in explaining one’s strategic choice is mandatory in the process of negotiation (Galal, 2005, p.37). The process of influencing the bent of thinking of other parties in the process of negotiation would help the individual to gain advantage over others. The proactive action should be supported by strong communication skills. This is essential as the individual should be able to communicate his ideas and desires to the other parties engage in the process of negotiation (Spoelstra and Pienaar, 1999, p.39). The individual should also be able to explain the comparative advantages of the strategic choice proposed by him. For this, the negotiator should have critical thinking ability and logical reasoning skills to back up his proposals and answer the questions put forward by others. The reasoning ability would help the negotiator to justify his stand-point and obtain the desired outcome from the process of negotiation. Definition of terms in the literature The foundations of the theory of negotiation are behavioural decision making, decision analysis, game theory and negotiation analysis. According to the empirical literature, negotiation is a formal process of conflict resolution between two or more parties where the parties are involved in a power game in order to negotiate with the counter parties for reaching the desired outcome. This could be explained by the game theory for strategic decision making. The process of negotiation requires the agreement of other parties in order to reach a common goal. This requires building a long term relationship of trust between the parties involved in the process of negotiation (Thompson, 1998, p.52). The resolution of conflict and attainment of the desired goal through the process of negotiation requires skill and experience of the negotiating parties. The behavioural decision making aspect is dependent on the decision analysis in the process of negotiating. The decision analysis involves an assessment of various available options in order to find the best decision that could be undertaken. The behavioural decisions are taken on the basis of intuitive approach in the pre-negotiation stage and subsequent stages (Churchman, 1995, p.67). An analysis of the negotiation process provides a clear insight on the actionable in the part of the negotiator to obtain an agreement from the other parties. These include proactive action, strong behavioural and communication skills backed by strong logic in order to negotiate well with other parties. Discussion with examples The process of negotiation between various parties requires specialized skills and experience in order to sell the ideas and strategic objectives of the discussion to the counter parties. The process of negotiation brings about a common outcome agreed by the various parties involved in the process. It is a formal process of resolution of conflict brought about by the proactive action of the negotiator. This is evident in various examples of the process of negotiation. The examples include negotiation in the process of leverage buyout, negotiation in peace process, negotiation in matters related to hostages and also negotiation in daily family matters (Nieuwmeijer, 1992, p.48). The negotiation in daily personal life is informal negotiation that is carried out for the betterment of livelihood with a common understanding between the family members. The negotiations in business, professional and legal matters do not have emotional considerations but are agreed upon fully based on the underlying interests. The negotiators are also termed as diplomats in case of political negotiations. The negotiators of the peace processes work out an agreement between the parties that provide them a stable and acceptable solution. The negotiation in the leverage buyout takes into consideration the risk-return trade off for the business. The negotiation in matters related to hostage ensures the safety of the hostages. Thus all the examples of negotiation demand a pro-active approach on the part of the negotiator aimed at obtaining an agreement from the involved members to reach the desired outcome (Mehnert, 2008, p.46). References Luecke, R. 2003. Negotiation. UK: Harvard Business Press. Fisher, R. and Ury, W. 2012. Getting to Yes: Negotiating an agreement without giving in. UK: Random House. Hall, L. 1993. Negotiation: Strategies for Mutual Gain. UK: SAGE. Spangle, M. L. and Isenhart, M. W. 2003. Negotiation: Communication for Diverse Settings. UK: SAGE. Galal, A. F. 2005. Negotiation Skills. Cairo: Pathways to Higher Education. Spoelstra, H. I. J. and Pienaar, W. D. 1999. Negotiation: Theories, Strategies and Skills. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd. Thompson. 1998. Negotiation. Canada: Pearson Education. Churchman, D. 1995. Negotiation: Process, Tactics, Theory. USA: University Press of America. Nieuwmeijer, L. 1992. Negotiation: Methodology and Training. USA: HSRC Press. Mehnert, M. 2008. Negotiation: Definition and Types, Manager's Issues in Negotiation, Cultural Differences and the Negotiation Process. Germany: GRIN Verlag. Bibliography Fowler, A. 1996. Negotiation: Skills And Strategies. India: Universities Press. McRae, B. 1998. Negotiating and Influencing Skills: The Art of Creating and Claiming Value. UK: SAGE. Cairns, L. 1996. Negotiation skills in the workplace: a practical handbook. UK: Pluto Press. Hindle, T. 1998. Negotiating skills. UK: DK Pub. Read More