Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In [Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton] - Essay Example

? “Getting to yes; Book Analysis” By Introduction Getting to yes is an authentic book of knowledge related to negotiating techniques. It is a complete course whose theme revolves around a successful negotiation. We all are aware of the importance of wining an argument. The theme of the book The main theme of the book is to define the art of negotiation in personal and professional dispute. It consist principles of Negotiation. It offers a concise strategy which aims to get mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. It focuses on the idea that conflicts in the workplace should be solved on the bases of negotiation with a win-win approach. It discusses in detail the methods used to negotiate in a workplace. Some of the essential objectives have been provided by the author in relation to different methods of negotiation which are listed below: 1. Frame each issue as a joint search for objective criteria. 2. Reason and be open to reason as to which standards are most appropriate and how they should be applied. 3. Never yield to pressure, only to principle. In short, one should focus on objective criteria firmly but flexibly, which is the common rule of every successful business. Hard or soft argument Negotiation is done in various ways in order to prove the view point and to win a particular situation. People make an argument in workplace through two ways, either the hard way or the soft way. People using the hard kind of argument have their own priorities they agree to their own terms and conditions of the agreement rather than listening to the other, while soft way of argument is beneficial for both the managers and the employers. But both these ways have somewhat affected the organizations negatively and have created many problems. In conclusion, this book also involves a question and answer sessions in which the authors have given answers to complex situations especially dealing with failure in relation to negotiation. Relationship of the theme with my own experiences and beliefs My own experience with this book All the aspects of this book provide a balanced and peaceful agreement, for every party of the deal. I can assure this very confidently because I, myself have also learned various negotiation techniques through this book. Being a student I have to buy many books throughout the semesters. Previously it was very difficult to argue with the sellers for the reasonable price of my desired book, and mostly I used to fail in this task. The whole argument was proved more useless when I realized that I was wasting a lot of my time on this lame negotiating. Then this book was introduced to me in one of my class. The topic was very much useful. It stated the clarification of a proper argument. This section of the book mainly contained the flaws of bargaining. As quoted in the context of the book, “Any method of negotiation may be fairly judged by three criteria: It should produce a wise agreement if agreement is possible. It should be efficient. And it should improve or at least not damage the relationship between the parties”. This book has nothing new in it but it is a mixture of many books in one binding and facilitates knowledge. Soft and hard arguments In an organization both soft and hard arguments have their importance. It depends on the prevailing situations which approach is most appropriate. Such as in business proposals or tenders one can negotiate by hard approach, but in case of presenting an idea to the boss soft approach would be quite favorable. It have also been noted that most of the people who are involved in hard way of argument put their professional relationship in danger if their demand is not fulfilled, this thing is unethical. They have strong tendency of distrust to other people especially those who are related to their argument. But one thing which is beneficial in this approach is that in it offer is made while soft approach sometimes can lead to threat. In a soft way people treat other staff at workplace as a friend. It focuses more on agreement rather than victory as quoted in the book that “More seriously, pursuing a soft and friendly form of positional bargaining makes you vulnerable to someone who plays a hard game of positional bargaining”, it is a way in which everything is handles in a soft way and trusting others is the main factor for the success of negotiation. In it one tries to maintain good relationship among different parties. Drawbacks: However, I think both these methods can result in failure due to many reasons such as: Surrender pressure Insist on agreement rather than victory In case of soft method there can be one side losses for the sake of agreement. Misleading on a bottom line Partial focusing on victory but mainly interested in your area of interest Drawbacks and problems in hard sided approach. But still, in common practice it is seen that hard game dominates the soft one. Thus, both of these problems are considered as massive problem in the workplace. Needs, desires and concerns “The basic problem in a negotiation lies not in conflicting positions but in the conflict between each side's needs, desires, concerns, and fears”. Every person in workplace bargain on the basis of their needs and desires, as given the example of the scene in the library in the book, the author has persuaded the reader to understand the proper way of sorting out an agreement. It should briefly describe the roles and compensation of employees so that in future there can be less pressure of bargaining, Other than that the examples related to the desires, positions and interests are also given to show the difference between them and it is reality that these beliefs do cause conflict in the organizations and all these things differ from one another. Threat of failure A question may arise in one’s mind that it is possible that one can fail any of negotiations. So as for those people with this thinking, should always keep in mind that in life both things are present hardships as well as failure. But this will not be the actual failure you are thinking of. Previously people thought a failure in negotiation meant you would have to obey the opponent participants as a slave and to do all things in accordance to the need of other party rather than your own interest. But now thanks to this fantastic book people can feel like winning even if they lose. Sharing and caring about one another’s interest is a thing that I have learned from this book. If we as an individual care for the interest of other people today, we will get the same care in future. There is always a threat that other party may not like our ideas and proposals and negotiations may be failed but these things have been made clear in question and answers sessions. However, I also suggest that there should be a separate chapter on it explaining the failure of negotiation and including various factors such as: personal pressure tactic refusal to negotiate, extreme demands, delay or psychological warfare Question and answer session Getting to yes also includes questions that further helps people to solve their problems before they even exist. This is the plus point of this book which I have not experienced in other research books. Other than this, the book also contains ten frequently asked questions by people related to the theme of the book. All the discussed information makes it visible that this book, getting to yes, mainly roams around the word “negotiation”. Application of my belief So, in order to change the perspective in relation to hard and soft style of conflicts which is harming the businesses, it is imperative to change the mentality of people. Book itself explains if one does like the strategy it can be changed. It will have to go through three essential steps: Separating people from the problem Focusing on interests, rather than positions Thinking for options which would be mutually beneficial Gain maximum from objective criteria The first method encounters mainly three essential things i.e. clarifying perceptions, understanding emotions of one another and most importantly communicating clearly. It discusses all the important benefits and things that are to be done for attaining the best from this method of a perfect negotiation. Needs and desires lead to major conflicts in the workplace. Author has marvelously summarized the stage by discussing the importance of focusing on interest rather than positions, as quoted, “Reconciling interests rather than positions works for two reasons. First, for every interest there usually exist several possible positions and these positions are allotted in accordance to the experience of a person. All too often people simply adopt the most obvious position. “When you do look behind opposed positions for the motivating interests, you can often find an alternative position which meets not only your interests but theirs as well”. In short it means that one should focus more on gaining the full of its interest, not having a higher position in the argument. One can also encounter the fundamental use of this method through two important things. Firstly, asking of questions for exploring your interest and Secondly, talking about your own interest. Overcoming the threat of failure One of the most important beliefs is that even if you fail to achieve a successful negotiation from one of these methods, try the other one. This may sound a little weird and idiotic but this can be very beneficial at times. In the reviews of this book many people have stated that some of the methods discussed in it do not work at some places, which is a negative aspect towards it. But this threat can be overcome by focusing on some key points i.e. choosing of correct way at the correct place. Some people do not judge the style the adversary or adversaries are using; they just pick up a random strategy and start their negotiation. In real it is a complete failure in relation to the usage of negotiation. One has to first judge the method of conciliation the other party is using and then should think of your own. For instance, mentioned in the book, “a hard game dominates a soft one”. This clearly elaborates the fact that when you face a soft or calm negotiator try to be make him agree to maximum of your demands. Similarly if you are with a hard kind of an opponent then you should try the mutual beneficial method or you should first calmly listen to your adversary first and then tell him your demands so that both of you can get the maximum of your demands fulfilled in an agreement. Future business perspective Most of the people after reading this book have changed their negotiation styles. They have become more goal oriented. They have identified the fact that the participants in the negotiation should try to keep equilibrium in an agreement. For this every participant of the agreement should think for such ways that would benefit the whole. As found in the content of the book, “most negotiations take place in the context of an ongoing relationship where it is important to carry on each negotiation in a way that will help rather than hinder future relations and future negotiations”. In fact, with many long-term clients, business partners, family members, fellow professionals, government officials, or foreign nations, the ongoing relationship is far more important than the outcome of any particular negotiation. Conclusion This book is a complete package of all the essential things related to a successful negotiation. It mainly revolves around three basic beliefs. Firstly; it includes all the basic negotiation techniques. Secondly, it gives all the required knowledge for winning, which is the point it mainly emphasizes on. For instance it is good to be obedient at many places, but sometimes you have to buck up with others for which negotiation is important. As quoted from the book itself, “From time to time you may want to remind yourself that the first thing you are trying to win is a better way to negotiate — a way that avoids your having to choose between the satisfactions of getting what you deserve and of being decent. You can have both”. Thirdly, the most important key point is to learn from doing. We learn more from our own experiences rather than depending on others. For better learning you should try them yourself as this will create an achievement in yourself. For binding up the thing the perfect quote from the book would be, “No one, however, can make you skillful but yourself”. Bibliography: Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print. Read More