Negotiations in Dispute Resolution and Management Practices - Essay Example

According to Brad, the development of negotiation skills is a two-step mastery process that involves bargaining and influencing (65). The development of negotiation skills is based on the roles and interests of an individual. For instance, a senior manager will require different negotiation skills compared to those of a customer or a business partner. In addition, each of the parties has a different interest in the organization and hence the need for differentiated negotiation skills. The degree of influence determines the negotiation ability of an individual and it requires timely adjustment depending on the parties involved in the negotiations. For instance, a manager will require different negotiation skills when dealing with the company’s employees and business partners respectively. However, each of the different negotiation tactics applied should consider the organization as a passive party in the negotiation.

Dispute resolution is a significant element of management that utilizes the art of negotiation. Although most disputes do not end through negotiations, most amicable resolutions are achieved through negotiations. Disputes within a company can be both external and internal. In either case, the manager is duty-bound to initiate negotiations on behalf of the company. Most dispute resolution applies the distributive policy. According to Brad, the distributive policy is based on the existence of fixed or limited value (43). The essence of fixed values requires the parties involved in the negotiation to distribute or divide the value according to the parties involved in the negotiation.

This aspect is dependent on the negotiation skills of the respective parties. In negotiations, the manager represents the position of the company and, therefore he has to represent the interests of the company appropriately. Representing the interests of the company does not require the manager to be inequitable but he requires being considerate of other people’s welfare. For instance, when a manager enters into a negotiation with the company’s employees, he is expected to represent the interests of both parties. This is because employee satisfaction implies the company’s success. On the other hand, the company cannot overpay its staff to achieve employee satisfaction. This indicates that managers should enter into a negotiation process with a non-partisan attitude.

The distributive element of negotiation is not applicable in most negotiations. Most managers rely on integrative techniques to go through the negotiation process. Integrative negotiation involves upholding a common value among the different parties involved in a negotiation. The process involves assuming leadership of the negotiating panels. Managers usually apply integrative negotiation to convince the other parties of the need to have common values. Managers are the custodians of the company’s values and, therefore their negotiations should reflect the company’s mission and vision statements.

Integrative negotiation is also applied in cases that might compromise the existence of the company. For instance, when a manager is negotiating with employees concerning the flexibility of their work schedule, he has to incorporate the goals and objectives of the company. In this case, the manager needs to convince the employees of his interests. Negotiations are dependent on the personality of the individuals involved in the negotiations. Emotions play a significant role in the negotiation process. During negotiation, the decision to settle a dispute is based on the emotional response of each of the parties involved in the negotiation. However, emotions should not be the main factor in decision-making in negotiations. Decisions or negotiations should not be based on emotions. According to Brad, the best decisions are based on logical judgment (54). In most cases, negations that are dependent on emotions lead to irrational decisions that may have negative impacts on the company.

Conclusion
Negotiations area significant aspects of management and dispute resolutions. Most management decisions are based on the ability of managers to achieve value for the company through negotiations. In the negotiation process, the organization acts as a passive party while the manager acts as a representative of the company’s interests. There are different forms of negotiations, which are dependent on several factors. The choice of a negotiation tactic is dependent on the company’s interest and negotiation abilities of the company. Read More