Patterns in Strategy Formation Management Science - Essay Example

Running head: Negotiation Reflection Portfolio Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date of Submission: 1. REFLECTION OF THE FIRST THREE NEGOTIATIONS PERFORMED The first three negotiations models which were undertaken from week seven to eleven of the course work were very much crucial towards preparing the last and most important negotiation of the course. The negotiation models laid a foundation for us to successful perform the last negotiation task of the course work. Planning was the center of the entire process and every group member became more active and took the initiative of leading the negotiations plans (Schilling, 2003). 1.1 Two party negotiation of car purchasing and selling Car negotiation was actually our first negotiation hence most of the students did not understand what we were supposed to do hence it caused some issues. The first negotiation in my group was related to the sale of a used car. To carry out the deal more effectively my group played the role of car dealer rather seller. To defeat our opponents in the planning stage for the first negotiation I had to conduct a thorough research on the opponent team in terms of comparing different kinds of car dealers to the current group car Holden commodore 2003 model. Since , I had general information in relation to car selling deals I was given the role of salesperson hence I was entitled to giving full description of all the features of the car as well as convincing customer’s to prefer our deal and not the opponents one. Other members of the group assisted me in answering queries from the opponent. Due to our aggressive sale strategy, the opponents who had the intentions of selling to us an old car could not succeed hence their deal went off track. Time was considered to be very important factor in which each member of my group learned from our first negotiation deal. After learning several lessons from our first negotiation deal, we conducted several group meetings in which each and every group member was allocated specific roles to perform as well as field to carry on further research. Concrete strategies were put in place and weaker areas of the team members were identified and corrected. 1.3 E- negotiation This was actually an interesting session between all the group members. No party was actually willing to loose the deal hence every one had to adopt a harsher and emotional style in order to win. The session lasted for period of four hours with each group pointing out their own pros and cons in accepting the order or not. This kind of negotiation actually does not involve face to face communication rather it uses a particular designed server which supports bargaining process through emails as well as helps in categorizing various negotiation activities between the group members (Poole & Dale, 1992). This kind of system has a lot of cross cultural benefits though it is associated with some psychological problems such as distance, time difference among others. Chinese group members’ gmail id was used in which the simulations involved Beijing Fashion Manufacturing (BFM).Discussions involved pricing Him and Her Australia (HHA).BANTA plan strategy was used to carry out our negotiation deal. 1.3. Multi Party Negotiation The final negotiation was a multiparty negotiation in which various strategies were used. In the last negotiation we answerable to three parties namely MPT, TIO and lastly my group NTT. My team actually was the Mediator Company which was MPT/TIO hence our role was to make the final decision after hearing negotiation deals from both parties(Poole & Dale, 1992). We were mandated to make a decision which would work in the best interest of Japanese population. We had to ensure that all the team members strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the deal. 2. OBSERVATION OF TEAM MEETINGS & DYNAMICS DECISION MAKING In relation to the second part of the journal, each and very group member of knew that team work was very important so our leader outlined strict rules. Each member wanted his or her idea to be used, which created a lot of heat in between the group members as well as exchange of harsh words. After several meetings and group gatherings as well as communication through emails, phones all group members were able to create a mutual understanding which was perceived to be a core foundation to defend our opponent team in all the negotiation which the group was supposed to undertake(Poole & Dale, 1992). Communication become part of our group and we often reminded each other on what each member was supposed to do in the next meeting including all the outlined member roles. The rules established by the group member were supposed to be strictly followed and in case anyone ignored then, then it would be described during the final peer assessment honesty report to the lecturer. My team members comprised of 2 from Saudi Arabia, 2 from China and 1 from Thailand. All the groups members attended meetings regularly except one from Thailand who was employed hence he only managed to attend twice per week. Though, he was absent the meetings were successful with Chinese students being more active and raising new ideas during the meetings. Members from Saudi Arabia were talented in formulating as well as developing strategies which important in carrying out the negotiations processes. The Thailand member having prior knowledge in human resource management she was an active member in group and he was in front line in developing goals as well as strategies needed for the second negotiation. Chinese as well as Saudi Arabia members used both interrogatives as participatory skills during our meetings. Cultural differences were a factor between all the group members especially Chinese and Saudi Arabia but they tolerated each other for the success of our group. Members from China and Thailand were very punctual for the meetings and they strictly followed the meeting agenda unlike those of Saudi Arabia who were always late for the meetings. This is because it is believed that people from Asia are time keepers and they don’t like wasting time. On other hand people from Arabic countries are slow and they don’t value the meaning of time. One member from Saudi Arabia was very intelligent and had prior skills when it came to understanding cultural differences. She had done studies in all three foreign languages hence she could speak fluently almost all the languages and interpret some words for those members who could not understand English more accurately(Poole & Dale, 1992).. She was studying at Thailand business school hence it was easier for her but me it took me some time before I could catch up with all the other group members. She actually established good strategies which helped our group attain high performance. Since, I worked with members from different cultural background it helped me build self confidence during various negotiation meetings. During the entire process I was able to develop formal communication skills as well as sense of responsibility which I primarily noticed among the Chinese members 3. A DETAIL NEGOTIATION PLAN FOR THE FINAL NEGOTIATION. This was the final negotiation and most difficult one to handle. Despite the fact that we had gained prior knowledge through the other two negotiations of the course work this one was much important to us since it had maximum grades and highest course marks. This negotiation was more complex as it involved multi –issues which could only be resolved through group joint strategy which could assist us in winning over the negotiation. In addition to this strategy, other strategies were developed and implemented by group members to increase the confidence among us as well as to ensure that all the group members could perform negotiation more smoothly. As a result of the complexity nature of this kind of negotiation, each group member was assigned with a responsibility to research on specific key terms which could be used by the opponents and the best strategy that could be used in defence. My team member Jane from Thailand who had a degree in human resource and too was working was given the role of Human resource manager. She was in charge of negotiating as well as decision maker in times of conflicts between the group members. Additionally, she discussed issues related to closing of mines and any other training issues. The remaining two members from Saudi Arabia and one from China were given other responsibilities related to overall management of group matters. They were given initiatives to start negotiations as well as respond to opponent queries. Since, I was undertaking studies in financial management I was given the role of finance manager and my responsibility was to split profits equally among all the team members. Various meetings were conducted in which discussions were given a first priority as way of generating various ideas required for the negotiation process. During the first week after our formal introduction our group leader send as an email in which we were required to attend a case as a way of generating ideas for our second meeting. After our formal introduction during our first meeting, our leader divided all the topics into five group members with each one of us being given an area of his or her expertise. In the second meeting we presented the information we has gathered and the strategies to be used ( Lewicki, Saunders & Minton, 2003). . During this meeting we established our goals and objectives and how we could successful achieve them. The half day of our meeting was spend on developing strategies as well as plans to achieve them.. Primarily collaborative plan strategy was important in closing the small mines as well as creating understanding in the training and safety department. This was to ensure equal sharing of profits as away of attaining best agreement among the parties. During our third meeting with the opponent party they offered as a great deal but it was not appropriate therefore it was rejected by the group members. This was more complex among the group members as it created confusion between us as the situation was tight hence we could either a win or lose. It was necessary for the team members to actually resolve the issue and negotiate with the division on profits sharing. 4. CRITICAL REFLECTION OF THE FINAL GROUP NEGOTIATION This was perceived to be the last and final negotiation, though not complex as the third one it was tiresome and involving too. With the prior experience so far gained by us from the previous negotiation deals, our professors set high standards which were to be achieved during this negotiation. At first it was hard, but with timely negotiation sessions as well as timely meeting preparations we were able to gain confidence between ourselves. Though, we had little experience from the past negotiation deals it always happened that the leading team members could go off the track by revolving around unnecessary issues instead of just hitting on the important issues which the parties need to discuss. Every team was prepared well enough to win the final negotiation and each of the course teams had to use win over strategy to accomplish this. It was clear that each team wanted to win and not no one was willing to lose. Though, a win-win situation is usually comfortable if all the parties have put in place appropriate measures this negotiation though simple it had a lot of complications ( Lewicki, Saunders & Minton, 2003). The team leaders introduced their own team members immediately the negotiations begun. The leaders gave general background information of their own companies and through distribution of cards primarily to enable the opponents have a clear imaginary glimpse of the company. I was given the role of finance manger hence I had the mandate of distributing the profits. I presented my points which I had gathered through my own research and through this was able to give my group wining over the opponents as we agreed to distribute the profits in the ratio of 70% to 30%.This was a win situation our side which was achieved through collection of various points. In the first place my group members chose to close small mines and construct bigger which could create more profits. This required more focus on equipment purchasing as well as work protection and any other techniques that could be used mainly to enable employees to work for longer periods of time (Mintzberg, 1998). The other important consideration which was collected was the new technique in which they started with 30 engineers but us being brave enough picked off with 80 engineers which were later on agreed to be trained as a support to the mines. Though, it was a win- win strategy both parties had to arrive at an agreement which was beneficial to them both. In reality no one accepts defeat therefore no group was willing to accept the defeat either .The discussions were to be prolonged for another two hours to give room for an agreement. After a lengthy discussion and talk the two parties agreed to sign contract terms in which mines could be closed after three years. Closing the mines after each year was also another alternative which was left pending and could be disused later on. All the parties agreed to train all the workers more effectively on safety matters and upgrade the existing railway system without any delay, though it could consume a large investment. Though, we did proper planning we could find ourselves off the track, in most cases hence our group leader had to appoint one leader to rectify this problem. 5. Conclusion The negotiations learned in class during this trimester as very much important especially when it comes to development of skills such as planning, co-coordinating, and strategy development among others. In conclusion negotiation is important in helping an individual create his or her own personality as well as have common cultural understanding. References Schilling M. (2003) Multi criteria negotiation modelling-one way to information- based bargaining power, pp.45-67 R. J. Lewicki, D. M. Saunders, and J. W. Minton. (2003). Essentials of Negotiation. Chapter4, pp167-180 Mintzberg, H. (1998) Patterns in Strategy Formation Management Science, Vol. 24, No. 9, pp. 950-998 Poole, M. S. & Dale L. Shannon (1992) “Communication Media and Negotiation Process,” pp.34-56 Read More