Observations and Reflections on Three of the Negotiation Simulations - Coursework Example

Table of contents Part 1- Observations of and reflections on three of the negotiation simulations…………2 Part 2- Reflection on the preparation leading up to the Final Group Negotiation Simulation………………………………………………………………………3 Part 3- Plan for the Final Group Negotiation Simulation…………………………………4 Part 4- Reflection on the Final Group Negotiation Simulation……………………………5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………… References……………………………………………………………………………………. Individual negotiation reflective portfolio Introduction Negotiation is known as dialogue carried out between two or more parties, aimed at getting to some understanding, to resolve differences or even get advantage during outcome dialogue, to get agreements on certain actions, to make bargains for individual or even collective advantage, and to develop outcomes that can satisfy the parties or people negotiating. Negotiations are also done by people of different cultural backgrounds in order to reach agreements on issues such as buying and selling. A negotiation succeeds at that point where all the sides involved are satisfied. This reflective portfolio is meant to display the knowledge gained in the group negotiations done during class time. There were different things to learn from these simulated negotiations since they represent a real car purchasing deal. This reflective journal has been written to report on all the progress of the negotiations so that it can also display the skills gained in reflective journal writing. Part 1- Observations and reflections on three of the negotiation simulations In part 1, we had three negotiations. In the first negotiation we were the customers negotiating for a used car with the seller. The car was going at a price of $ 12,500 but the price that my group had was $ 10,500. Applying the supply and demand theory we made comparisons between the price being offered for the car and other prices for other cars. We negotiated for a fair deal because we got additional services such as the oil of the car being changed 3 times, the car being washed and serviced for six months after purchase. The negotiation succeeded because the offer was good to us. We had to consider all the advantages we could gain from the deal including the condition of the car. We had to determine this by taking a ride in the car and checking the distance the car had travelled since it was bought. We also found out from the seller the number of owners the car had had in its lifetime. We made used of the technique of distributive bargaining which left both of us satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation. Our negotiations were carried out face to face with the company willing to sell the car to us. We negotiated the price while looking at the car and even tested it by driving around to see how good it was. We checked everything including the distance the car had travelled, the amount of fuel it uses and others that could help us determine its value in an informed manner. Finally we moved all the way from $ 12500 to $ 10000. The seller had to agree with us that the car was not that good to cost $ 12500 and so he came down instead of us having to increase our price. The negotiation was successful since we both came to a satisfactory conclusion. In the second negotiation our group was one side representing a company from China called Beijing Fashion Manufacturing (BFM) while the other group represented an Australian Company called Him and Her Australia (HHA). In our negotiations we were aiming at the 2011/2012 summer fashion. In the third and final negotiation my group was representing an author who was looking for a publishing company with the best offer since he wanted to change his publisher. The progress of the negotiations was very good and at the end of it all the groups were satisfied that the best agreement had been reached. Part 2- Reflection on the preparation leading up to the Final Group Negotiation Simulation In the second part the group that took part in the negotiations with me against the other group was a good one. It had four members of Saudi origin. Each day we met and held meetings for about three to four hours. The group was dedicated and the Saudis gave their best. They helped a lot in organization since were also very understanding people. They were team players and worked together with me with a lot of cooperation. We worked hard together in the process of collecting information from the mines found in China from which we gained the facts to be used in convincing the group we were to enter into negotiations with. Part 3- Plan for the Final Group Negotiation Simulation In formulating the negotiation plan our group which was representing Fernet Brio looked at the interests of the company together with its position. We also examined the issues that could possibly arise and the best alternative to a negotiated agreement together with the worst alternative to a negotiated agreement and finally the options available in the agreement. It was very necessary to prepare thoroughly for the last negotiation because that is where the final decisions were to be made concerning the negotiations between the two groups. From their previous negotiations the group members had gained confidence which they were now preparing to unleash in the final negotiation. The development of the strategy and plan was very crucial at this stage since the final negotiation was very important to each of the teams. My group was strong enough since the four Chinese students were very good at strategizing. We managed to move through preparation with a lot of ease only that a lot of caution had to be taken since we could not afford to underrate the other team. The interests we had on our side and the issues that were going to arise were very pertinent sensitive and so they needed proper preparation before the negotiations. Our side was interested in a small number of workers in the mines, bigger share of the profits after sharing, a light role in constructing the new railway line and a moderate role in the exercise of training engineers for the mines. These issues were not going to be easy to negotiate and therefore we needed proper planning at the planning level. Some of the possible issues expected to arise were small number of job losses after the investment, construction of a track good enough for transporting coal and technology being shifted to the local partners. We were working on a strategy which could enable us to outdo the opponent group in the argument and secure the best bargain for the company we were representing. The position of Fernet Brio which we were going to defend was that Datong mining should agree to reduce the costs of labor for the investment by cutting down redundant jobs. It also wanted the share of Datong mining in the profits to be reduced because it was faced by a bigger risk. We worked as a team considering all these possibilities and the arguments that could be raised by the opposing team and once again the Chinese members of my group were very supportive owing to their dedication and steadiness in trying to read the minds of the members of our opponents. Part 4- Reflection on the Final Group Negotiation Simulation We carried out the final negotiation during the last week of the trimester. The level of competition was very high because all the teams were battling it out for the winner since it was a time when the highest grades were going to be allocated. Our group was well organized fro this final negotiation. We had strategized properly in order to have the final plans moving smoothly. Our strategy made it possible for us to assign responsibilities and duties to members which they would take up in the last negotiation. We had to identify the members in our group who would feature in the human resources, project management, and finance and support services. I was given the financial manager’s role which demanded that I make important decisions on the level of taking part in profits. Our team and the other team were all ready for this negotiation since we had gained enough experience from the past negotiations. The members of both teams were very confident in winning. Looking at the situation it was only fair for each group to be declared the winners and not any one of them since none of the groups looked weaker than the other. To start off the negotiations, the team members had to introduce the members in their groups respectively. We also had to present our teams hand outs at this time. The negotiations began with the number of mines that were supposed to be closed. We managed 40 mines with 10 in the first year while the second year had 30. The negotiations took a long time but at the end of it the two teams had reached a common agreement on a fixed term. Our team however took away the victory because we had a very strong team for planning and strategy development which was composed the Chinese as a majority. They displayed very sharp skills in this area which can also be observed in the way they have been able to revolutionize their country’s economy. As the negotiations were almost coming to a close we agreed on closing 40 mines which would end up cutting off 3000 jobs. This would also make it possible for the railway line to be improved upon at a cost of $ 15000000. We agreed that 100 engineers should be trained and on the profits we agreed that our team should get 60% while the other team receives the remaining 40%. From a general observation the negotiations were very good only that the other team was slow at deciding on which options they were willing to take. Conclusion References Armstrong J. 1992, the value of formal planning for strategic decisions; Review of empirical research. Strategic Management journal, vol. 3(3). Noronha S and Kersten G. 1999, WWW based negotiation support design implementation and use. A decision analysis and support project, International Institute for Applied System Analysis; Laxenburg Austria Mintzberg H. (1998), Patterns in strategy formation. Management Science; Vol. 24 No. 9 pp. 934-948 Bangert, DC., and Pirzada, K., 1992, Culture and Negotiation, The International Executive 34, no. 1, pp 43 Heavrin, C., and Carrell, M., 2008, Negotiating Essentials: Theory, Skills, and Practices, Pearson Education, pp 41-43 Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., and Saunders, D. M., 2006, Essentials of negotiation, McGraw-Hill/Irwin Read More