Planning and Preparation for Effective Negotiation

Planning and Preparation for Effective Negotiation

1. Most important step

   • Successful negotiation
     • Negotiation Analysis
       • Know the Situation
         • Negotiation parties
           • They depend on each other
             • to fulfill some needs
               • They have to cooperate with and understand each other
       • to conduct a well-rounded analysis of the bargaining situation

2. Analyze the negotiation context

   • Opportunities and constraints
     • sufficient understanding
       • Allows the negotiators to identify the rules of the game
         • 1. Assess the historical, political, legal, and cultural context in which negotiations take place
           • 2. Assess the purpose of the negotiation:
             • 3. Assess the nature of the conflict
               • Are ideologies involved?
               • 4. Assess the temporality of the negotiation
                 • One-shot or longterm?
                 • 5. Assess external constraints
                   • Is time an issue?
                   • Place
                   • Communication channels
             • Deal-making or dispute resolution?

3. Analyze the negotiation structure and components

   • 1. Identify the negotiation parties
     • any person or group
       • Pursuing distinct goals
         • Specific negotiation
           • Influential parties
             • the hidden table
   • 2. Define the issues.
     • Strong influence on the strategies negotiators
       • win-lose approach
         • In multiple issues
           • Focus on interests
             • Negotiators are more cooperative
               • “Expanding the pie”
                 • Issues need to be prioritized
                   • Negotiation parties’ tangible interests
   • 3. Understand the underlying interests
     • Why one wants those things
       • Interests can be tangible or intangible
         • They can concern the process of a negotiation
   • 4. Consider alternatives
     • Specific parameters for the negotiation
       • The Best: target or aspiration point
         • The worst: resistance
           • Negotiators need to consider their BATNAs
             • Options a party has if a negotiation fails
               • Research their options as well as assess the probability
   • 5. Create a scoring system and sort out preferences
     • To sort out their own preferences
       • To generate scoring systems that assign points to various options of each issue
         • Quantify the offer proposals
           • Contracts with higher scores are preferred and no uncertainties are involved
             • Value scoring system
   • 6. Determine the target/aspiration and reservation/resistance points
     • Knowing BATNAs and creating a scoring system
       • To determine their reservation/resistance points
         • The resistance point
           • The sum of all options multiplied by their probability
             • Negotiators also need to set a target or aspiration point
               • Based on goal-setting theory
                 • Promote performance when they are difficult but feasible
   • 7. Assess your negotiation style.
     • Negotiators should conduct a self-assessment
       • In terms of their attitude toward risks, preferred approach to conflict, and personal negotiation history
         • To guard against irrational tendencies during the bargaining process
           • Whether negotiators focus on risks or opportunities
             • Can have a significant influence on their bargaining strategies
               • To negotiate strategy choices a priori
                 • Consider their personal negotiation history
   • 8. Practice perspective taking
     • The other party’s positions, interests, preferences, and alternatives
       • To gather information about their counterpart before the negotiation
         • To decrease negotiators’ cognitive biases
           • Learning about the counterpart’s priorities and preferences
             • To estimate what their counterpart’s reservation point
     • ZOPA
       • Each party would be better off reaching an agreement than going with their BATNA
       • May differ in distributive and integrative negotiations
         • Pareto efficient frontier
   • 9. Assess the relationship with the other party.
     • The relationship between the two parties
       • This relationship will create expectations for future encounters
         • Analyzing the relationship is to find out whether there are power differences between negotiating parties
           • Negotiators should carefully research any culture-related differences in negotiation