Negotiations

Revision as of 21:48, 19 February 2023

Abstract

Negations are a part of everyday life, a useful skill in both personal and professional settings. Negotiations are highly relevant to project management as it can help ensure alignment with key stakeholders and maintain a positive relationship with those stakeholders. This ability can prevent conflict, personal, professional or even political, like in the case of wars, enable us to buy our dream home, help us launch our start-up and so much more. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the art of negotiation is a skill useful and relevant to everyone. In his article, I will review the key factors that determine the trajectory of negotiations, explore the impact of different mental models and negotiation styles. Additionally, cultural differences and their impact on negotiations are examined, a relevant topic as negotiations between parties with different cultural backgrounds become more common. Finally, this article will address the topic of ethics and professionalism in negotiations.

Introduction

Negotiations is when two or more parties exchange goods or services and try to come to an agreement on the exchange rate. It is a valuable tool for reaching an agreement and resolve conflict. Through series of strategies, demands, tactics, demands an agreed exchange is determined for goods or services, but what are the determining factors when it comes to the outcome – is it personality traits, a specific tactic or negotiation style and is there something that will ensure success every time?

Key Determining Factors in Negotiations

Negotiation is a complex process involving multiple factors that contribute to the outcome of the discussion. A number of studies have been conducted on that very issue for the purpose of determining the key factors that significantly influence the success of the negotiation. These factors include personality traits, power dynamics and ….

Personality traits

The impact of personalities, attitudes, and motivation on the result of a negation process is a topic of interest in research. According to a review of 200 studies, personal characteristics plays a role in the negotiation process and its outcomes. Although gender differences may affect negotiation strategies, no specific character traits were found to consistently link to successful negotiation. The studies that revealed a difference in gender in regard to negotiation strategies found that women were not as likely to mirror an opponent’s concessions, when bargaining with a passive counterpart, while others find no difference.

A topic of interest to researchers has been how to influence the behaviour of the opposite side. The impression is that consistent high demands and low concessions by the opponent will lead to the same by the negotiator, lead to frequent deadlocks. On the other hand, low demands and high concessions by the opponent do not necessary lead to the same behaviour by the negotiator, but in many cases, they do.

Threats and strong demands are often detrimental to productive bargaining, as they tend to result in retaliation. Recent work supports and clarifies this process, showing that such behaviours are harmful unless they are seen as legitimate, subtle, or not used to gain an advantage for the user.

Power

Other Factors

Mental Models, and their Impact on the Negotiations’ Outcomes

Negotiations Styles

Normative Negotiating Style

Intuitive Negotiating Style

Analytic Negotiating Style

Factual Negotiating Style

Cultural differences

Individualism Versus Collectivism

Ethics and Professionalism in Negotiations

Limitations

While theory offer clear guidelines on the dos and don’ts of negotiation, in is important to keep in mind that our communication style, body language and tone significantly, impact how these strategies are perceived and play a large role in the outcome. Despite the emphasis of leaving emotion out, it is important to acknowledge that emotions are an inherent part of human decision-making.

References

• Wall Jr, J. A., & Blum, M. W. (1991). Negotiations. Journal of Management, 17(2), 273-303.
• Bazerman, M. H., Curhan, J. R., Moore, D. A., & Valley, K. L. (2000). Negotiation. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 279–314. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.279
• Crump, L. (2011). Negotiation process and negotiation context. International Negotiation, 16(2), 197–227. https://doi.org/10.1163/138234011X573011
• DRAKE, L. E. (1995). NEGOTIATION STYLES IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION. International Journal of Conflict Management, 6(1), 72–90. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022756
• Englund, R. L. (2010). Negotiating for success: are you prepared? Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010—EMEA, Milan, Italy. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
• Magenau, J. M., & Pinto, J. K. (2007). Power, influence, and negotiation in project management. The Wiley Guide to Project Organization and Project Management Competencies, 2, 89.
• PERDUE, B. C., DAY, R. L., & MICHAELS, R. E. (1986). NEGOTIATION STYLES OF INDUSTRIAL BUYERS. Industrial Marketing Management, 15(3), 171–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-8501(86)90026-X
• Craddock, W. T. (2010). Five things every project manager should know about negotiation. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010—North America, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Key reference

• Program Management: The standard for program management, 4th Edition (2017)