Humanity is a social race characterized by interpersonal interactions. Therefore, humans must negotiate as they navigate life in various interpersonal situations. Negotiations dictate every aspect of human interaction, from simple pleasantries exchanged between friends to complex business interactions between multinationals involving billions of dollars. A sound understanding of negotiations can help one navigate various human interactions, especially in business. This blog entry will provide an overview of the negotiation phases while reflecting upon an experience to give you a peak into this essential human skill.
The Five Phases of Negotiations.
When appreciating negotiation, first, you must understand the five phases of the talks. Different scholars and authorities in the field would have other names for each stage, but the consensus generally agreed on five standard expectations at each phase. The five phases of the negotiation phases are summarized into the following:
- Preparation Phase: The first phase involves preparing for the negotiations (Kiruthika et al., 2020). It entails researching the aspects of the discussions encapsulating the fundamentals of the talks from the players, themes, possible trade-offs, the desired outcome, tone, and undesirable outcome. Invest in the preparation phase to be as knowledgeable and prepared as possible.
- Development and Strategy Selection Phase: During this phase, the parties interact and establish first contact. Usually, the players exchange information and communicate their initial positions (Kiruthika et al., 2020). The objectives and the desired and undesired outcomes are expounded on. For negotiators, all parties should be encouraged to make meaningful contributions.
- Opening: During the opening phase, sometimes called a clarification, both parties expound on the initial phase by justifying their positions (Kiruthika et al., 2020). Disagreements are aired, and all the parties are encouraged to expound on the issues at hand while making meaningful contributions. It is essential to align the discussion and clarification efforts with established objectives and expectations.
- Bargaining and Problem-Solving Phase: The fourth phase is the nucleus of the negotiation process (Kiruthika et al., 2020). It highlights a give-and-take interaction where each party offers counters and alternatives to contentious issues. The best outcome is a win-win result characterized by agreement and compromises.
- Closure and Implementation phase: Finally, once the parties reach an acceptable outcome after considering the contributions from each relevant stakeholder, the negotiation is scheduled to end (Kiruthika et al., 2020). During this phase, the final results of the process are communicated, and the implementation process begins. The parties agree on the implications of negotiations and what they are to do to ensure the agreements are met.
From the five phases, one can adequately approach a negotiation encounter. The five phases are essential in structuring an approach to tackle a negotiation. One must appreciate it is not the cardinal norm. According to Bauer & Erdogan (2012), depending on one’s personality, the players involved, the situation and your preferred negotiation style, the negotiation process can be altered as preferred. However, your modified approach should preserve the essence of the five processes. Always ensure you have a proper understanding of the situation and stakes involved, understanding and being knowledgeable of the parties involved and their interests going into the negotiation. Every action should align with established objectives and always aim for win-win scenarios where no party feels as though they got the short end of the stick. Use the phases to select your desired negotiation style (Kiruthika et al., 2020). There are different negotiation styles one chooses from, and they tend to depend on your personality, preference, participants, stakes and other unique traits of the particular negotiation.
Personal Negotiation Style.
The negotiation styles are essential to influence the negotiation process’s outcome. Bauer & Erdogan (2012) showcases several negotiation styles, including collaborating, competing, compromising, avoidance, and compensating. The negotiation styles are chosen and determined by your personality, preferences, and the type of negotiation. I advocate for the “collaborative approach” when engaging in negotiations. Collaborative negotiation styles are approaches to negotiations that focus on establishing mutually beneficial solutions that satisfy both sides and actively engage all the relevant parties in the negotiations at every stage (Kiruthika et al., 2020). Collaborative negotiators seek to understand the perspectives and emotions of the relevant participants when addressing their concerns. Collaborative negotiation approaches apply to various situations and are likely more effective than the alternatives as they actively engage in the problem-solving phases. I prefer the approach because it elevates the stakeholders’ perspective and encourages them to work directly with one another. A collaborative approach is crucial, especially if the two conflicting parties are likely to agree upon establishing a long-term relationship or where the project is a multi-step problem. Cooperative negotiators are essential in professional and personal settings as they involve all the relevant participants.
My negotiating style is crucial because it aligns with my beliefs and collaboration preferences. Collaborative negotiation has the best outcome. The claims are backed by scholarly research. For instance, Chávez et al. (2021) establish that collective negotiations have higher buy-in rates than the other alternatives. Collaborative negotiations incorporate the inputs of the stakeholders, thus creating scenarios where they feel they are expressly involved in the negotiation process, thus making them more agreeable with the final results. Collaborative negotiations also prioritize tradeoffs to favour a win-win outcome. Every negotiation requires the parties to make various conversations and compromises to accommodate the other party’s needs. Through the tradeoffs, the parties become appreciative of the process and attached to the outcomes, thus increasing the rate of participation. However, the approach also has several drawbacks that undermine its claim as the premier negotiation style. For instance, collaborative styles are usually effective when the conflicting parties are of equal standing. When one party is influentially superior, it’s hard to compel them into participating in negotiations, significantly if they undermine the outcome. The collaborative process also takes longer to implement. To showcase my preference for the collaborative negotiation style, consider the following scenario from my experience.
Approaching an Upcoming Negotiation.
In pursuing my education ambitions, I have had to partner with my colleagues, and through such interactions, there have been several conflicts. I look forward to a group project for a research program I will pursue with help from a school instructor. I need to approve the research and convince the instructor to mentor me. The meeting’s objective is to ensure the instructor sees the merit in my research project and offers me his support. I intend to approach the negotiation with the collaborative style I have adopted, which continues to work for me throughout my professional life. I will also utilize the five-phase approach to ensure I secure his collaboration. The first step is to prepare for the meeting by conducting proper research. I will research all the projects the instructor has approved in the past. Doing a background check is essential. It will give me a feel of the instructor’s life and showcase how he will likely respond to my research proposal. After the research, I will develop my arguments, and upon establishing interaction, I will showcase why the instructor needs to back my research.
My goal is to ensure he sees the value of signing up as a mentor, both to him, me and the school. I will provide the instructor has ample opportunities to contribute and actively participate, aligning with the fourth negotiation phase. Finally, I will proceed to the closure phase, ensuring the instructors sign up for the role. My preferred collaboration style fits with upcoming negotiations because I have to convince the instructor he is a valuable part of the research process. With his input and support, conducting the research project becomes more accessible. The negotiations will be complex because of the power dynamics. I have everything at stake, while my instructor has nothing to lose. Therefore, I am the one who needs to convince him to come on board. In such situations, a collaborative negotiation style tends to be ineffective as one party has a clear power advantage. However, to convince the instructor, I must appeal to his sense of duty and show him his participation is valuable and meaningful. When contextualizing the upcoming negotiation process, it becomes apparent that collaborative negotiation styles can be more effective when one party has a power advantage.
In conclusion, negotiation is an essential skill every person needs to navigate life, whether professionally or personally, regardless of the setting. Though there are different negotiation styles, negotiators must approach the possibility of their preferred style needing to be improved. One must develop navigator skills to meet the set outcomes and objectives. The five-phase approach is crucial and can help one prepare for negotiation. However, always focus on the five-stage process and kindly comply when the situation demands improvisation.
References.
Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012). Chapter 10.5: Negotiations. In An introduction to organizational behaviour. Flat World Knowledge. https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_organizational-behavior-v1.1/s14-05-negotiations.html
Chávez, D. A. A., Choez, J. S. M., Fernández, V. M. M., Dueñas, G. A. H., Delgado, A. M. C., & Loor, C. E. C. (2021). Importance of ICT for a successful collaborative negotiation process. International journal of economic perspectives, 15(1), 135-145. https://ijeponline.org/index.php/journal/article/download/34/54
Kiruthika, U., Somasundaram, T. S., & Raja, S. K. S. (2020). Lifecycle model of a negotiation agent: A survey of automated negotiation techniques. Group Decision and Negotiation, 29, 1239-1262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-020-09704-z
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