Negotiation Skill

Negotiation Skills

Negotiation is defined as procedure to settle differences between two parties. It involves avoiding arguments and concluding with an agreement or a compromise (skillsyouneed.com, 2013).

Similarly, negotiations could be defined as facilitating a means to communicate for two parties, allowing them to reach a mutually agreed outcome.

The three elements of negotiations are as follows:
Process - How is the negotiation carried out?
Behavior - The relationship between the parties
Substance - What is the negotiation for?

There are two main types of negotiations namely; distributive and integrative negotiations.

Distributive Negotiations occur when there is no clear solution that both parties can agree on with their different wants. This type of negotiation is also called "The Fixed Pie" because there is only limited amount of things being distributed to the parties involved. Negotiation.com (2013) explains this as a "Who wants the last piece of pizza?" situation, where everybody looks at each other, then the pizza and finally several hands reach out for the pizza. This implies that in a distributive negotiation, one party wins and the other party losses.
Distributive Negotiations always involve parties who neither met before nor meet in the future. It could result in three possible scenarios: win - lose, lose - win or lose – lose.

Example of Distributive Negotiation (ARMPD Lectures)

The scenario was clearly for a distributive negotiation. The three wheel driver had the upper hand because he knew the foreigners would not know the price for a kilometer. The driver won the negotiation getting 1000/= and the foreigners lost the negotiation by giving up and paying off the driver the 1000/=


Integrative Negotiations occur when the parties agree to an outcome or solution which results in a win to both parties. Negotiation.com (2013) describes integrative as a joining of separate parts as a whole. Such a negotiation implies an action to join forces and cooperate with each other to do something together.
Integrative Negotiations do not disrupt the relationship between the parties. It always results in win - win scenario.

Example of Integrative Negotiation (ARMPD Lectures)

The scenario was clearly for an integrative negotiation. The two parties were sisters fighting for the division of their father's will. The two parties used a 3rd party to come up with a solution. Ultimately both parties lost some valuable and both parties won some, importantly both parties were satisfied. This is an example of using a mediator to solve a problem and come to mutual agreement.

Negotiation Styles - Self Evaluation
The following graph clear shows the characteristics of the types of negotiation styles.

Competing Style Score 14
Avoiding Style Score 18
Collaborating Style Score 21
Accommodating Style Score 21
Compromising Style Score 21

Assertiveness Index = -4 (Low on Assertiveness)
Cooperativeness Index = +10 (High on Cooperativeness)

The self-assessment scores above proves to be very accurate, it explains the person I am when it comes to a negotiation. A recent incident explains these results. The negotiation was due to an accident between my bike and a strangers van. The accident was my fault, so due to that I gave up the negotiation, the van driver won and I lost a 1000/=. However, it was not a big loss for me, because the van had more damage than the bike so it was worth it solve the issue rather than take it further.