Page 125 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Unit 6: Negotiation Style

Collaboration: True collaboration means identifying the underlying concerns and interests of Notes
both parties, and finding solutions that satisfy these concerns. This approach is appropriate
when the concerns of both sides are too important to be compromised, both parties are willing
to play by collaborative rules, and mutual motivation is high. It does require considerable time
and effort, so it is not cost-effective for less substantive matters.
Joe was a computer software designer with an idea for a new computer game that he
believed would be very successful, but he knew it would take a long time to develop, and
he needed to earn a living during that time. He approached Bill, an executive at a computer
company with whom he had gone to college. Bill liked the idea and offered Joe $10,000,
but Joe estimated that he needed nine months to develop the game. For nine months of
work, he said, $10,000 was not enough. After long negotiation, Joe and Bill agreed that the
$10,000 would be an advance on future profits, and that profits beyond that would be split
80:20. In the end, both parties profited handsomely and felt as though they got a good deal.

Competition: The goal of competitive negotiation is to win without regard for the impact on the
other party. It can involve the use of physical or emotional force, authority, or pressure, and in
short-term emergencies may be the only approach that will work. It is appropriate, for example,
when others are being threatened, rights are being violated, there is inadequate time to work
through differences, or all other methods have failed. In general, however, competitive
negotiation may backfire, setting the stage for resentment. Consistently used over long periods
of time, people suffer and relationships deteriorate; ultimately rebellion will occur.
Al, a consulting environmental engineer, was short of work when Fred, a project engineer
with a large corporation, asked Al to do some work for him. Fred knew that Al was short
of work, so he offered him half his usual rate to save some money that he could use
elsewhere in his project. Al objected but ultimately agreed to work for 75 percent of his
usual rate. After a few weeks, Al got a lucrative contract and began marginalizing his
work for Fred, doing it in a hurry and at the end of the day. In the end, the quality of his
work suffered; Fred had to pay another firm to correct Al's mistakes, and the environmental
portion of his budget was higher than he had estimated.

Compromise: This is when two parties find a mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies
the interests of each, without straining their working relationship. It is similar to collaboration
but expectations are lower: “sorta win/sorta lose.” People are used to it and expect it. Compromise
is appropriate when you and your opponents have equal power and are strongly committed to
mutually exclusive objectives, when the “prize” is divisible, or when collaboration has been
tried and wasn’t successful.
Conflict Model: Typical Behaviours

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