Page 294 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Notes purely distributive situation for the author, who was not fooled by the salesman’s attempt
to bargain “integratively”. The author, bought a car from a different dealer who was able
to provide the requested information in a straightforward manner – and whose price was
1,500 rupees lower than the first dealer for the same car.
Negotiators also need to remember that many negotiations will consist of a blend of
integrative and distributive elements and that there will be distributive and integrative
phases to these negotiations. It is especially important to be careful when transitioning
between these phases within the border negotiation because missteps in these transitions
can confuse the other party and lead to impasse.

3. Identify and Work the BATNA: One of the most important sources of power in a negotiation
is the alternatives available to a negotiator if an agreement is not reached. One alternative,
the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), is especially important because
this is the option that likely will be chosen should an agreement not be reached. Negotiators
need to be vigilant about their BATNA. They need to know whether their BATNA is
relative to a possible agreement and consciously work to improve the BATNA so as to
improve the deal. Negotiators without a strong BATNA may find it difficult to achieve a
good agreement because the other party may try to push them aggressively, and hence
they may be forced to accept a settlement that is later seen as unsatisfying.
Negotiators also need to be aware of the other negotiator’s BATNA and to identify how it
compares to what you are offering. Negotiators have more power in a negotiation when
their potential terms of agreement are significantly better than what the other negotiator
can obtain with his or her BATNA. On the other hand, when the difference between your
terms and the other negotiator’s BATNA is small, then negotiators have less room to
maneuver. There are three things negotiators should do with respect to the other
negotiator’s BATNA: (1) monitor it carefully in order to understand and retain your
competitive advantage over the other negotiator’s alternatives; (2) remind the other
negotiator of the advantages your offer has relative to her/his BATNA; and (3) in a subtle
way, suggest that the other negotiator’s BATNA may not be as strong as he or she thinks
it is (this can be done in a positive way by stressing your strengths or in a negative way by
highlighting competitors’ weaknesses).

4. Be willing to walk away: The goal of most negotiations is achieving a valued outcome,
not reaching an agreement per se. Strong negotiators remember this and are willing to
walk away from a negotiation when no agreement is better than a poor agreement or
when the process is so offensive that the deal isn’t worth the work. While this advice
sounds easy enough to take in principle, in practice, negotiators become so focused on
reaching an agreement that they lose sight of the real goal, which is to reach a good
outcome (and not necessarily an agreement). Negotiators can ensure that they don’t take
their eyes off the goal by making regular comparisons with the targets they set during the
planning stage and by comparing their progress during their negotiation against their
walk away and BATNA. While negotiators are often optimistic about goal achievement at
the outset, they may need to re-evaluate these goals during the negotiation. It is important
to continue to compare progress in the current negotiation with the target, walk away,
and BATNA and to be willing to walk away from the current negotiation if their walk
away or BATNA becomes the truly better choice.
Even in the absence of a good BATNA, negotiators should have a clear walk away point in
mind where they will halt negotiations. Sometimes it is helpful if the walk away is
written down or communicated to others so that negotiators can be reminded during
difficult negotiations. When in team negotiations, it is important to have a team member
monitor the walk away point and be responsible for stopping the negotiation if it appears
that a final settlement is close to this point.

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