Page 295 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Unit 14: Closing the Deal and Post Negotiation Evaluation

5. Master the Key Paradoxes of Negotiation: Excellent negotiators understand that negotiation Notes
embodies a set of paradoxes - seemingly contradictory elements that actually occur together.
We will discuss five common paradoxes that negotiators face. The challenge for negotiators
in handling these paradoxes is to achieve a balance between the opposing forces. Strong
negotiators know how to manage this tension.
14.1.1 Claiming Value versus Creating Value

All negotiations have a value claiming stage, where parties decide who gets how much of what,
but many negotiations also have a value creation stage, where parties work together to expand
the resources under negotiation. The skills and strategies appropriate to each stage are quite
different in general terms, distributive skills are called for in the value creation stage will
precede the value claiming stage, and a challenge for negotiators is to balance the emphasis on
the two stages and the transition from creating to claiming value. There is no signpost to mark
this transition, however, and negotiators need to manage it tactfully to avoid undermining the
open brainstorming and option-inventing relationship that has developed during value creation.
One approach to manage this transition is to publicly label it. For instance, negotiators could say
something like “It looks like we have a good foundation of ideas and alternatives to work from
or how can we move on to decide what is a fair distribution of the expected outcomes?” In
addition, research shows that most negotiators are overly biased towards thinking that a
negotiation is more about claiming value rather than creating value, so managing this paradox
will likely require an overemphasis or discussing the creating value dynamics.

Did u know? Knowing how to give or get a concession, and when, are critical success
factors that influence the outcome of a negotiation. To maintain a confident stance, anticipate
what concession demands the other party will ask of you, and how you will respond, prior
to engaging in the negotiation. This will enable you to remain calm, focused and mindful
in your give and take.
Every move you make in a negotiation matters. If the other party sees you cower under pressure,
you can expect strong-arm tactics from that individual in the future. If, on the other hand, you
respond by presenting alternative options, the other party learns that pressure tactics are not
effective. Like you, the other party is always assessing which strategies work to his or her
advantage.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. The Agreement Template includes all the following elements except:
(a) Time (b) Measure of fairness
(c) Exit strategy (d) Point person

2. The parties should put an agreement in writing:
(a) To end negotiation
(b) To add “boilerplate” conditions to the deal
(c) To make sure both parties abide by the agreement

(d) To do away with any bad feelings

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