第4章　国际商务谈判：战略与策划

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Chapter4

Negotiation:StrategyandPlanning

Overview

Inthischapter,wediscusswhatnegotiatorsshoulddobeforesittingdowntonegotiate.Effectivestrategyandplanningarethemostcriticalprecursorsforachievingnegotiationobjectives.Witheffectiveplanningandgoalsetting,mostnegotiatorscanachievetheirobjectives;withoutthem,resultsoccurmorebychancethanbynegotiatoreffort.

Thediscussionofstrategyandplanningbeginsbyexploringthebroadprocessofstrategydevelopment,startingwithdefiningthenegotiator’sgoalsandobjectivesthenmovestodevelopingastrategytoachievethosegoals.Finally,weaddressthetypicalstagesandphasesofanevolvingnegotiationandhowdifferentissuesandgoalswillaffecttheplanningprocess.Figure4.1showshowtheseelementsarerelated.

Althoughthemodelsuggesttherelationshipsbetweentheseelementsislinear–thatis,goalsleadtostrategyleadstoplanning–infact,manypartiesoftenbeginmidwayinthesequenceandworktheirwaybackwardorforwarduntilthethreestepsofthepreparationprocessarealigned.

LearningObjectives

Understandtheimportanceofsettinggoalsforanupcomingnegotiation.

Explorethemajorelementsofaprocessforselectinganegotiatingstrategyandhowtoexecutethatstrategy.

Gainacomprehensivesetoftoolstoeffectivelyplanforanupcomingnegotiation.

Goals–TheFocusThatDrivesaNegotiationStrategy

Thefirststepindevelopingandexecutinganegotiationstrategyistodetermineyourgoals.Negotiatorsmayconsider:

Substantivegoals–moneyoraspecificoutcome

Intangiblegoals–winning,beatingtheotherparty,orgettingasettlementatanycost

Proceduralgoals–shapingtheagendaorsimplyhavingavoiceatthetable

Effectivepreparationrequiresnegotiatorslistallgoalstheywishtoachieve

Determinethepriorityamongthesegoals

Identifypotentialmulti-goalpackages

Evaluatepossibletrade-offsamongmultiplegoals.

DirectEffectsofGoalsonChoiceofStrategy.

Therearefourwaysthatgoalsaffectnegotiations.

Wishesarenotgoals,especiallyinnegotiation.

Awishisafantasy,ahopethatsomethingmighthappen.

Agoalisaspecific,focusedtargetthatyoucanrealisticallydevelopaplantoachieve.

Anegotiator’sgoalsmaybe,butnotnecessarily,linkedtotheotherparty’sgoals.

Linkagebetweentwoparties’goalsdefinesanissuetobesettledandisoftenthesourceofconflict.

Therearelimitstowhatrealisticgoalscanbe.

Goalsmustbeattainable.

Effectivegoalsmustbeconcrete,specificandmeasurable.

Iftheyarenot,thenitwillbehardto:

Communicatetotheotherpartywhatyouwant;

Understandwhattheotherpartywants;

Determinewhetheranoffersatisfiesyourgoals.

Goalscanalsobeintangibleorprocedural.

Intangiblegoalsmightincludemaintainingareputation,establishingaprecedentforfuturenegotiations,orconductingthenegotiationsinamannerfairtoallsides.

Aproceduralgoalmightbetheothernegotiatormustmakeatleasttwoconcessionsfromtheiropeningpricetoconvinceyouoftheirsincerity.

Thecriteriausedtodeterminegoalsdependonyourspecificobjectivesandyourprioritiesamongmultiplegoals.

Trade-offswillbeinevitableandcancloudyourperspectivewhilenegotiating

Whichiswhyyouhavetostartbydefiningwhatyouwanttoachieverightupfront.

IndirectEffectsofGoalsonChoiceofStrategy

Short-termthinkingaffectsourchoiceofstrategy.

Indevelopingandframingourgoals,wemayignorethepresentorfuturerelationshipwiththeotherpartyinaconcernforachievingasubstantiveoutcomeonly.

Othernegotiationgoals

Particularlyonesthataremoredifficultorrequireasubstantialchangeintheotherparty’sattitudemayrequireyoutodevelopalong-rangeplanforgoalattainment.

Inthesecases,progresswillbemadeincrementally,andmaydependonestablishingastrongrelationshipwiththeotherparty.

Suchrelationship-orientedgoalsshouldmotivatethenegotiatortowardastrategychoiceinwhichtherelationshipwiththeotherpartyisvaluedasmuchas(orevenmorethan)thesubstantiveoutcome.

Thus,relationalgoalstendtosupportthechoiceofacollaborativeorintegrativestrategy–refertothedualconcernsmodelfromChapter1.

StrategyversusTactics

Howarestrategyandtacticsrelated?

Onemajordifferenceisthatofscale,perspective,orimmediacy.

Tacticsareshort-term,adaptivemovesdesignedtoenactorpursuebroad(orhigher-level)strategies

Whichinturn,providestability,continuity,anddirectionfortacticalbehaviors.

Tacticsaresubordinatedtostrategy–theyarestructured,directed,anddrivenbystrategicconsiderations.

Accommodation,Competition,andCollaboration

Competitionisdescribedthroughoutthisbookasdistributiveorwin-losebargainingandcollaborationasintegrativeorwin-winnegotiation.

Accommodationisasmuchawin-losestrategyascompetition

Althoughithasadecidedlydifferentimageitinvolvesanimbalanceofoutcomes,butintheoppositedirection.(“Ilose,youwin”asopposedto“Iwin,youlose.”).

Thisstrategyisoftenusedwhentheprimarygoaloftheexchangeistobuildorstrengthentherelationship(ortheotherparty)andthenegotiatoriswillingtosacrificetheoutcomejusttobenefittheotherparty.

Ifonenegotiatoraccommodatestheotherthistime,theyexpecta“titfortat”accommodationfromtheotherinthefuture.

Suchreciprocityhasbeencalledthegluethatholdssocialgroupstogether.

Foralong-termrelationshipbuildingprocess,anegotiatorisencouragedtoconsideraccommodativemovesearlyintheprocesstobuildtrustandtobeabletoaskfor“reciprocity”astherelationshipdevelops.

Howdothethreestrategies–competition,collaboration,andaccommodation–differ?

Table4.1summarizesthethreetypesofstrategies(distributive,integrative,andaccommodative)andcomparesandcontraststhemacrossanumberofdifferentdimensions.

Inadditiontothepositivecharacteristicsdescribedinthetable,eachofthethreenegotiationstrategiesalsohascertainpredictabledrawbacksifthestrategyisappliedblindly,thoughtlessly,orinflexibly.

Distributivestrategiestendtocreate“we-they”or“superiority-inferiority”patterns,

whichmayleadtodistortionsinjudgmentregardingtheotherside’scontributionsandefforts,

aswellasdistortionsinperceptionsoftheotherside’smotives,needsandpositions.(SeethediscussionofframingbiasesinChapter6.)

Ifanegotiatorpursuesanintegrativestrategywithoutregardtotheother’sstrategy,thentheothermaymanipulateandexploitthecollaboratorandtakeadvantageofthegoodfaithandgoodwillbeingdemonstrated.

Blindpursuitofanintegrativeprocesscanalsoleadnegotiatorstoceasebeingaccountabletotheirconstituenciesinfavoroftheprocessforitsownsake.

Accommodativestrategiesmaygenerateapatternofconstantlygivingintokeeptheotherhappyortoavoidafight.

Thisestablishesaprecedentthatishardtobreak.

Effortstostopthegivingorrestorethebalancemaybemetwithsurpriseandresentmentfromtheother.

Remember,thatjustasmostconflictsareneitherpurelycompetitivenorpurelycooperative,mostnegotiationstrategiesreflectavarietyofgoals,intentions,andsituationalconstraintsthattendtomakeany“pure”strategydifficulttofollow.

GettingReadytoImplementtheStrategy:ThePlanningProcess

Theprimarydeterminantforsuccessinnegotiationisintheplanningthattakesplacepriortothedialogue.

Effectiveplanningrequireshardworkinconsideringthefollowingtenpoints.

Definingthenegotiatinggoal.

Definingthemajorissuesrelatedtoachievingthegoal.

Assemblingtheissues,rankingtheirimportance,anddefiningthebargainingmix.

Definingtheinterests.

Knowingyouralternatives(BATNAs).

Knowingyourlimits,includingaresistancepoint.

Analyzingandunderstandingtheotherparty’sgoals,issues,andresistancepoints.

Settingyourowntargetsandopeningbids.

Assessingthesocialcontextofnegotiation(forexample,whoisatthetable,whoisnotatthetablebuthasastronginterestsinthenegotiationoutcomes,andwhoisobservingandcritiquingthenegotiation).

Presentingtheissuestotheotherparty:substanceandprocess.

Theremainderofthischapterdiscusseseachofthesestepsindetail–seealsoasummaryofthesestepsinTable4.2,whichmaybeusedtoplanyourownnegotiation.

Theauthorswishtomakefourobservations.

First,theauthorsassumeasingleplanningprocesscanbefollowedforbothadistributiveandanintegrativeprocess.

Theybelievethatwiththeexceptionofthespecifictacticsnegotiatorsintendtouse,andwithaselectiveemphasisoninterestsandoptionsversustargetsandresistancepoints,onecomprehensiveplanningprocesscanbeusedforeitherformofnegotiation.

Second,sofar,wehaveconcentratedondistributiveandintegrativeprocessesandthedifferencesbetweenthem.

However,thereareseveralstructuralandcontextualfactorsbeyondthebargainingtablethatmayaffectthestrategizingandplanningprocesses.

Forexample,whethertherearemultiplenegotiationsthatneedtobe“sequenced”

Howthetimelimitsaremanaged

Theroleofculturaldifferences

Thebroadernetworkofrelationshipsamongpartiesatthetableanddecisionmakersawayfromthetable.

Experiencednegotiatorsaremorelikelytoattempttoorchestratethedealtheywantbyattendingtotheseshapingissues.

Third,theauthorsassumethatnegotiationswillbeconductedprimarilyonetoone

However,itisnotuncommontohavemultipleindividualsoneachside,agentsrepresentingnegotiators,ormultiplegroupsofpartiesrepresentedatthetable.

Finally,thetextdescribesthesestepsinarelativelylinearfashion.

Yet,completeandup-to-dateplanningwillrequireacertaindegreeofshuttlingbackandforthbetweenstepstoensurealignmentofstrategyandplan.

Informationdiscoveredinthelaterstepsmayforceanegotiatortoreconsiderandreevaluateearliersteps.

Asaresult,thefirstiterationthroughtheplanningprocessshouldbetentative,andthenegotiatorshouldbeflexibleenoughtomodifypreviousstepsasnewinformationbecomesavailable.

Step1.DefiningtheNegotiatingGoal

Goalscanbesubstantive(tangible),psychological(intangible),orprocedural(howwegettoagreement).

Goalscanhavebothdirectandindirecteffectsonthechoiceofstrategy.

Knowingyourgoalsisabsolutelythefirstandmostimportantstepindevelopingastrategyandexecutinganegotiation.

Step2.DefiningtheMajorIssueRelatedtoAchievingtheGoal

Thisstepusuallybeginswithananalysisofthekeyissuestobediscussedinthenegotiation.

Thenumberofissuesinanegotiation,alongwiththerelationshipbetweenthenegotiatorandtheotherparty,areoftentheprimarydeterminantofwhetheroneusesadistributiveorintegrativestrategy.

Single-issuenegotiationstendtodictatedistributivenegotiationsastheonlyrealissueisthepriceor“distribution”ofthatissue.

Multiple-issuenegotiationslendthemselvesmoretointegrativenegotiationsaspartiescanlogrolltocreateissue“packages”thataremutuallybeneficial.

AsimplerepresentationofthisispresentedinFigure4.2.

Theverticalaxisrepresentsincreasinglyvaluableoutcomesforthebuyer,andthehorizontalaxisrepresentsincreasinglyvaluablepayoffstotheseller.

Inaone-issuenegotiation,eachpartyisstrivingtorealizeasmuchvalueaspossible.

Ifthebuyerdominates,theywillreceiveanoutcomehighonthebuyer’saxis,whichwillnotbeadvantageoustotheseller(pointA)

Ifthesellerdominates,theywillreceiveanoutcomehighontheseller’saxis,butnotadvantageoustothebuyer(pointB).

Iftheyareequallystrong,thebesttheycandoissomepointalongalinebetweenpointsAandB(pointC).

However,multipleissuesmayallowthepartiesto“createvalue”byfindingsolutionsthatimprovetheoutcomesforbothparties.

Thechoiceofwhethertopursueaclaiming-valueorcreating-valuestrategyisdescribedasthe“negotiator’sdilemma.”

Single-issuenegotiationsandtheabsenceofalong-termrelationshipwiththeotherpartyarethestrongestdriversofclaiming-value(distributive)strategies.

Multiple-issuenegotiationsandtheimportanceofalong-termrelationshipwiththeotherpartyarethestrongestdriversofcreating-value(integrative)strategies.

Whilethenumberofissuesaffectsstrategy,itdoesnotprecludethepossibilitythatsingle-issuenegotiationscanbemadeintegrativeorthatmultiple-issuenegotiationswillremaindistributive.

Single-issuenegotiationscanbemadeintegrativebyworkingtoincreasethenumberofissues.

Inanynegotiation,acompletelistoftheissuesatstakeisbestderivedfromthefollowingsources:

Ananalysisofallthepossibleissuesthatneedtobedecided.

Previousexperienceinsimilarnegotiations.

Researchconductedtogatherinformation.

Consultationwithexpertsinthatindustry.

Eveninmultiple-issuenegotiations,theopportunitytocreatevaluemaybelostincompetitivedynamicstheminimizetrustandinformationsharingandthattreatseachissueinadistributivemanner.

Step3.AssemblingtheIssues,RankingTheirImportance,andDefiningtheBargainingMix

Thenextstepinplanningistoassemblealltheissuesthathavebeendefinedintoacomprehensivelist.

Thecombinationoflistsfromeachsideinanegotiationdeterminesthebargainingmix.

Largebargainingmixesallowmanypossiblecombinationsforsettlement,thusincreasingthelikelihoodthataparticular“package”ofelementswillmeetbothparties’needsandleadtoasuccessfulsettlement.

Largebargainingmixesmayalsolengthennegotiationsasthereismoretoconsider.

Afterassemblingissuesonanagenda,thenegotiatornextmustprioritizethem.

Prioritizationincludestwosteps:

Determinewhichissuesaremostimportantandwhicharelessimportant.

Whennegotiatorsdonothavepriorities,theymayyieldonthosepointsaggressivelyarguedbytheothersideratherthantoyieldbasedontheirownpriorities.

Prioritiescanbesetinanumberofways–involvetheconstituencyifthereisone.

Asimplewayisforthenegotiatortorank-ordertheissuesorgroupissuesintocategoriesofhigh,medium,orlowimportance.

Anothermethodistoawardatotalof100pointstothetotalpackageofissuesanddividethepointsinproportiontoeachissue’srelativeimportance–alsomakingtrade-offsand“packaging”systematic.

Setprioritiesforbothtangibleandintangibleissues.

Intangiblesareoftendifficulttodiscussandrank-order,yetiftheyremainsubjectiveandnotquantified,negotiatorsmayoverorunderemphasizethem.

Finally,negotiatorsmayalsowishtospecifyabargainingrangeforeachissueinthemix.

Notonlyshould“bestpossible”and“minimallyacceptable”packagesbespecified,butalsoatargetandminimallyacceptablelevelsforthemostimportantissuesinthemix.

Determinewhethertheissuesarelinkedtogetherorareseparate.

Iftheissuesareseparate,theycanbeeasilyaddedorsubtracted

Ifconnected,thensettlementononewillbelinkedtosettlementontheothers

Thenegotiatormustdecidewhethertheissuesaretrulyconnectedasopposedtosimplybeingconnectedinhisownmindforthesakeofachievingagoodsettlement.

Step4.DefiningtheInterests

Positionsarewhatanegotiatorwants–interestsarewhytheywantthem.

Asking“why”questionshelpstosurfacecriticalvalues,needs,orprinciplesunderlyingthenegotiation.Likegoals,interestsmaybe:

Substantive–directlyrelatedtothefocalissuesundernegotiation.

Process-based–relatedtohowthenegotiatorsbehaveastheynegotiate.

Relationship-based–tiedtothecurrentordesiredfuturerelationshipbetweentheparties.

Interestsmayalsobebasedonintangiblesofnegotiation.

Surfacinginterestsmaybeessentialtounderstandinganotherside’sposition.

Step5.KnowingYourAlternatives(BATNAs)

Goodpreparationrequiresyouestablishtwoclearpoints:

Youralternativesifthisdealcannotbesuccessfullycompleted

Andyourlimits–theleastacceptableofferfromtheotherthatyouwillstillagreeto

Alternatives(i.e.,bestalternativestothisnegotiatedagreement,orBATNAs)areotheragreementsnegotiatorscouldachieveandstillmeettheirneeds.

Alternativesareveryimportantinbothdistributiveandintegrativeprocessesbecausetheydefinewhetherthecurrentoutcomeisbetterthananotherpossibility(withadifferentnegotiatingpartner).

Inanysituation,thebetterthealternatives,themorepoweryouhaveasyoucanwalkawayfromthecurrentdealandstillknowyourneedsandinterestscanbemet.

Step6.KnowingYourLimits,IncludingaResistancePoint

Aresistancepointistheplacewhereyoudecidethatyoushouldstopthenegotiationratherthancontinueasanysettlementbeyondthispointisnotminimallyacceptable.

Ifyouareaseller,yourresistancepointistheleastyouwilltakeforanitem.

Ifyouarethebuyer,yourresistancepointisthemostyouwillpayforanitem.

Settingresistancepointsisacrucialpartofplanning.

Clearresistancepointshelpkeeppeoplefromagreeingtodealsthattheylaterrealizeweren’tverysmart.

Step7.AnalyzingandUnderstandingtheOtherParty’sGoals,Issues,andResistancePoints

Earlier,wediscussedtheimportanceofassigningprioritiestoyourowngoalsandobjectivesbutgatheringinformationabouttheotherpartyisalsoacriticalstepinpreparingfornegotiation.

Ifanegotiatorhasnotmetwithpeoplefromtheotherside,thenfindawaytounderstandthenegotiationfromtheotherparty’sperspective.

Speaktotheotherpartypriortotheformalmeeting.

Orspeaktootherswhoknowtheotherpartyortopeoplewhohavebeenintheotherparty’ssituationbefore.

Thegoalistounderstandtheapproachtothenegotiationtheyareusingandwhattheyarelikelytowant–bycomparingagainstyourown,youcandefineareas

Wheretheremaybestrongconflict–bothpartieshaveahighpriorityforthesamething

Therecanbesimpletrade-offs–bothpartieswantthesamegroupofthingsbutdifferinpriorities

Orwherethereisnoconflictatall–bothpartieswantverydifferentthingsandbothcaneasilyhavetheirobjectivesandinterestsmet

Severalkeypiecesofbackgroundinformationwillbeofgreatimportance,includingtheir:

Broad,overallgoalsandobjectives

Issuesandlikelybargainingmix

Interestsandneeds

Resistancepointandalternative

Intheory,itwouldbeusefultohaveasmuchinformationaspossiblebeforenegotiation.

Inreality,itmaynotbepossibletoobtainthisinformationbeforenegotiationstarts.

Ifthisisthecase,negotiatorsshouldplantocollectasmuchinformationaspossibleduringtheopeningstagesofthedeliberations.

TheOtherParty’sGoals

Youshouldmakeanefforttounderstandoranticipatetheotherparty’sgoals.

Askingtheotherpartytodiscusstheirgoals(eitheratthetableorbeforenegotiations),andgatheringdataabouttheotherpartypriortonegotiations,aretwocommonwaystogatherthisdata.

Mostimportantly,youshouldattempttounderstandwhethertheotherpartyhasthesamegoalsasyoudo.

Wecommonlyassumetheotherparty’sgoalsarethesameasours.

Discoveringtheothermayhavedifferentgoalsmaybeanimportantfirststeptoinventingasolutionbywhichbothpartiesachievetheirgoals.

TheOtherParty’sIssuesandBargainingMix

Themoreinformationyoucangatherabouttheotherthroughinitialresearch,thebetter.

Whichdataaremostrelevantdependsontheissuesandelementsinthebargainingmix.

Analyzingtheotherparty’sbusinesshistoryorpreviousnegotiationsmaybeuseful.

Financialdatamaybeobtainedonline.

Youmightinvestigatetheotherparty’sinventories.

Youmightlearnalotbyvisitingtheotherparty.

Askquestionsofpeopletheydobusinesswith.

Themoreyoucangetevenageneralsenseofhowmuchtheotheriscapableofaddressingandmeetingyourissuesorneeds,andwhatissuestheywillbringtothebargainingtable,thebetteryoucanpredicthowtheprocessislikelytounfold.

TheOtherParty’sInterestsandNeeds

Inadditiontolearningabouttheparty’smajorissuesandresources,wealsoneedtogetinformationabouthisorhercurrentinterestsandneeds(seeChapter3).Thisinformationmaybeobtainedthroughavarietyofapproaches:

Apreliminarydiscussionofwhattheotherpartywouldliketoachieveintheupcomingnegotiations(focusonbroadinterests,notjustissues).

Anticipatetheotherparty’sinterests(asifyouwere“intheirshoes”).

Askingotherswhoknoworhavenegotiatedwiththeotherparty.

Readinghowtheotherpartyportrayshimselforherselfinthemedia.

Theimportanceoftheissuesorinterests,alongwiththenatureofthepastrelationshipwiththeotherparty,willinfluencethedepthyouwillprobetogetinformation.

TheOtherParty’sResistancePointandAlternatives

Youalsoneedtogetasenseoftheotherparty’sresistancepointandalternatives.

Understandingtheotherparty’slimitsandalternativesisimportantbecauseitwillgiveyousomeinformationabouthowyoucan“push”them.

Iftheotherpartyhasastrongandviablealternative,theywillprobablybeconfidentinnegotiation,sethighobjectives,andbewillingtopushhardforthoseobjectives.

Incontrast,iftheotherpartyhasaweakalternative,thentheywillbemoredependentonachievingasatisfactoryagreementwithyouandbelesslikelytopushashard.

Bearinmindthatinadistributivenegotiation,theotherpartymaybelesslikelytodisclosethisinformationand/ormaymisrepresenttheirlimitsandalternativesinordertopressureyouintoadealthatisbetterforthem.

SeeBox4.1forhelpfuladviceonhowtodo“investigativenegotiation.”

Step8.SettingOne'sOwnTargetsandOpeningBids

Afternegotiatorshavedefinedtheissues,assembledatentativeagenda,andconsultedothersasappropriateandnecessary,thenextstepistodefinetwootherkeypoints:thespecifictargetpoint,whereonerealisticallyexpectstoachieveasettlement,andtheopeningbid,representingthebestdealonecanhopetoachieve.

SettingaTarget

Therearenumerouswaystosetatargetbutseveralprinciplestokeepinmind:

Targetsshouldbespecific,difficultbutachievable,andverifiable.

Thisshouldbeeasierforanyonewhohassetagoalasamotivationandperformancemanagementtool.

Targetsettingrequiresproactivethinkingaboutone’sownobjectives.

Ifnegotiatorsfocusattentionontheotherpartytotheexclusionofthemselves,theymaysettheirgoalsasareactiontotheother’santicipatedgoalsandtargets.

Reactivestrategiesmakenegotiatorsfeelthreatenedanddefensive,lesseningtheirflexibilityandcreativity.

Incontrast,beingproactiveabouttargetsettingpermitsnegotiatorstobeflexibleandimprovesthechangeofamutuallysatisfactoryoutcome.

Targetsettingmayrequireconsideringhowtopackageseveralissuesandobjectives.

Topackageissueseffectively,negotiatorsneedtounderstand:

Theissues,

Therelativeprioritiesacrosstheissues

Andthebargainingmix

Itismoredifficulttoevaluatepackagescontainingintangibleissues,buteffortsshouldbemadetodoso.

Targetsettingrequiresanunderstandingoftrade-offsandthrowaways.

Evenifanissueisunimportantorinconsequentialtoyou,itmaybevaluableorattractivetotheotherparty.

Awarenessoftheactualvalueofaconcessioncanenrichthevalueofwhatyouoffertotheotherpartyatlittleornocosttoyourself.

Toevaluatethesepackages,negotiatorsneedtohavesomeideaofwhateachiteminthebargainingmixisworthintermsthatcanbecomparedortraded-offacrossissues.

SettinganOpeningBid

Similarly,therearenumerouswaystosetaninitialaskingprice.

Anopeningbidmaybethebestpossibleoutcome,anidealsolution,somethingevenbetterthanwasachievedlasttime.

Itiseasytogetoverlyconfident,however,andtosetanopeningthatissounrealisticthattheotherpartyimmediatelylaughs,getsangry,orwalksawaybeforeresponding.

SeeBox4.2forhelpfuladviceonthesettingofanopeningbid.

Step9.AssessingtheSocialContextofaNegotiation

Whenpeoplenegotiateinaprofessionalcontext,theremaybemorethantwoparties.

Theremaybemorethantwonegotiatorsatthetable.

Multiplepartiesoftenleadtotheformationofcoalitions.

Negotiatorsalsohaveconstituentswhowillevaluateandcritiquethem.

Theremaybeobserverswhowatchandcritiquethenegotiation.

Negotiationoccursinacontextofrules–asocialsystemoflaws,customs,commonbusinesspractices,culturalnorms,andpoliticalcross-pressures.

Onewaytoassessallthekeypartiesinanegotiationistocompletea“fieldanalysis.”

Imageyouarethecaptainofasoccerteam,envisionthefieldandassessallthepartieswhoareinthesoccerstadium–seeFigure4.3.

Whois,orshouldbe,onourteamonoursideofthefield?

Whoisontheothersideofthefield(SideB)?

Whoisonthesidelinesandcanaffecttheplayofthegame(SideC)?Whoarethenegotiationequivalentsofowners,managersandstrategists?

Whoisinthestands(D)?Whoiswatchingthegame,isinterestedinit,butcanonlyindirectlyaffectwhathappens?

Whatisgoingoninthebroaderenvironmentinwhichthenegotiationtakesplace(E)?Anumberofcontextissuescanaffectnegotiation:

Whatisthehistoryoftherelationshipwiththeotherparty,andhowdoesitaffecttheoverallexpectationstheybringtothisnegotiation.

Whatkindofarelationshipwiththeotherpartyisexpectedordesiredforthefuture,andhowdotheseexpectationsaffectthecurrentnegotiation.

Howoftendoweexpecttonegotiateinthefuture?

Whatarethedeadlinesortimelimits?

Whatarethe“rulesofthegame”bywhichthisagreementwillbemanaged?

Whatiscommonandacceptablepracticeintheethicalsysteminwhichthedealisbeingdone?

Consideringthesequestionsisimportanttotheprogressofthenegotiationprocess.

Anegotiatorwhoisrepresentingaconstituencyisaccountabletothatconstituencyandmustincludetheirwishesinproposals.

Constituentscontrolneg