The Process of Negotiation

The process of negotiation has plenty of available definitions but usually such set of activities can be described as a bargaining (give and take) process between two or more parties (each with its own aims, needs, and viewpoints) seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern or resolve a conflict^[1].

Negotiations nowadays are considered as one of most important aspects of  professional activity in business cases although it is a must to accept that we all negotiate also on a daily basis almost the same way. On a personal level we negotiate with friends, family, landlords, car sellers and many others. If related to our professional activities, negotiations are the keys to success in business.  Looking into each and every company one can say that no business can survive without profitable contracts coming from negotiations as well as single people within companies because their own negotiation skills can lead to careers advancement. According to above presented, practice of negotiation is a common process out of which we all learn and improve our skills affecting both private and professional areas almost continuously. To become a professional in negotiations it is required at the same level to acquire knowledge and practice. There are the rules governing negotiations, there are described types, techniques, tactics. There are identified differences between participants that must be always considered but also practical guides that stay in line with all presented above. Gathering it all together we are able to see how many different decisions can be made during each and every single negotiation process, how many of them can lead to the particular success and after all there is still one significant question remaining, “what kind of result can be accepted as the success and what the ultimate success could be”.^[2]     

Discussing about the overall theory of negotiations, right after general definition, one has to describe a lot of criteria such as for example types of negotiations, like distributive and integrative negotiations^[3]. The first group called also hard-bargaining type is no more than haggling. Bargainers conceive negotiations as a process of distributing a fixed amount of value^[4] trying to find the way to get as much as only possible from all existing cake. The second type called interest-based or principled negotiation stays alternative to the first type while it attempts to create value in the course of the negotiation. It focuses on the underlying mutual interests of the parties rather than their arbitrary starting positions involving high degree of trust and adequate level of relationship.

What come right after, there is the other way of diversification considering different types of negotiators. We can divide them between soft, hard and principled.  Soft ones are bargaining gently, maintaining good relations, seeking for compromise. Hard ones are usually applying pressure, insisting to reach their ultimate goals.  Principled focusing on problem rather than intentions, seeking integrative solutions, and doing so by sidestepping commitment to specific positions.^[5]

Then it comes to presentation about tactics. These are every time depending on process, behavior and substance. The process mentioned refers to how the parties negotiate. The meaning of behavior in this context is no more than relationship and communication between parties. The substance is simply related to the subject that parties negotiate over.  Tactics are many and it would require at least one separate essay to present the most part of them in the proper way but it shout be indicated that to the most common belong the following:

• Auction - designed to create competition and to receive as much as possible based on the fact that multiple parties want the same thing.
•  Brinksmanship as an aggressive persuasion of the subject leaving the other party to the point of acceptance or walk away. The target is to convince about the lack of choice.
•  Bogey comes when the party pretends that one insignificant issue stays at high importance and uses this issue further to trade for major concession of real importance.
• Chicken style proposing extreme measures and playing with bluffs in order to force the other party to chicken out and give what they want.
• Defense in Depth based on movement of the issue between multiple level of authorities. While the issue goes through next levels some new concessions may come.
• Deadline tactic which uses limits of time to apply pressure to the other party both actual and artificial limits of course.
•  Flinch based on strong negative physical reaction to proposals. It can be presented as expression of surprise or shock that could be done consciously or unconsciously.^[6]
• Good and Bad Cop used typically in team negotiations when one of participants makes extreme or unreasonable demands while the other one tries to settle the case with more  rational approach.
• Highball / Lowball used adequately to the position of negotiation. Depending on required result the parties indicate ridiculously high or low opening demand that can never be achieved.
• The Nibble as request for small concessions presented by adding “just a small thing” to the party desiring to close negotiations.
• Snow Job based on implementation of large amount of information leaving other party in a difficult situation if talking about recognition of important aspects^[7].  

The most important about the mentioned as well as many other existing tactics is to know them and recognize on time as well as to use them in a way to avoid being recognized by counterparty.

        Another subject, that because of its complexity require separate elaborate, is about cultural differences. The way we act during negotiations, the way we perceive other parties, the way we communicate both verbally and nonverbally, the scope of vocabulary we use, the way we accept final decisions depends on our cultural behavior related to the community we are considered as the part of. It is a must to understand background of cultural differences before practicing profitable negotiations with various and alternating counterparties. People are different not only because of their unique personality but also because of acquired social features and cultural profile. The nations as well as ethnic groups  may vary a lot considering time focus and time reference, assertion, societal focus, uncertainty avoidance, status building (being of doing), hierarchy consideration, emotions and last but not least, the context focus and the context reference. Such knowledge both about differences and existing approach schemes may affect significantly every intercultural negotiations.^[8]  In relation to all that was presented above, we should also consider all the aspects about an experience and a level of authority of the parties, proper and essential preparation to negotiations, verbal and nonverbal communication skills and emotions, both negative and positive like anger, pride, guilt or disappointment, etc.^[9]