Introduction
The economic recession that commenced in the year 2008 had adverse effects on the economies of several nations all around the globe. The value of major currencies around the world also declined as a result of inflation. To stabilize the global economy,
The governments of the affected nations negotiated with financial institutions and business entities to put up measures that will stabilize the economic condition in the short run and in the long run. On a much lower level, business entities usually negotiate with other firms, individuals, and stakeholders on issues that would improve their performance. At a domestic level, couples do negotiate about the type of car that they should buy, the amount of money they should spend and the school that their children should attend. Thus, negotiation is an aspect that is present in our daily lives. The process of negotiation involves more than one party. The parties involved have to share a limited resource that forms the center of bargain. Finally, the parties involved should all benefit from the entire process (Lewisci et al, 2006). With this in mind, this paper shall focus on various aspects of negotiations. It will lay emphasis on the role that communication and personality of individuals in the process of negotiation.
Role of Communication and Personality in a Negotiation Process
The primary car that I had own is BMW 525i. I bought the car due to its performance and the passion that I have for BMW cars. The main purpose of the car was to take me to work, to take my children to school, to conduct errands and to visit friends during the weekends and holidays. However, being a 5 series, the car consumed a lot of fuel especially due to the fact that I live several miles from where I work and where my children go to school. The rising cost of fuel also made using the car to be uneconomical. Moreover, there are currently a lot of environmental concerns especially with regards to air pollution. As a result, I needed to purchase a car that was affordable, more efficient, cheaper to maintain and environment friendly. In the process my search, I found a car that fit this description. It was a second hand Toyota Prius owned by a woman a few minutes’ drive from where I live. After viewing the car, I was ready to buy it since it was in good condition, well maintained, and had only covered 18,000 miles. This therefore stated that the car has been well maintained. All was done apart from price negotiations.
Communication played a critical role in the process of negotiating for the car. From the conversation that I had with the owner of the car, I managed to learn a lot about the car itself and the new brand; Toyota Prius Prior to seeing the car on sale, I had never seen nor heard about the brand. Thus, as the owner explained, the car was hybrid brand. This meant that it was environmental friendly since it used alternative sources of fuel as a source of power. In addition, it was more efficient and most importantly, it was built for comfort and class. The Prius was also the first hybrid car to be put under mass production thus. Toyota thus came up with effective marketing strategies to ensure that their vehicle successfully enters into the European and American market. This might be the reason why I did not know about the brand in the first place. Thus, I had the guarantee that the maintenance of the car would be cheap. Moreover, the car would also have minimal negative impacts on the environment. All these factors met with the goals and expectations that I had on the new car that I wanted.
The selling price of the vehicle was set at $15,500. The owner stated that she had acquired the car less than two years back at a price of $21,000. Thus, the price that she had set was fair given the fact that it was relatively new. However, before stating my price, I had to know why she was selling the car. Here, I had to probe her to get more information about the car. Of essence, I was monitoring her personality through the changes in her perception, cognition, and emotion. From our conversation, the owner said that she was selling the car because she was leaving for Africa where she has been posted as a regional manager for a charity program. Thus, the car was only part of what she was selling. This is because she was selling her other household items too. She was supposed to leave the country in a few days time. From the analysis of her personality, I was guaranteed that the car had no major mechanical problems. Furthermore, I concluded that the car was well maintained. This is because she was soft spoken and sincere about every detail I inquired about the car. At this point, I knew that I had to make the purchase. However, I wanted to part with the car at $13,000. Bargaining was now the last thing that was left.
It has always been believed that a higher proportion of communication is non-verbal (Myers, 2006). Thus, when I mentioned to the owner that I was willing to offer her $13,000, I saw a look on her face that clearly stated that she would not sell the car at that price. She told me that she had been offered more than $13,000 but rejected these offers. I knew that she was not desperate to sell the car and since I needed it, I had to add some more money on the bargain. Perhaps it is at this point that she might have realized that I really wanted to buy the car. This is because she said that the final price that she can sell the car was 15,000. Furthermore, she told me that there had been another person who had offered 15,000 but unfortunately, he was $2,000 short. However, he promised the owner to be back with the full amount within a few hours. At this point, I weighed my options and concluded purchasing the car at $15,000. We all agreed that this was the best price for the vehicle. After completing the motor vehicle transfers, I felt that I had benefited from the deal. A few days later, the seller of the car called me to confirm is everything was okay with the car before she left. She too was contended with the deal. Thus, the result of the negotiation was beneficial for both of us.
Conclusion
Communication and personality are essential aspects in the process of negotiation. This is because they bring about better understanding between the parties that are involved in the process of negotiation. Furthermore, communication and personality also enables one to have a deeper knowledge of the resource that is at hand. This is essential as it ensures that a mutual decision is arrived at once the process of negotiation is complete.
References
Lewisci, C., Saunders, D. and Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill
Myers, E. (2006). Learning to think spatially. New York: National Academies Press.