Negotiation is the process of initiating a dialogue through which differences or disputes between two or more parties are solved mutually. Developing an effective negotiating team requires the team leader to have a wide knowledge of negotiation process. Members of the negotiating team should also have a wide range of knowledge, skills and attitude required in the negotiation process. The members need to know the context of the negotiation and the subject matter to the negotiations. The team should be able to analyze the facts, objectives, interest and all the legal issues pertain to the subject matter of the negotiations. The members should be good listeners with ability to seek and give information. The team should be able to think creatively to persuade the other negotiating party into accepting your objectives. The team should be able to recognize when to admit the demands of the other party, when to stand your ground or when to move on. The team members should adopt positive attitude towards the other party, the process itself and the subject matter under negotiation (Churchman, 1993, p. 13).
The negotiators must have adequate knowledge of the background and factors that surround the negotiation process by carefully examining whether the subject matter of the negotiation requires situations where the relationship between the parties concerned has to continue or not. The team should find out carefully how or the tactics the opponents will use in the negotiations. All these factors will assist the negotiating team prepare themselves adequately for the negotiations. Trust is a very crucial element in any productive negotiation process. Without trust from all negotiating parties, the decision reached cannot hold. The parties involved in the negotiation process must show commitment and willingness to act based on positive expectations to the words and decisions of the negotiating parties. Sometimes, the outcome of a negotiation may not please both parties concerned (Lewicki, 1995 pp. 56-59).
One party may feel cheated or the other party may not honour the negotiation outcomes. In such situations, the aggrieved party may lack trust with the aggravating party. Clearwire Company has already lost trust with Sprint Nextel Company. In such a case, Sprint Nextel Company must repair its trust with Clearwire Company to restore confidence and facilitate smooth joint running of the companies. Sprint Nextel Company has a major influence on decisions made by the Clearwire Company, as it jointly owns the company. Good working relationship between these two companies is therefore a necessity not a priority. These two companies are interdependence and hence reconciliation and forgiveness is vital. We should start by examining all possible reasons that brought about the violation of trust and possibility of recurrence of the problem. I would persuade the Clearwire Company to form a negotiating team that would lead its company in negotiation with my team in an effort to reconcile the two companies. The negotiating teams should deliberate on issues that resulted to the damage of the relationship and how to settle those issues. The aim of the dialogue should be forgiveness and forging the way forward since the relationship between these companies cannot be terminated (Lewicki, Barry & Saunders, 2007, pp.114-116).
Rebuilding trust is a demanding process and more difficult than building it the first time. As the leader of Sprint Nextel multiparty negotiating team, I would lead the negotiation by initiating the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. The starting point would be by admitting and owning the mistakes that led to the fallout and break of trust between the two companies. My team would immediately take action after the violation act by taking efforts to restore the situation to lessen the consequences of the violation to my victim. This should be through finding possible ways of dealing with stress the violation of trust brought into the relationship. My team would prepare to provide an apology. I would lead the team in stating regret for the damage endured by Clearwire Company as a result the action. The team must clearly explain the conditions that resulted to violation so that Clearwire Company can understand the reason behind our company’s actions. In all these efforts, my team would be sincere and act honestly in words and actions to earn the trust again. In order to demonstrate a tangible commitment to the healing process, I would advise Sprint Nextel Company to initiate concrete actions to reinforce the reconciliation process in a bid to compensate the Clearwire Company for the loss incurred because of violation of trust (Raiffa, 1982. p.24).
Considering the relationship between these two companies, it is imperative that they should reconsider and renegotiate their commitment to future relationship and interactions. The offending company should take practical steps to deal with the expectations of Clearwire Company by expressing standards that it expects to maintain and strictly adhering to these standards in future. The Sprint Nextel Company should re-establish a long lasting relationship by demonstrating emotional attachment to Clearwire Company and prove that the relationship is a total priority. The Sprint Nextel Company should strive to ensure that it builds a strong relationship. It should honor all its commitments on a daily basis to create a favorable environment for trust to prevail (Lewicki, & Wiethoff, 2000, pp. 115-118).
Reference List
Churchman, D. (1993). Negotiation Tactics. Maryland: University Press of America.
Lewicki, R. 1995. “Trust in Relationships: A Model of Development and Decline.” In Conflict, Cooperation and Justice: Essays Inspired by the Work of Morton Deutsch. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lewicki, R., & Wiethoff, C. (2000). “Trust, Trust Development and Trust Repair.” In The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice. Morton and Peter T. Coleman, eds. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Lewicki, R., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. (2007). Essentials of negotiation (4th Ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw Hill.
Raiffa, W. (1982). The Art and Science of Negotiation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press.