I believe that negotiation is a kind of necessity, a continuous process, and a form of art (Gates 1). However, as soon as I got an opportunity to be a negotiator and use all my skills and knowledge to succeed in negotiations, I realized that it is not enough to know some terms and understand their explanations. It is more important to realize the essence of a negotiating process and get ready for several unpredictable turns of events. However, negotiation should be regarded as an unavoidable part of a business or personal life or a kind of an obstacle that should be overcome (Wheeler 76). The current memo is proof that negotiation may take place anywhere and anytime. People may or may not be prepared for negotiations; still, they cannot neglect the fact that their knowledge and abilities to support the chosen position can define the quality and outcomes of the negotiations. Dayton/Northern Pines negotiations turned out to be very complicated, and both parties were too aggressive in supporting their positions and ideas.
The negotiation experience got helped me realize that negotiation is a kind of advertising of personal ideas and offers. There are two or more parties that have something in mind and want to share their positions with other people to prove their position as the only correct one. At the same time, to negotiate means to give something, as well as to take something (Maiese par. 2). There are many ways of how to organize negotiations, explain their importance, and prove their correctness. However, one of the first steps that should be taken is the creation of a strategy to rely on (Shell 127). Among the variety of options available to negotiators, I like the one offered by Hedges in Forbes: “You don’t have to put all of your cards on the table at the outset. Simply putting something of yourself out there” (par. 6). It helps me choose one of the most powerful tactics for my team and me. To be successful in negotiations, it is not correct to simply support or deny something. It is more effective to communicate, share information, and underline how crucial different facts can be. The attention to the examples, personal experience, and the opinions of different people should help to prove the appropriateness of the chosen position.
The aggressive nature of negotiations has bothered me a lot. I have read a lot about different aspects of negotiation, and aggression was defined as one of the reasons why gossips in negotiations could take place (Jeuken, Beersma, Velden and Dijkstra 137). I wanted to overcome the aggressive factors and tried to substitute its premises with some other options like the alternatives, captivating examples, and the promotion of trust in the relationship that could be developed based on the negotiations.
In general, the possibility to negotiate and support the chosen position is a good chance to comprehend personal skills and abilities. To participate in negotiations is not the same as to take a test. It touches upon some personal aspects and attitudes and makes the negotiator find a practical application to the theoretical knowledge gained so far. The Dayton/Northern Pines negotiation was a great opportunity to realize that even such definite concepts like water, ground, and air qualities can be discussed in a variety of forms and create such huge discontents and misunderstandings between people.
Works Cited
Gates, Steve. The Negotiation Book: Your Definite Guide to Successful Negotiating. West Sussex, UL: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. Print.
Hedges, Kristi. “Six Surprising Negotiation Tactics that Get You the Best Deal.” Forbes. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2015
Jeuken, Emile, Beersma, Bianca, Velden, Femke, and Maria Dijkstra. “Aggression as a Motive for Gossip during Conflict: The Role of Power, Social Value Orientation, and Counterpart’s Behavior.” Negotiation and Conflict Management Research 8.3 (2015): 137-152. Print,
Maiese, Michelle. “Negotiation.” Beyond Intractability. 2003. Web.
Shell, Richard. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People. New York, NY: Penguin, 2006. Print.
Wheeler, Michael. The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2013. Print.