Chapter 1

An Introduction to
Negotiation
 1-2

Negotiation….

A means of resolving conflicts for centuries

An alternative to fighting, war

Agreements can be made permanent
through rules and laws

Today a common means of resolving
family, work, and societal disputes

Yet, many people avoid, even fear

negotiation. Why?
 1-3
How Important a Skill Is
Negotiation?

“Negotiation is the pre-eminent form of

decision making in personal and
professional life”

-William Ury
Getting Past No
 1-4

Five Negotiation Skills

Skill 1.1: Recognize the five essential

elements in a negotiation

Skill 1.2: Model bargaining behaviors used
by skilled negotiators

Skill 1.3: Recognize bargaining styles

Skill 1.4: Set collaborative goals

Skill 1.5: Avoid cognitive biases
 1-5
Three Basic Types of
Negotiation
1. Deal making: purchase of a new home or
car
2. Decision making: parties in a zoning case
3. Dispute resolution: litigation over
property rights

While the three have subtle differences, all

are forms of negotiation
 1-6

Chapter Case: Zoning Change

Sophia is seeking a zoning change

Robert, an inexperienced attorney, is hired
by Sophia to represent her before the
Zoning Commission

Neighborhood residents oppose Sophia’s
proposed new condo development

The Zoning Commission staff suggest a
meeting of all parties to negotiate their
differences
 1-7

The Five Elements Common to

Negotiation Situations
1. Two or more parties (or interests)
2. Interdependence
3. Common goals
4. Flexibility
5. Decision-making ability
 1-8

Parties and Their Interests

Parties can view a conflict situation differently

That view, or frame, leads them to focus on
some characteristics of the conflict and ignore
others

Relationship/task frame: Parties focus on either
ongoing relationship or the subject matter of the
dispute

Emotional/intellectual frame: Parties pay
attention to the emotional components of the
dispute or behaviors of the parties

Cooperate/win frame: Parties seeks to benefit
both parties or to maximize personal gain
 1-9

Developing Negotiating Skills

Negotiations are rarely pure win-lose or

win-win propositions

Negotiations take place under conditions
of ambiguity and uncertainty

Most negotiations involve existing or
potential sources of conflict that impede
reaching agreement
 1-10

Developing Negotiating Skills

Negotiating progress comes in stops and

starts. Most complex negotiations take
place between agents of groups and not
the groups themselves

Complex negotiations often involve a team
approach

Negotiating skills can be learned
 1-11

Developing Negotiating Skills

Negotiations are chaotic and seldom pass

sequentially through distinct phases such
as pre-negotiation, deal structuring,
detailed bargaining, and agreement

Negotiations involving multiple parties and
complex issues challenge a negotiator

Most negotiations are linked to other
negotiations
 1-12

Bargaining Styles: Dual

Concern Model
(assertiveness/cooperation)
Five bargaining styles
1. Avoiding
2. Accommodative
3. Collaborative
4. Competing
5. Compromising
 1-13
Dual-Concern Model of
Bargaining Styles
 Big Five Personality 1-14

Dimensions
DIMENSION ASSOCIATIONS OPPOSING

Neuroticism Anxious, depressed, Emotionally healthy, calm,

worried, insecure free from persistent
negative feelings
Extraversion Sociable, assertive, Introversion, quiet, low-key,
talkative, active deliberate

Openness Imaginative, curious, Conventional, narrow

original, open-minded interests, straightforward,
conservative
Agreeableness Courteous, flexible, Suspicious, unfriendly,
trusting, cooperative, uncooperative, critical,
tolerant disciplined
Conscientiousness Careful, responsible, Unreliable, lack of
organized, persistent ambition,
easily distracted
 Attributes of Bargaining Styles
Conflict style Strong As a positive As a negative Weak As a strategy
predisposition attribute attribute predisposition
Avoiding Defers Displays tact Causes Prefers hard-nosed When not
confrontational and diplomacy stalemates bargaining interested in
negotiation negotiating
Accommodating Derives satisfaction Good team May make Has little patience When hostilities
from solving builder unwise for other party’s need to be
problems concessions needs lessened
Competing Views negotiation Excellent Focus on issues Believes in treating When
as a game or sport instincts for that are easy to people fair and substantive
to win claiming value define win-loss avoiding needless interests are
conflict important but
not the
relationship
Collaboration Enjoys Instinctively May transform a No patience for the Used when
participating in tries to discover simple problem give and take that relationship and
joint problem and satisfy the into a complex comes with the substantive
solving real interests of one collaborative outcomes are
the parties thinking important

Compromising Eager to conclude Best when Can rush the Refuses to Used when
negotiation on fair stakes are small process and compromise on stakes are small,
standards and time is short agree to principle time is short, or
unnecessary in a weak
concessions bargaining
position
 SKILLED NEGOTIATORS AVERAGE NEGOTIATORS

Considered a wide range of Considered a narrow range of

outcomes or options outcomes or options

Gave over three times as much Considered a third less common

attention to common ground ground areas
areas
Anticipated twice as many long- Anticipated half as many long-
term common areas term areas

Developed upper and lower limits Planned goals around fixed

for possible settlement points settlement points

Flexible on the order of issues to Addressed issues in a

discuss predetermined order

Used neutral phrases when Used judgmental phrases when

proposing offers proposing offers
 1-17

Tactics for Success: Find Common

Interests by Asking the Right
Questions!

Open-ended: “What were you hoping to settle
today?”

Leading: “Don’t you think this proposal meets
one of your goals?”

Clarifying: “Can you postpone collecting that fee
until next year?”

Gauging: “How important to you is the 24-hour
service guarantee?”

Seek agreement: “If we agree to your delivery
terms do we have a deal?”
 1-18
Interdependency

Without interdependency no reason to

negotiate, no motivation to reach
agreement

Degrees of interdependency include: one-
shot negotiation, repeat transactions, or
long-term relationship
 1-19

Common Goals
The two most important types of goals

1. Content: the substance or specifics

2. Relationship: how the parties want to be

viewed by each other
 1-20

Other Types of Goals

Prospective: initial objective

Transactional: objectives that arise during
negotiations
Retrospective: objectives that arise after
negotiations are complete
Collaborative: mutual objectives
 1-21

Flexibility

A power shift can quickly occur in a

negotiation situation. A negotiator must be
able to respond in a strategic way.
 1-22
Decision-Making Ability

Negotiation involves at least two people

making decisions that require judgments
and choices

Judgment involves recognizing and
evaluating the content of the options
presented

Choice involves actually selecting an
option
 1-23

Decision-Making Ability

Parties often differ in how they think or

process information

People develop schema as a way of
organizing current knowledge and as a
way to process future information

Some schemas create biases
 1-24

Biases That May Affect a

Negotiator

Availability bias: An outcome probability is
based on how easy it is to imagine

Representativeness bias: Stereotyping

Self-serving bias: Belief that an option is true
because it benefits them

Self-enhancement bias: Belief that one’s own
behavior is more constructive

Impact bias: One overestimates the
positive/negative satisfaction of an outcome
 1-25

Multiparty Negotiations
(three or more parties or interests)

Usually present significantly different challenges

and negotiation techniques:
1. Coalitions form to control the outcome
2. Trade-offs can occur with one or more
3. Majority rule may ignore interests of minority
parties
4. Consensus does not mean all parties agree on
all issues, but on the whole
5. Communication is more difficult due to the
number of people and messages required
 1-26

Negotiation Myths and Facts*

Myths Facts
1. Good negotiators are 1. Good negotiators
born make concessions
2. Experience is a great 2. Good negotiators
teacher never lie
3. Good negotiators 3. Good negotiators
take risks
look for common
4. Good negotiators rely
on intuition interests
4. Everyone is a
*Leigh Thompson, The Mind and Heart of
the Negotiator
negotiator