Negotiation
Negotiation is a skill that people use in everyday life. How individuals handle negotiations varies based on the person one is negotiating with. Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties who have their own goals, objectives or viewpoint want to find common ground to reach an agreement which would resolve a disagreement or a matter of common concern. People might not be aware of it. However, negotiations occur several times a day in our lives. An individual who persuades another person is referred to as a negotiator. A lot of people choose to negotiate with the intention of getting a better deal instead of settling for what the other party wants. The art of negotiation is a tool that is used in formal and informal sectors, an example of the formal sector includes businesses. In this paper, we will analyze a negotiation strategy which will be used in the case of family business negotiation. The negotiation will be between my father and me, while I try to explain why my brother should not be offered a position at the sales, front-facing side of the business.
Multi-issue Negotiation
The simplest form of negotiation is one which involves a single issue and two agents, for example, a scenario in which a buyer and a seller negotiate for the price of a product (Subrahmanyan, 2015). There are however other negotiations which involve multiple issues. Our case study involves a multi-issue negotiation; this means that there will be a lot of issues to be negotiated. The first issue entails telling my father that my brother is not suitable for a sales/front office position at the company. The second issue will be trying to convince my father that my brother should remain in the designing and fabrication sector. In case, my father maintains that my brother should be at the front office, the last issue to be negotiated involves trying to ensure that my brother develops strong interpersonal skills, improving his appearance and using proper language with the customers.
Multi-issue negotiation has specific benefits. When multiple issues are presented simultaneously on the table, negotiators seek opportunities in which value can be created. When one presents more than one offer at a time, it increases the other party's satisfaction and the odds that the agreement will be implemented. Negotiators who use the multi-issue negotiation approach achieve better outcomes than those who use a single issue approach. Multi-issue negotiations enable negotiators to collect information while being aggressive and persistent while at the same time being perceived as accommodating and flexible.
Goals
My goals for this negotiation will be to convince my father that my brother cannot work in the sales/front-facing side of the business. I want my brother to be assigned more duties but only in the designing and fabrication side of the business. I also want my brother to develop proper interpersonal skills, to increase his hygiene and learn how to talk nicely to customers.
My father wants me to develop a plan which successfully integrates my brother into the public side of the business. He wants me to give my brother additional responsibilities. What I know about my father's interests is that my brother is a person with creative talent, he is perfect in the designing and fabrication side of the business. However, my brother lacks strong interpersonal skills which are vital for a person who will be working on the front side of the business. Apart from that, my brother is not concerned about his appearance and uses language which is not appropriate in front of customers. All these attributes are not desirable for an individual who will be working on the front side of the business since they will be interacting with customers who can push them away, resulting in losses for the company.
Questions asked
There are several questions which I will ask to improve my understanding of my father's interests and goals. They include why he wants my brother to be on the front-facing side of the business? Did my brother suggest that he wanted his position changed in the company? Does he think that the change will yield success to the business? Is he aware of my brother's behaviors and mannerisms?
Potential Issues which Might Arise
During the negotiation with my father, there are some potential issues which can arise, for instance, rejecting my brother to be in the front-facing side of the business might be seen as jealousy or fear of being removed from my position. Which is however not the case, since my best interest is in the future of the company and whether the company will be successful. After pointing out my brother's weaknesses which will lead to failure when he comes to the front side of the business. The other issue which might arise is whether I will be willing to ensure that I teach him the proper skills for him to flourish in the new area. I will be very willing to mentor my brother of what is required from him when he is on the front-facing side of the business; this will entail being teaching him interpersonal skills, grooming and appearance, and proper communication skills.
Negotiation strategies
Since I will be negotiating with my father, there are various strategies which I will use to ensure that we maintain a proper relationship. Individuals in businesses do not have the option of whether they will negotiate or not, what they simply have to do is to carry out the best negotiation. A negotiation strategy is a set of behaviors or actions which is applied by parties in the process of consultation so that goals can be achieved. For me to negotiate with my father, I will have to come up with a proper negotiation strategy. The appropriate plan, in this case, will be the problem-solving approach. The procedure begins with a position of respect for the other party and in this case my father.
An individual using the approach does not regard the other person as a threat or competitor but as a person who has legitimate needs and wants. The goal of the strategy is usually to make trades and work together on a reasonable and equitable solution (Erlich, 2018). I will seek to understand my father's suggestions and explain my own, which will then be followed by seeking a solution where we can both get what we require. I will discuss the situation and listen more before exploring any option, and finally, I will propose a solution. The approach places in high regard the relationship between the parties assisting them in building trust which creates proper working conditions. Through the negotiating process, I will strive to find a solution to our problem. In this case, the solution will be one which ensures that my brother develops proper interpersonal skills, improves his appearance, and learns how to communicate appropriately with the customers.
The other strategy applicable in this scenario which will ensure that I maintain a respectful relationship with my father is the compromising strategy. The approach strives to seek some form of balance where both parties involved in the negotiation get an equitable deal. The main aim of the strategy is finding middle ground during the negotiations and doing what is fair for both parties. I will, therefore, offer my suggestions to my father and listen to his, and if he is not comfortable with all my points, or if I will not be satisfied with his, I will have to compromise on certain points which will ensure that we maintain our relationship. Individuals who use this strategy tend to see each other as equal and worthy to them. If we are not able to get everything we want, I will seek an equitable arrangement.
Conclusion
Negotiation is an essential skill when two or more parties want to reach an agreement concerning a particular issue. The case study in this paper presents a multi-issue negotiation, which involves negotiating for a lot of issues. The multi-issue negotiation has a lot of benefits compared to single-issue negotiation. To maintain a proper relationship with my father, I will use specific strategies such as the problem-solving strategy and the compromising strategy.
References
Erlich, S. N. (2018). Negotiation Strategies for Agents with Ordinal Preferences. arXiv preprint arXiv:1805.00913 .
Subrahmanyan, S. R. (2015). Ethical consumption: Uncovering personal meanings and negotiation strategies. Geoforum 67, 214-222.
