Negotiation is one process of settling differences and arriving at an agreement through strategic discussions that aim at an acceptable resolution to the negotiating parties (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). The negotiating parties try to convince each other that their opinion or idea is the best while avoiding strife. In any negotiations, the parties focus on achieving the best possible results. To achieve such outcomes, justice, and mutual benefit principles must be upheld. A successful negotiation process must include various elements. The elements may include the objective of the negotiation, the relationship of the parties, the presence of intermediaries, the available alternatives besides what the parties want, and the amount of time required to arrive at an agreement among others.
Negotiation skills are important in various aspects including during business negotiations and routine disputes. Firstly, these skills make individuals knowledgeable about when to walk away or stop a negotiation. Some negotiations' outcome is not worth the investment of time and resources. Moreover, if the other party only wants their way out without giving a concession on your point of view, it is the best way out to leave such discussions, (Hall & Hoelting, 2015 p.51). Secondly, the skills allow individuals to play fair and just. Fairness and justice in a discussion calls for each party to pay attention to the other’s needs, where they stand a better chance for reasonable and acceptable outcomes. When this concept is understood in the negotiation process, then reasonable concession, openness, and honesty is upheld through the process.
Finally, good negotiation skills grant an upper hand to the holder and provide a better chance of arriving at acceptable outcomes. In a negotiation, what matters is how an individual puts across a point rather than how much content they have. Aggressiveness or nervousness in a negotiation may act negatively against that party (Ting‐Toomey, 2017 p.3). Civilization, good listening, and calmness grants much favor to a party in the realization of a successful negotiation. The negotiation process is not a competition but a process that should leave each party satisfied and thus may call for compromise in some aspects. The negotiation skills of an individual determine their competence.
A good negotiator should possess effective problem analysis and solution attributes, good listening skills, emotional intelligence, professional ethics, quick decision-making skills, and communication skills. Individuals with such skills have a higher chance of attaining successful outcomes in a negotiation (Ting‐Toomey, 2017 p.5). A lack of any of the above skills creates a loophole that the other party can exploit, and thus the level of competence reduces. Negotiation skills are essential for future careers in that it equips an individual with the confidence and the competence of negotiation business deal, managerial focuses and salaries.
Time Management
Time Management is a process of systemizing and planning how much time to spend on a particular item, process, or activity, (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). The skill aims at achieving more while having invested little time, despite the external factors such as pressure and deficiency of time. Inefficient Time Management leads to too much pressure and stress. Good Time Management enhances productivity, effectiveness, reputation, and better opportunities. Time Management is essential for various reasons. Firstly, time is a limited resource that should be utilized properly to obtain the set targets and achieve the desired goals. If time is well used, then the productivity of the individual becomes valuable and as a result, it earns the individual promotions and higher ranks. Time Management is a tool that enables an individual to achieve many successes with little efforts employed. An improvement in time control leads to subsequent improvement inability to focus which enhances efficiency.
Proper time control improves the capabilities of the decision-making process. Time chunking approach to Time Management improves the capabilities of better decision making and eases the pressure that comes from the thought of little time remaining and the targets to be achieved. Proper and systematic consideration of options reduces the chances of making bad decisions or taking a wrong action that leads to accomplishing a task in time. Time control enables an individual to have free time and self-discipline, (Macan, 2014 p.381). The skill ensures the completion of tasks in good time, and therefore, an individual earns an extra time where they can relax, have fun, and spend with family. Timely completion of tasks requires a high degree of self-discipline, which implies that those that are time conscious individuals become more self-disciplined eventually. Setting goals, priority lists, self-awareness, and the good decision and planning tools determine an individual’s level of competence in Time Management.
Time Management has a significant impact on the future success of an individual’s careers. It will help one to be in control of their career direction rather than adopting the flow of their peer. Achievements, the power of decision making, and timely attainment of targets are outputs of Time Management that markets an individual to better career opportunities and exposures. The skill increases learning opportunities since to complete a complex task, an individual will have to involve experts from various fields and conduct very expansive research as well. As learning widens, the network expands as well, and as a result, an individual will get a better experience, which is attractive to various employers and firms (Britton & Tesser, 2011 p.405).
Team Work
Team Work refers to collaboration among a group of individuals that employ their skills and efforts to accomplish a common goal effectively and efficiently (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). Each individual should value the interest of the team and work for the good of the group. In order to achieve a group objective, a team should embrace high levels of inter-dependence amongst its members. Inter-dependence results from free communication, trust, risk-taking, and results in free interaction between members and good collaborations. Proper leadership and the communication of the leaders to the team members, enhances efficiency, accountability, and the division of responsibilities among themselves. Many organizations and institutions have embraced Team Work and most researchers have proved this concept of Team Work to be functional (Salas et al., 2008 p.240).
Team Work is essential for the achievement of any task. It develops synergies that strengthen the team and makes it easy to achieve the collective goal. Combined efforts are better than individual abilities. Team Work encourages a sense of accomplishment, equality, and camaraderie, which are important for the motivation to achieve a certain objective. It adds value to consumer goods and makes the consumers feel like part of the team and thus enhance customer loyalty to the goods or service. Team Work natures the ability of an individual to adapt to changes fast, enhances flexibility, and reduced time taken to respond to slight changes, (Scholl, 2018 p.128). It promotes inter-disciplinary task where efforts and skills cover diverse organizational divides. It is an effective way of working while eliminating constraints and obstacles that may hinder the proper working of the members.
The level of competences in Team Work is measured and assessed through the use of diverse skills. An effective Team Work upholds high levels of healthy communications. Each team member should be in a position to efficiently pass across their idea to the group and be understood. Either channel of communication used by the member to communicate should relay the information as intended (Scholl, 2018 p.132). Both verbal and nonverbal modes of communication are essential when dealing with a practical and physical group. Conflict management, listening skills, reliability, and respect are other core factors that determine the effectiveness of a team. Team Work is essential in building a career. Experts will give a guide to a young individual in their team and teach them the skills that they are not well conversant with. Good Team Work will help an individual to gain ranks quickly since it is considered to be a leadership skill.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict Resolution is a process of finding a fair and just solution to a dispute among two or more parties (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). The basis of the dispute can either be finances, politics, emotions, or personal grounds. When conflicts arise, negotiation is the best dispute solution approach to take. The aim of negotiations is to arrive at a solution that satisfies both parties, is timely, and enhances the relationship between the conflicting parties. Conflicts are normal in the daily life of an individual and arise due to the diversity of objectives, character attitude, and levels of emotional intelligence (Rubenstein, 2018 p.174). Resolving conflicts promotes healthy and strong relationships. Good dispute resolution attributes helps the parties to minimize friction and obstacles but maximizes the respect and interdependence. Moreover, it reduces the distraction since poor Conflict Resolution skills build up and spread tension among other member and as a result it may cause stress and risk of losses. Also, Conflict Resolution saves time and maintain a healthy correlation between individuals (Adler et al., 2012 p.146).
Conflict Resolution is deemed to be a competent and effective approach when resolution, listening, sense of time, and communication skills, are the core skills and are effectively employed. Resolution entails establishing a common base for the conflicting parties where each party feels satisfied. A mediator should listen to both sides without any bias and treat each party without prejudice. Also, good communication skills are essential in Conflict Resolution since that is the direction to a quick resolution and avoid misunderstanding, (Adler et al., 2012 p.146). The sense of time is another skill that is essential in Conflict Resolution. In some instances where no common ground is arrived at, it is essential to understand and identify the best time to call off the process and quit. Conflict Resolution is useful in building a career since this skill is much required in managerial and leadership position. It will also help one to maintain good working relationships and environments.
Summary and Action Plan
Strengths and Weaknesses Identified From the Journal Entries
Team Work is a major strength, it will be essential to use to improve the lives of others as well as to learn other skill from other so as to enhance self-development (Scholl, 2018 p.129). Leading by example is one way to build and improve Team Work. If I lead by example by producing excellent results and working hard, other teams will be interested in learning how my team did it and thus enhance cohesion and communication. Socialize with other members of the team to know their experiences and areas of expertise. If interested in knowing a particular item, I will quickly reach for help from a right party. Taking part in the development of group goals and setting up team processes will also help enhance Team Work. Besides improving my skills, it will also help me understand and appreciate the purpose of a team and give a motivation to achieve team goals, (Volk, 2017 p.986).
Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Time Management are outstanding major weaknesses. Most of these weaknesses revolve around communication skills, which is maybe a hindrance (Potts & Herzer, 2015 p.9). However, to improve negotiation skills, I will employ various tactics. Early and thorough preparation is one of the courses of action to take, before starting a negotiation. Proper preparation will allow me to identify the floor and the ceiling in a negotiation, while putting in account the valuable resources (Brinkert, 2010 p.150). Risk taking and confidence are other factors to brace oneself with, before getting into a discussion to ensure that I would not fear to make mistakes. I will enhance my emotional control and listening skills in order to improve the Conflict Resolution skills. Moreover, I will give a time allowance for personal reflection before bracing myself to solve a conflict. At times, I will employ nonverbal communication to simulate a resolution. Finally, to improve my Time Management skills, I will set defined goals to make it easy to understand the requirements, prioritize the activities, and establish boundaries to avoid going overboard with some tasks. Practicing each of these skills often with individuals who are good at them, will help improve my weakness.
References
Adler, M.R., Davis, A.B., Weihmayer, R. and Worries, R.W. (2012). Conflict-resolution strategies for nonhierarchical distributed agents. In Distributed artificial intelligence (pp. 139-161).
Brinkert, R. (2010). A literature review of conflict communication causes, costs, benefits and interventions in nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), pp.145-156.
Britton, B.K. and Tesser, A. (2011). Effects of time-management practices on college grades. Journal of educational psychology, 83(3), p.405.
English Oxford living dictionaries. (2014). Oxford University Press, https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
Hall, B. and Hoelting, T. (2015). Influence of negotiation and practice setting on salary disparities between male and female physician assistants.
In Proceedings: 11th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. (pp. 51). Wichita State University.
Macan, T.H. (2014). Time Management: Test of a process model. Journal of applied psychology, 79(3), p.381.
Potts, R. and Herzer, K. (2015). Mindful Conflict Resolution Strategies in College Roommate Relationships.
Rubenstein, R.E. (2018). Conflict Resolution and the structural sources of conflict. In Conflict Resolution (pp. 173-195). Routledge.
Salas, E., Cooke, N.J. and Rosen, M.A. (2008). On teams, teamwork, and team performance: Discoveries and developments. Human factors, 50(3), pp.540-547.
Scholl, W. (2018). Effective teamwork—A theoretical model and a test in the field. In Understanding group behavior (pp. 127-146). Psychology Press.
Ting‐Toomey, S. (2017). Identity negotiation theory. The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, pp.1-6.
Volk, M.S. (2017). Improving Team Performance through Simulation-Based Learning. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, 50(5), pp.967-987.
