Negotiations 6e mcgraw hill chapter 17

475 Summary • The nature of impasse • What causes impasses and intractable negotiations?. • Characteristics of the issues • Characteristics of the conflict resolution process • Character

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Managing Negotiation

Impasses

The Nature of “Difficult-to-Resolve” Negotiations and Why They Occur

p 475 (Summary)

• The nature of impasse

• What causes impasses and intractable negotiations?

• Characteristics of the issues

• Characteristics of the conflict resolution process

• Characteristics of the parties

• Characteristics of the negotiation environment

• Characteristics of the negotiation setting

17-3

The Nature of Impasse p 475

Impasse is a condition or state of the

conflict in which there is no apparent

quick or easy resolution

• Impasse is not necessarily bad or destructive

• Impasse does not have to be permanent

• Impasse can be tactical or genuine

– Tactical impasse: parties deliberately refuse to

proceed as a way to gain leverage

– Genuine impasse: parties feel unable to move

forward without sacrificing something important

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The Nature of Impasse

• Impasse perceptions can differ from reality

– The perception of impasse can be created by an

intransigent negotiator who is looking to extract

concessions from the other party

– Intransigence can be defined as a party’s

unwillingness to move to any fallback position

through concession or compromise

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What Causes Impasses and

Intractable Negotiations?

p 476

A negotiation becomes more tractable when it

becomes easier to resolve, and intractable when

it is more difficult to resolve

• Intractable conflicts vary along four dimensions

Causes of Impasse Characteristics of the Issues p 477

• Value differences

– Vary from minor differences to major differences in

ideology, lifestyle, of what is considered sacred and critical

• High-stakes distributive bargaining

– Parties may have inflated their negotiating positions to the point where there is no apparent zone of agreement

• Risk to human health and safety

– The threat to human welfare is clear and apparent

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Characteristics That Increase/Decrease Impasse

Characteristics That Increase/Decrease Impasse

• Well organized group members

• Parties systems are well structured

• General consensus on underlying values

Characteristics of the Conflict Resolution Process

– Original issues have become blurred and ill defined

– Parties tend to perceive great differences in their

respective positions

– As anger and tension increase, parties become locked

in their initial positions

– Those on the same side view each other favorably

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Characteristics of the Parties

p 478 (Summary)

• How one defines one’s self

• Comparing one’s self to others

• Perceptions of power

• Revenge and anger

• Conflict management styles

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Characteristics of the Parties

p 478

• How one defines one’s self

– Identity – “Who am I?”

– Conflict occurs when people’s identities are threatened

• Comparing one’s self to others

– Characterization – “Who are they?”

– Blame others when things go wrong, take credit for successes

• Perceptions of power

– A negotiator may bargain tough because they believe they can

effectively exercise coercive power

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Characteristics of the Parties

• Revenge and anger p 480

– To correct injustice

– To stand up and express one’s self-worth

– To deter future occurrences of undesirable behaviors

• Conflict management styles p 480

– Parties often avoid conflict in creative ways :

• Aggressive avoidance—intimidate others to keep them

away

• Passive avoidance—try to ignore the other

• Passive aggressive avoidance—blame the other party

and walk away

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Characteristics of the Parties

• Conflict management styles (cont.) p 480

• Avoidance by claiming hopelessness — “What’s the

use…?”

• Avoidance through surrogates — use a “surrogate” to

take the other on

• Avoidance through denial — make believe it isn’t there

• Avoidance through premature problem solving — “I

fixed everything.”

• Avoidance by folding — “We’ll do it your way; now can

we talk about something else?”

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Fundamental Mistakes that Cause Impasses p 482

• Neglecting the other side’s problem

• Too much of a focus on price

• Positions over interests

• Too much focus on common ground

• Neglecting BATNAs

• Adjusting perceptions during the negotiation

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How to Resolve Impasses p 484

Impasses need to be resolved on three levels:

Strategies for Resolving Impasses (Bottom of

p 485 - Summary

1 Reaching agreement on rules and procedures

2 Reducing tension and synchronizing

de-escalation of hostility

3 Improving the accuracy of communication

4 Controlling the number and size of issues

5 Establishing common ground

6 Enhancing the desirability of options and

alternatives

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Strategies for Resolving Impasses

Agreements on Rules and Procedures

p 487

• Reaching agreement on rules and procedures

– Obtain mutual agreement about the rules that will govern the negotiation

– Determine a site for a meeting

– Set a formal agenda

– Determine who may attend the meetings

– Set time limits for individual meetings

– Set procedural rules

– Follow specific dos and don’ts

17-18

Emotions

• Here is a

thought-The longer the parties debate, the more likely

it is that emotions will overrule reason

Strategies for Resolving Impasses p 487

• Reducing tension and synchronizing

Strategies for Resolving Impasses p 489

• Improving the accuracy of communication

– Role reversal

– Imaging: parties engage in the following activities

1 how they see themselves

2 how the other party appears to them

3 how they think the other party would describe them

4 how they think the other party sees themselves

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Strategies for Resolving Impasses

• Controlling the number and size of issues p 492

– Fractionate the negotiation

• Reduce the number of parties on each side

• Control the number of substantive issues involved

• State issues in concrete terms rather than as principles

• Restrict the precedents involved, both procedural and substantive

• Search for ways to divide the big issues

• Depersonalize issues: Separate them from the parties advocating them

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Strategies for Resolving Impasses

• Establishing common ground p 495

– Superordinate goals – common goals

– Common enemies

– Common expectations

– Manage time constraints and deadlines

– Reframe the parties’ view of each other

– Build trust

– Search for semantic resolutions

– Use analogical reasoning

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Constructive Bargaining

Relationships

• Constructive Bargaining Relationships

are marked by high trust Why is this the case?

• Trust is characcteristized by hope,

faith, confidence, etc

Mediator vs Arbitrator

Lecturer’s Notes – Not in this

chapter

Strategies for Resolving Impasses

• Enhancing the desirability of options to the other party p 500

– Give the other party a “yesable” proposal

– Ask for a different decision

– Sweeten the offer rather than intensifying the threat

– Use legitimacy or objective criteria to evaluate solutions

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