Negotiations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Negotiations - Essay Example This was the case of a miner who lost his boots at work, and the managers did not agree to lend him a pair or even buy him a new pair. The non-compliance by the shift boss led to a dispute of interests and led the employee to go on strike. Ury, et.al, (1988) explain that a dispute starts when a claim or demand is made and is generally based on a need or aspiration. In the case where the miner complained of the lost boots, he was in directly expecting the company to take responsibility and to remedy the issue, however due to the rejection, this led to a dispute (Ury, Brett, & Goldberg, 1988). Here this led to a conflict of interests, i.e. the interest of the miner was to get back his pair of boots, while the interest of the shift boss was not to spend extra as the company cannot be held liable for the loss of property. Interests are the needs, desires, concerns, and fears, basically, the things that an individual cares about or wants. Reconciliation of such interests is the key and is the most concerning aspect of any negotiation. Here these can lead to creative solutions, or making trade- offs, or even concessions. The crux is to reach to an agreement. However, not all the negotiations are a means to reach an agreement. Some negotiations are focused on reconciling of interests, while others on determining who is right and a few others are based on who is more powerful (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2010). However, there are a number of negotiations which is a mix of all three of the elements, i.e. to satisfy the interests, discussion of rights and also focus on the power of the parties involved. In the case that the negotiations are focused on a single aspect, then they are referred to as, either, ‘interest-based’, ‘rights-based’, or ‘power-based’ (Lewicki, Saunders, Minton, & Barry, 2010). The relationship of the three can be understood better in the form of concurrent circles, with the inner most circle being interest, the outer circle being rights and the outer most circle being power (see figure below). (Ury, Brett, & Goldberg, 1988) The diagram clearly explains that any reconciliation of interests is basically within the rights and power of the parties. Similarly, the determination of the rights is based on the levels of power. The three are interrelated and the overall resolution of a dispute can have a continuous shift between the interests, rights or power (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2010). Each of the three has a different impact on the overall costs, satisfaction and also the outcomes. There are four possible criteria in every negotiation. a) The transaction costs, i.e. the cost of the overall negotiation. In the case of the Boots dispute, it would have been better for the shift boss to resolve the dispute without the strike. The escalated issue of strike, simply led the overall costs to increase to a great extent (Brett, 2007). b) Outcome satisfaction is another crucial element that needs t o be considered. Here the outcome was not to satisfaction for the business, or the employee alike. The business was faced with loss of money, while the employee did not receive a new pair of boots. However the employee was satisfied as this allowed him to vent out the anger. c) Impact on relationships, is the next crucial criteria. Negotiations are a part of day to day life (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2010). With the type of negotiation chosen, there can be an impact on the ove