The Process of Negotiation in the Workplace
NEGOTIATION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR PROCESSES
Assignment Overview
Understanding the negotiation process and negotiation strategies are critical managerial skills, as part of the methods of conflict resolution. Based on the assigned background readings, this Case allows you to articulate your understanding of negotiation process and strategy, as well as the human behavioral factors that can affect both process and outcome.
Case Assignment
After completing the required readings:
Articulate the process of negotiation in the workplace. What (specifically) does the process involve, start to finish, once a conflict has been identified?
Explain each of the human decision processes that may affect negotiations, including (but not limited to): cognitive biases, personality, motivation, emotion/moods, trust, reputations/relationships, gender, and culture. Please use subheadings within the Case to show where each is discussed.
Assignment Expectations
Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to support your analysis.
Provide a response of 3-5 pages, not including title page and references
As we have multiple required items to be addressed herein, please use subheadings to show where you are responding to each required item and to ensure that none are omitted.
Support your paper with peer-reviewed articles and reliable sources. Use at least three references, and a minimum of two of these from peer-reviewed sources. For additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals
You may use the following source to assist in formatting your assignment: https://owl(dot)english(dot)purdue(dot)edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Paraphrase all source information into your own words carefully, and use in-text citations.
Negotiation and Human Behavior Processes
Student's Name
University Affiliation
Professor's Name
Course Title
Due Date
The Process of Negotiation in the Workplace
It is almost inevitable to have conflicts in the workplace. For proper coexistence of workers and the overall wellbeing of the company/ business, it is essential to ensure that conflicts that arise are handled and resolved effectively. Negotiation is a key ingredient in the conflict resolution process (Fleck et al., 2023). Negotiation involves bringing the conflicting parties together to find an agreeable solution. For negotiation in the workplace to be effective, it is proper to follow some steps. The following is an articulation of the process of negotiation in the workplace. The first step in the negotiation process should be understanding the nature and kind of conflict involved. Here, the aim is to understand the grievances at hand and the underlying issues. It is also important to understand the ensuing position of each party.
The second step is to establish the rules of engagement. These rules are aimed at ensuring a smooth negotiation process. For instance, the rules may state that parties should respect one another. The third step is to comprehensively identify the grievances of each party and the underlying issues. The best source of this information is the parties themselves, but it also helps to gather information from other sources. The fourth step is to come up with options to solve the conflict. The conflicting parties should generate a list of possible options. With this list, the fifth step should be to consider the suggested solutions and identify the best. The sixth step should be arriving at a mutually agreeable solution. It must appeal to all parties to be an effective solution (Seward et al., 2019).
Human Decision Process that May Affect Negotiations
Cognitive Bias
Cognitive biases are errors or inconsistencies in thought processes which may alter the ability to make a proper decision (Brett & Thompson, 2016). An example is the anchoring effect which involves relying too much on the first-presented information. Some other examples of cognitive biases are the availability heuristic and the confirmation bias. The availability heuristic involves judging situations depending on the examples that come to mind, while the confirmation bias revolves around searching for information that validates our existing beliefs.
Personality
Personality traits influence the negotiation process. Some traits may enhance the process, while others may derail it. Some personality traits that enhance the negotiation process include optimism, empathy, and assertiveness. An assertive person has the ability to communicate their thoughts emphatically while ensuring that they do not belittle or disrespect other people (Seward et al., 2019). An optimistic person believes a solution will be found during the negotiation process. Empathy involves putting oneself into other people's shoes, which is desirable in negotiations. One of the undesirable traits is aggression. Aggression may prevent a person from making reasonable conclusions/judgments.
Motivation
There are various types of motivations that can affect the way a person negotiates. Some motivations are desirable in the negotiation process, while others may derail the negotiation process (Brett & Thompson, 2016). The desirable motivations are achievement motivation (the desire to succeed or obtain a solution) and affiliation motivation (the desire to build a good rapport with other people). Undesirable motivations include the conviction that one must win at all costs and the fear of losing.
Emotions/ Moods
Emotions play a huge role in our day-to-day activities. In the same manner, they affect the human ability to neg...