i.
II. Negotiating in a Social Context
A. Introduction
1. To really understand negotiations in practice, we must then consider the social
factors of reputation and relationships.
B. Reputation
1. Your reputation is the way other people think and talk about you.
negotiation strategies that benefit both parties.
2. The most effective way to build trust is to behave in an honest way across
repeated interactions.
different outcomes.
b. This helps to achieve win-win outcomes, since both parties can work to achieve
3. What type of characteristic helps a person develop a trustworthy
reputation? A combination of competence and integrity.
situation and their own resources, and more credible when they
make suggestions for creative solutions to impasses.
4. Individuals who have a reputation for integrity can also be more
effective in negotiations.
promises as part of a bargain.
5. Finally, individuals who have higher reputations are better liked
power in negotiations.
C. Third-Party Negotiations
1. When individuals or group representatives reach a stalemate and are unable to
party.
2. A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using
disputes.
b. The key to success—the conflicting parties must be motivated to bargain and
perceived as neutral and non-coercive.
3. An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement.
contract).
b. The big plus of arbitration over mediation is that it always results in a settlement.
4. A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal communication
link among parties.
disputants to develop agreements.
III. Summary and Implications for Managers
A. While many people assume conflict lowers group and organizational performance, this
assumption is frequently incorrect.
hinders performance.
D. An optimal level is one that prevents stagnation, stimulates creativity, allows tensions to
be released, and initiates the seeds of change without being disruptive or preventing
1. Choose an authoritarian management style in emergencies, when unpopular actions
and productive.
2. Seek integrative solutions when your objective is to learn, when you want to merge
feelings that have interfered with a relationship.
3. You can build trust by accommodating others when you find you’re wrong, when you
minimize loss when you are outmatched and losing, and when employees should
learn from their own mistakes.
4. Consider compromising when goals are important but not worth potential disruption,
when opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals, and
when you need temporary settlements to complex issues.
5. Distributive bargaining can resolve disputes, but it often reduces the satisfaction of
and build lasting relationships.
6. Make sure you set aggressive negotiating goals and try to find creative ways to
achieve the objectives of both parties, especially when you value the long-term
relationship with the other party. That doesn’t mean sacrificing your self-interest;
rather, it means trying to find creative solutions that give both parties what they really
want.
Myth or Science?
“Teams Negotiate Better than Individuals in Collectivistic
Cultures”
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Apply the five steps of the negotiation process; Show how individual differences influence
negotiations
Learning Outcome: Describe the nature of conflict and the negotiation process
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective thinking
According to a recent study, this statement appears to be false.
In general, the literature has suggested that teams negotiate more effectively than individuals
negotiating alone. Some evidence indicates that team negotiations create more ambitious goals,
and that teams communicate more with each other than individual negotiators do.
Common sense suggests that if this is indeed the case, it is especially true in collectivistic
cultures, where individuals are more likely to think of collective goals and be more comfortable
working in teams. A recent study of the negotiation of teams in the United States and in Taiwan,
however, suggests that this common sense is wrong. The researchers conducted two studies
comparing two-person teams with individual negotiators. They defined negotiating effectiveness
as the degree to which the negotiation produced an optimal outcome for both sides. U.S. teams
did better than solo individuals in both studies. In Taiwan, solo individuals did better than teams.
Why did this happen? The researchers determined that in Taiwan, norms respecting harmony
already exist, and negotiating in teams only amplifies that tendency. This poses a problem
because when norms for cooperation are exceptionally high, teams “satisfice” to avoid conflict.
In contrast, because the United States is individualistic, solo teams may only amplify their
tendencies to focus solely on their own interest, which makes reaching integrative solutions
harder.
Overall, these findings suggest that negotiating individually works best in collectivistic cultures,
and negotiating in teams works best in individualistic cultures.
Sources: M. J. Gelfand, J. Brett, B. C. Gunia, L. Imai, T. Huang, et al., “Toward a Culture-by-Context Perspective on Negotiation: Negotiating
Teams in the United States and Taiwan,” Journal of Applied Psychology 98 (2013): 504–-513; and A. Graf, S. T. Koeszegi, and E.-M.
Pesendorfer, “Electronic Negotiations in Intercultural Interfirm Relationships,” Journal of Managerial Psychology 25 (2010): 495–-512.
Class Exercise
1. Ask students to read the paper at Kwintessential, “Intercultural Understanding,”
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-negotiation.html.
2. Divide the class into task teams of three to five students each.
3. Have each task team select a country in which to create a joint venture with a local
company.
4. Each team should create a plan for the upcoming negotiations for the joint venture.
5. The plan should include how the team perceives the negotiation issues. The paper should
be addressed to meet its joint venture objective.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
(http://www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
Career OBjectives
How can I get a better job?
This exercise contributes to:
negotiations
Learning Outcome: Describe the nature of conflict and the negotiation process
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective thinking
I feel like my career is at a standstill, and I want to talk to my boss about getting a more
developmental assignment. How can I negotiate effectively for a better job position?—Wei
Dear Wei:
you will have more career options.
Long-term career negotiations based on developmental assignments also often are easier to bring
up with a supervisor. That’s because salary negotiations are often a zero-sum situation, but career
development negotiations can bring positive outcomes to both sides. When negotiating for a
developmental assignment, make sure you emphasize a few points with your supervisor:
you are motivated to improve through a developmental assignment. Asking your
supervisor for opportunities to grow is a clear sign that you are an employee worth
investing in.
• Be open to creative solutions. It’s possible that there are some idiosyncratic solutions
States,” Academy of Management Proceedings, August, 2014, DOI: 10.5465/AMBPP.2014.16096abstract; C. Liao, S. J. Wayne, and D. M.
Rousseau, “Idiosyncratic Deals in Contemporary Organizations: A Qualitative and Meta-Analytical Review,” Journal of Organizational
Behavior, October 16, 2014, DOI: 10.1002/job.1959; and V. Brenninkmeijer and M. Hekkert-Koning, “To Craft or Not to Craft,” Career
Development International 20 (2015): 147–162.
An Ethical Choice
Using Empathy to Negotiate More Ethically
This exercise contributes to:
negotiations
Learning Outcome: Describe the nature of conflict and the negotiation process
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking
You may have noticed that much of our advice for negotiating effectively depends on
understanding the perspective and goals of the person with whom you are negotiating. Preparing
Studies suggest that it might.
Researchers asked respondents to indicate how much they tended to think about other people’s
feelings and emotions and to describe the types of tactics they engaged in during a negotiation
exercise. More empathetic individuals consistently engaged in fewer unethical negotiation
behaviors like making false promises and manipulating information and emotions.
so by extension, feeling guilty in a negotiation may mean you are engaging in behavior you’ll
regret later.
3. Beware of empathizing so much that you work against your own interests. Just because you
try to understand the motives and emotional reactions of the other side does not mean you
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of two.
2. Each team is to role play a negotiation on the rental of a venue for a fraternity party
concert (one student’s role) and the rental ballroom owner (the other student’s role). The
ballroom is privately-owned and has, in the past, charged renters by the person attending
improvement of the use of empathy from the first group to the last.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
MyLab Management
Watch It!
Gordon Law Group: Conflict and Negotiation
complete the video exercise.
MyLab Management
Personal Inventory Assessments
Strategies for Handling Conflict
We all handle conflict, but few of us may have actual strategies in place. Take this PIA to further
explore ways to handle conflict.
Point/Counterpoint
Non-Unioned Positions and the “Gig Economy” Are
Bad for Workers
This exercise contributes to:
negotiations
Learning Outcome: Describe the nature of conflict and the negotiation process
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Reflective thinking
Point
What do Uber, Etsy, and Amazon Turk all have in common? All of these platforms are fuel for
gigs. Employees work as independent contractors, using third-party platforms to connect to
clients. Because these employees do not have a traditional employment contract, they have
complete flexibility: they can work as much or as little as they want.
Unfortunately, many of these platforms have a dirty secret. Unlike regular employment, people
time period.
Without the ability to collectively bargain, it is a Wild West labor market. That’s why many
freelancers on these platforms are trying to unionize. In New York and Seattle, there are labor
unions trying to allow “gig employees” that work as rideshare drivers, house-cleaners, and
delivery men the ability to create collective bargaining units. If they can, this will allow
employee.
Yes, it’s great for employers to sell younger generations on the “flexibility” of these positions.
But in exchange for flexibility, they are also losing the power to negotiate for fair working
conditions. Let’s stop pretending that freelance work platforms like Uber are good for the
economy, and leave the “gig economy” trend at the curb.
Counterpoint
I’m also skeptical of this idea that freelancers are replacing traditional employment. Yes, some
city-level data shows that gig-based jobs increased while payrolled jobs decreased. But there also
more data from 2010–-2014 that suggests that contractor and payrolled jobs have increased in
most sectors that support freelance platforms. For example, while use of freelance platforms like
cannot fulfill.
You also exaggerate the benefits of having a collective bargaining agreement. Whenever a group
tries to create a collective bargaining agreement, it causes conflict. A 2016 poll indicates that
most employees (80 percent) believe leaders will not protect the interests of the group as a
whole. Instead, leaders usually use their power in numbers to protect their own self-interests in
negotiations.
conclusions” regarding employees’ performance.
Yes, traditional employment allows employees to bargain for rights as a group. But this also
leads to concessions and conflict that do not benefit employees or their employers.
Sources: A. Nunes, “Unions Are Hurting Public Safety,” Forbes, April 10, 2017,
Complement or Cannibal?” Brookings, November 17, 2016;
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2016/11/17/the-gig-economy-complement-or-cannibal/; Reuters, “Unions and the Gig Economy Are
Gearing Up for Battle in This State,” Fortune, November 28, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/11/28/unions-gig-economy-new-york/; K.
Kokalitcheva, “Uber Lost Hundreds of Millions in the Most Recent Quarter,” Fortune, December 19, 2016,
http://fortune.com/2016/12/19/uber-financials-2016/.
Class Exercise
3. Have the groups prepare a debate.
4. Ask pairs to present debates before the class.
5. The class should vote on which side prevails in the debate.