Module 03 Course Project - The Conflict Gets Personal

Planning for the Negotiation

Negotiation and Conflict Management

Jeff Rover

Rasmussen College

02/23/18

Introduction

Negotiation refers to the process through which parties solve their differences and come to an agreement. It is essential for parties to understand the approaches they intend to use during the process and set their goals. A negotiation can either take a distributive or an integrative approach. The two methods are an opposite of each other thus leading to different conclusions.

Approaches

A distributive approach is one in which each party aims at winning the negotiation. Each participant is guided by personal interest at the expense of the other. The strategy assumes that the resources up for grab are limited and there is no way that they can be enough for all of them (Stoshikj, 2014). Therefore, one has to gain while the rest of the parties lose. It leads a win-lose situation. The major advantage of the approach is to allow one to maximize the value obtained in a single deal, especially when the relationship with the other party is not considered very important. However, the tactic has more drawbacks which include creating unnecessary enmity. Usually, most of the differences addressed in the distributive method can as well be solved in a more collaborative way. Besides, the technique is known to drift the parties away from one another. Some parties hold on the differences so much that they never wish to see each other again.

On the other hand, integrative approach is a complete opposite of the distributive. The tactic is used when people aim at reaching a common conclusion which is characterized by mutual benefits for the parties. Parties do not necessarily claim, but instead, they engage in a discussion to find a win-win solution. Theorists argue that the strategy assumes that the pie can always be expanded to accommodate all the interest of the parties (Allen & Burrell, 2016). The key advantage of the approach is the ability to develop a solution for the issue at hand. Also, it promotes a good relationship between the parties as they all agree on the solution reached. The primary disadvantage of the tactic is time-consuming. Moreover, the negotiation may take a long time to develop a compromise and end up with none.

Michelle should use the integrative approach to address her issues to the manager. First, she needs a solution that will enable her to continue performing her duties both at work and at home. Therefore, the collaborative approach is the most appropriate as it allows the two to reason together and come up with the best option for both Michelle and Nikki, the manager.

Negotiation Plan

The following are the key information that Michelle needs to understand before engaging herself in the negotiation with the manager.

Issue: The problem at hand is the new working schedule which tends to conflict with her responsibilities as a mother. Michelle being in shift D that works from Tuesday to Saturday, she considers it inappropriate. Being a single mother, Michelle takes her kid to a daycare which is works till 5:30 P.M Monday through Friday. Therefore, she needs her duties to integrate with one another so that she can perform them both.

Interests of the Parties: As an employee, Michelle is interested in being a competent and useful part of the InBloom Company. However, she is also interested in being a good parent for her kid thus having time to pick him/her up from the facility and spending time together on weekends when the daycare services are unavailable. On the other hand, Nikki’s interests as a manager are to meet the demand of the growing demand of InBloom flowers thus increasing the entity’s revenue.

Resistance Point: The two have a part that is hard for them to agree. For Michelle, her resistance point is working at the expense of neglecting her kid. For Nikki, she cannot allow Michelle to work for lesser hours than the rest of the employees.

Michelle’s Alternative and BATNA: The only option that can solve Michelle’s problems is for her to work under shift A. (7-3. Monday to Friday). Considering the nature of her matter, it is the best alternative available. It will allow her to perform her task as a worker and as a mother.

Michelle’s Objective: Michelle airs her grievances to the manager with the aim of finding a solution to the problem. She wants the management to come up with a more considerate schedule for her.

Context: The negotiation will take place in a professional setting involving an employee and the manager. The process will be governed by both the business and social law to ensure success.

Third Party: In such a collaborative negotiation, a third party is required to ensure that they reach an agreement (Kelly & Kaminskienė, 2016). A mediator, an independent individual in the organization, will be available to promote a mutual settlement.

Issue Presentation and Defense: Both parties need to present their issues with a clear and concise explanation on each of them. In addition, they need to provide a rationale to defend their argument.

Protocol: The negotiation will take place in Nikki’s office during one of the working days. The two in the presence of a mediator will outline their issues indicating the priorities as well as what they can agree on. Finally, they will discuss with the aim of compromising and compromising on their differences. The discussion should leave both Michelle and Nikki satisfied. Michelle should be able to perform her two duties without pressure while Nikki will have Michelle work for the new planned number of hours.

Conclusion

Negotiation is essential as it brings some understanding between the conflicting parties. A win-win strategy is more appropriate than the win-lose tactic because it results in mutual benefits agreement. There is a need to understand the ultimate goal of negotiation to decide on the best method to use.

References

Allen, M., & Burrell, N. (2016). Distributive Negotiation Strategies. The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication.

Kelly, E. J., & Kaminskienė, N. (2016). Importance of emotional intelligence in negotiation and mediation. International Comparative Jurisprudence, 2(1), 55-60.

Stoshikj, M. (2014). Integrative and distributive negotiations and negotiation behavior. Journal of Service Science Research, 6(1), 29-69.