Effective Strategies For Managing Development Negotiation And Community Engagement

Analysis

Discuss about the Development Negotiation and Community Engagement.

Negotiations can be handled properly by developing a proper checklist that should include all the points in detail. Negotiations are different for various situations that can be handled by analyzing the current scenarios and the factors that affect the operations. The agency aims at delivering of project of building a shopping mall in the central part of the city. The project is to be completed within six months of time. The aim of the assignment is to develop an effective and ethical negotiation strategy that is used for the completion of the project by the consultant. During the completion of entire project the project manager has to deal with many clients and situations that can be handled properly of the project manager has proper negotiations skills. According to Defren et al. (2012), negotiation skills are used to motivate employees, set budgets and timeframe, and negotiate with the clients to promote and raise the products. Negotiations can take many forms. Few negotiations last for a long time while few negotiations can be solved in a short notice. Businesses mainly enter into a negotiation either out of a necessity or for seeking out an opportunity. There are various points that need to be considered will managing the negotiations effectively and efficiently.

The aim of the project manager is to complete the construction of the shopping mall in a central area within six months of time. Stakeholders are agencies or people that are directly or indirectly engaged with the operations of the organization or are likely to get affected with the existence of the organization and its policies and objectives. The key stakeholders for this particular project of developing shopping mall are identified as follows:

• the investors that are investing for the development of the project
• the directors of the project that includes the project manager, assistant project manager, and the CEO of the organization
• government agencies
• owners and shareholders
• suppliers of the raw materials for the construction of the shopping mall
• professionals and employees that are involved in development of the project and its completion
• labors that will be working for constructing the mall
• the entire community where the mall is to be constructed

The main fear that the managers encounter is with the approval of the community and the government for the development of the shopping mall. Construction of the shopping mall will affect the community and its people because the mall is being constructed in a residential area. During the time of construction, lot of noise will be generated and their modes of transportation are likely to change which will affect the daily routine of people. Hence, this is the major fear that the community and people may disagree for the construction of shopping.

It is essential for the consultant and the manager develops such negotiation process so that they are able to make the community understand the benefits of having a shopping mall for which they may allow the construction. The second need is to negotiate with the government agencies and seek legal advice so that the company does not get involved in any illegal process of development. The third negotiating party that the consultant will get involved is the parties that will purchase the stores and spaces at shopping mall for the construction of shops. The manager will have to negotiate regarding prices of the space that they will allocate and give them assurance that the project will be completed in the given time. The project development has to get into negotiation with the investors as well to motivate them to invest more by showing them the benefits and the return on the investment. The manager has to negotiate with the employees as well to encourage and motivate them to work hard for the completion of project.

Negotiation Process and Identification of Key Stakeholders

Hence, it can be seen that the manager has to get into negotiation with the various stakeholders for efficiently completing the given. For getting into negotiation, it is essential to develop an effective negation process and strategies that is ethical.

According to Allen and Burrell (2016), the negotiation is an open process where the two parties after discussion agree to one probable solution. Five steps to negotiation process are as follows:

Figure: negotiation process

(Source: Baarslag et al. 2014).

• Preparation and planning: the first step in negotiation process is preparation and planning. It is essential to collect the information before getting into the negotiation. Both the parties involved in negotiation will collect the information to help add validity to the claims. While negotiating with the investors the project manager will gather information about the investor and the amount that they are likely to invest. The investor will collect information about the company and analyze the project, its benefits and drawbacks (Forester 2016).
• Definition of ground rules: the second step in negotiation process is development of rules and procedures for the planned negotiation. The negotiating parties will decide on the place of negotiation, the time constraint, the issues and the agreement. Here both the negotiating parties will reveal and disclose the demands and expectations. An opening offer and a closing offer will be decided (Yaghootkar and Gil 2012).
• Clarification and justification: the third step is clarifying and justifying the support of original request from each side. In this step, both the parties give opportunity to educate and inform each other about their position (Griffith 2015).
• Exploring stage: the next step is where both the parties sign no agreements but a consent decision is made where both parties have established their needs so that they can move forward with the agreement (Wainwright et al. 2014).
• Closing step: this is the next step is where both the parties finally reach into conclusion where the deal is finalized and an agreement is signed.

The above negotiations will be solved by following the negotiation process so that it can be solved systematically and efficiently.

Negotiations face various challenges that the manager needs to realize in order to effectively manage the work. While negotiating with the parties for the development of shopping malls there are various challenges that the project development will face that can be solved by effectively applying strategies and skills to use. The challenges of negotiations are as follows:

• One of the challenges of negotiation is when one of the parties is not ready to understand the other party. These types of parties think only on its own interest ignoring the interest of other parties. While negotiating with the community of the area where the shopping mall is likely to develop the main challenge that the negotiator is likely to encounter is to make the people understand the benefits of the particular project (Schneider and Lewicki 2016). It is easy to get into negotiation with the employees, as they are likely to agree with proposal. The main challenge of negotiation that the manager would face is while negotiating with the investors, community, and government.
• Lack of time is another challenge for effective negotiation process. It is essential for the negotiating parties to carefully decide on the conflict taking proper time (Kerzner 2013).
• Going unprepared for the negotiation can pose the challenge. It is essential for both the parties to have information of the matter in detail so that no challenges are encountered.
• It is challenging to predict the proper return on investment. This can be a problem while encouraging the investors to increase the amount of investment. Without any valid proof the negotiation becomes challenging because the parties have no proper and valid answers to the questions (Piya et al. 2016).
• Challenges will also arise if the disadvantages of constructing a shopping mall out way the benefits and advantages. This then will make it difficult for the organization developing a project to convince the community to agree for the construction of shopping mall.
• It is also challenging to get into negotiation with the government, as the other party is stronger and has more influence. In order to negotiate with the government it is essential for the project development manager to have valid proof of data that they will present (Roubanis et al. 2013).

According to Brett et al. (2014), negotiation process is not a continual process but it is an individual event. It is essential to develop good relationships with the parties and stakeholders in order to avoid the negotiations and the challenges that are involved with the negotiation. A negotiation strategy of building a good relationship with the stakeholders will be followed while getting into a negotiation with the investors and employees. In fact, it is essential to build a good relationship with all the stakeholders. Since, the organization and the project manager know the investors and employees the relationships with them can affect the risk of negotiations. A good relation with employees will already keep them motivated at work and hence the project manager and consultant will not have to waste much time in negotiating with them (Planning.nsw.gov.au. 2016).

While getting into the negotiation with the community and the people positive thinking strategy will be used. It is essential for the manager to have confidence and think positively. This positivity and confidence will help the negotiator give power and the community the confidence that whatever they are doing is right and beneficial. The manager should have ability to make the community believe the need of developing shopping mall. Having positive attitude will also be beneficial while getting into the negotiation with the parties that will purchase the shops in the mall (Rivera 2015). The strategy of being articulate and value build will be used while negotiating with the customers that will purchase the space in the mall. The aim of the manager is to sell the space at higher price while the aim of customer is to buy the space for shops at lower price.

Challenges of Negotiations

According to Pruitt (2013), negotiation with the government is a complex process. While negotiating with the government it is essential for the negotiator to think about the best and the worst outcome. The manager should not lose confidence if things do not go their way. Reevaluating the values and positions will help the negotiator reach its goals, as they are now confident and have proper knowledge and information.

Hence, the negotiating parties can choose various strategies. The strategies depend on the types of negotiations and the scenario that the parties face. It also depends on the goals and objectives of the particular project or the organization.

The development of the shopping mall has various risks that that the manager should identify. After the identification of the risks, it is essential for the manager to develop negotiation process and strategies that will be used to mitigate the risk through proper and effective negotiation.

• It is recommended that the project manager and consultant to develop a proper negotiation checklist to see what might be better for the negotiators.
• The negotiation checklist should include and be categorized under various heads so that it is easier and effective to solve the negations.
• The situation should be properly assessed based on different parameters such as styles, goals and objectives.
• It is also recommendable for the manager to evaluate the pros and cons of the project development in order to negotiate with the parties with confidence.
• Formulation of period is necessary. Since the aim of the project manager is to complete the development of the shopping mall in six months time it is recommended to complete the project within the given period. This is essential to get into further conflict with the parties, which may further delay the project and make the situation more complex.

References

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

Baarslag, T., Hindriks, K., Hendrikx, M., Dirkzwager, A. and Jonker, C., 2014. Decoupling negotiating agents to explore the space of negotiation strategies. In Novel Insights in Agent-based Complex Automated Negotiation(pp. 61-83). Springer Japan.

Brett, J.M., Teucher, B.M. and Gunia, B.C., 2014, January. Culture and Negotiation: Resolving Three Enigmas. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 13682). Academy of Management.

Defren, T., Wirtz, B.W. and Ullrich, S., 2012. Divestment-management: Success factors in the negotiation process of a sell-off. Long Range Planning, 45(4), pp.258-276.

Forester, J., 2016. Sources of influence in planning practice and their implications for development negotiations. Routledge Revivals: The Design Professions and the Built Environment (1988).

Griffith, G. (2015). The Greater Sydney Commission. eBrief 20/2015. New Parliamentary Research Service. (located in the Subject Documents section on UTS Online)

Kerzner, H.R., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Piya, S., Khadem, M.M.R.K. and Shamsuzzoha, A., 2016. Negotiation based decision support system for order acceptance. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 27(3), pp.443-468.

Planning.nsw.gov.au. (2016). Department of Planning and Environment – Systems. [online] Available at: https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Assess-and-Regulate/Development-Assessment/Systems [Accessed 21 Nov. 2016].

Pruitt, D.G., 2013. Negotiation behavior. Academic Press.

Rivera, N., 2015. The role of collaborative ontology development in the knowledge negotiation process.

Roubanis, I., Hatay, M. and Baltag, A., 2013. Challenges to keeping the negotiation process on track. Managing Intractable Conflicts: Lessons from Moldova and Cyprus, p.109.

Schneider, A.K. and Lewicki, R.J., 2016. The Past and Future Challenges of Negotiation Theory. Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol., 31, p.1.

Wainwright, E., Wainwright, D., Keogh, E. and Eccleston, C., 2014. Successful Return to Work with Chronic Pain? Stakeholders’ Negotiation Strategies.

Yaghootkar, K. and Gil, N., 2012. The effects of schedule-driven project management in multi-project environments. International Journal of Project Management, 30(1), pp.127-140.