Discuss about the International Business Negotiation for Process and Strategies.
Human beings by their very nature are social creatures and they often come across diverse kinds of situations during the process of their interaction with the other individuals wherein they find that their viewpoints are not in synchronicity with the viewpoints of the other individuals with whom they are interacting (Goldberg et al. 2014). The context becomes more pertinent when the framework of the business world is taken into consideration. Steele and Beasor (2017) are of the viewpoint that style of conducting business of the various business enterprises have changed in a significant manner during the last few decades and thus the business enterprises are no longer the same self-sufficing units which they used to be in the earlier times. In the present times it is seen that because of the use of process of globalization and other factors which affect the modern business world in a significant manner the various business enterprises had to work in close association with the other enterprises to achieve the common goals and the objectives which they aspire to achieve (Steele and Beasor 2017). Furthermore, Kaufman, Ozawa and Shmueli (2018) hold the opinion that because of the difference in the nature of their business framework and also because of the difference in the mission as well as the vision of these enterprises there is often a difference in not only the viewpoints held by these enterprises but at the same time the things that they are trying to achieve. This inevitably leads to a dissent or conflict of interest among these diverse entities and it is precisely here that the concept of negotiation gains prominence. This paper will discuss about the concept of negotiation and the various benefits which it renders to the not only the various business enterprises but also the people from the diverse parts of the world in the specific light of the comment of Lewicki et al. made in 2011 which states that “Negotiation is not a process reserved only for the skilled diplomat, top salesperson, or ardent advocate for an organized lobby; it is something that everyone does, almost daily”.
Goldberg et al. (2014) have defined negotiation as the process which helps the people or the various business enterprises to settle their differences of viewpoints or for that matter any sort of differences. It is generally seen that the various people as well as the business enterprises have differences of opinion or viewpoints and this generally gives rise to diverse kinds of conflicts among them (Goldberg et al. 2014). Thus, the process of negotiation is generally used for the purpose of achieving a unanimous decision without each of the parties involved in the process of negotiation having to compromise on the key elements or the concepts for which they initially had a disagreement or conflict. However, Geirhofer et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the process of negotiation inevitably involves the concept of compromise regarding the viewpoint or the thing about which the parties or the individuals involved in the process of negotiation initially had a conflict. In other words, it can be said that the process of negotiation entails a compromise between the various individuals or the parties who are having a conflict or disagreement of opinion or viewpoint by means of which they settle their disputes (Zhu and Carless 2018). Thus, it is very important that the people or the parties who are involved in the process of negotiation should put forward an initial proposition on the basis of which the process of negotiation is being carried forward (Zhu and Carless 2018). However, Ting?Toomey (2017) is of the opinion that the initial proposition which has been put forwarded by the various individuals or the parties involved in the process of negotiation is being modified several times as well as several amendments are being made to it until a final unanimous consensus is being reached. Furthermore, it is generally seen that the process of negotiation entails the help of a negotiator so that the voices or the demands of each of the individuals or the parties involved in the process of negotiation are not only heard but at the same time respected as well and a unanimous decision is being reached with which all the entities involved in the process of negotiation are comfortable (Ting?Toomey 2017). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the final outcome of the process of negotiation might not be the one which the various entities involved in the process of negotiation have hoped for rather it is the one that the majority of the entities involved in the process of negotiation have agreed to.
The process of negotiation, in the traditional sense of the term is generally being associated with the business dealings of the various business enterprises or for that matter with the diplomatic negotiations of the diverse state diplomats of the different nations of the world (Lewicki et al. 2011). However, it is significant to note that the process of negotiation is being used by the various individuals from the different parts of the world in their day-to-day activities without their consciously realizing that they are taking the help of the process of negotiation. More importantly it is generally seen that these individuals take the help of exactly the same concepts as well as models for the process of negotiation that the majority of the business enterprises as well as the diplomats use on a larger scale without realizing it. Thus, negotiation can be something as complex as the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” or the Brexit deal signed by the United Kingdom with the members countries of the European Union to the small incidents that form an integral part of the daily lives of the various individuals like purchasing goods, divorcing, parenting and others (Ting?Toomey 2017). It is precisely in this particular context that Lewicki et al. (2011) have opined that “Negotiation is not a process reserved only for the skilled diplomat, top salesperson, or ardent advocate for an organized lobby; it is something that everyone does, almost daily” (Lewicki et al. 2011). Therefore, it can be said that negotiation is a process which almost each and every individual along with the major business enterprise and the nations of the world take the help of in order to not only influence the behavior of other persons or business enterprises or countries but at the same time to achieve their desired goals or objectives.
The various theories as well as the models of the process of negotiation which have gained prominence in the recent times are indicative of the significance which the concept of negotiation has gained in the present times. Some of the most popular theories of negotiation which are being used by the various individuals as well as parties are the Game Theory, Economic Model of Bargaining, Social Psychological Bargaining Theory, Adversarial Bargaining Theory, Problem Solving Theory and others (Rojot 2016). However, it is significant to note that the majority of these theories are being grouped under two categories, namely, the “win-lose situations” or the Distributive theories and the “win-win situations” or the Integrative theories (Rojot 2016). According to Brett and Thompson (2016), the major Distributive theories consist of the structural, strategic, processual approaches and others. The structural approach for example consists of the distribution of power among the various entities who are involved in the process of negotiation (Brett and Thompson 2016). Thus, it can be said that this particular approach is drastically different from the various traditional or realist theories of negotiation which considers power to be the sole entity or the sole possession of one particular party or individual involved in the process of negotiation. The strategic approach, on the other hand, considers the process of negotiation like the matrices and thus sees all the process of negotiation as the one which tries to achieve some inherent strategic aims (Brady 2017). Thus, the process of negotiation is being often described as the Prisoner’s dilemma or the Chicken’s dilemma and it is significant to note that both of these concepts have given rise to the Game Theory which is one of the most important theories that is used in the genre of modern day business world (Rojot 2016). The Process analysis system is seen by many experts as another form of the process of haggling (Rojot 2016). It is significant to note that in this particular process of negotiation the concerned parties or the individuals who are involved in the process of negotiation start out with some basic propositions or the agendas that they are trying to achieve and then the final consensus is being reached out by means of debate or more commonly called by the name of haggling (Rojot 2016). The important aspects of these theories and approaches of negotiation are being outlined in Appendix 1.
The various individuals as well as the parties normally take the help of the above mentioned theories as well as approaches of negotiation. However, it is significant to note that the concept of ethics should underpin any process of negotiation which is being undertaken. As per Acheson (2016) many individuals as well as parties are of the viewpoint that the “end justifies the means taken to achieve that particular end” and thus they generally take the help of any means which is available to them for the achievement of their goals and objectives. However, Geirhofer et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that this should not be the case since the individuals or the parties involved in the process should take into consideration various factors like the ethicality of the decision which they have reached, the impact of the consensus that has been agreed upon on the concerned stakeholders and others. Thus, it would be apt to say that inspite of the theory or the approach which has been undertaken to carry on the process of negotiation the concept of ethics should underpin each of them for the process of negotiation to be effective.
The outcomes of the process of negotiation are not only dependent on the theory or the model of negotiation which is being used to achieve the process of negotiation but at the same time the style of negotiation is also important. The style of negotiation in term is dependent on the concept of culture and also on the context in which the process of negotiation is being utilized (Geirhofer et al. 2017). However, Jensen, Sheller and Wind (2015) are of the opinion that different people from diverse cultural groups have different styles of negotiation and thus if a particular style of negotiation is being used which is that not accepted by the concerned people involved in the process of negotiation then the outcomes of the process of negotiation might not be as favorable as was expected. Furthermore, it is generally seen that the process as well as the style of negotiation varies from one culture to another and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the style or process of negotiation which is being used by the countries belonging to the East and the countries belonging to the West are drastically different from each other (Jensen, Sheller and Wind 2015). Many experts are of the viewpoint that the style of negotiation which is being used by the diverse countries and the people who are a part of that particular nation is being determined by the cumulative national culture of that particular nation and this in turn is being determined by the various components which are used to analyze the national culture of that particular nation (Jensen, Sheller and Wind 2015). For example, a close analysis of the style of negotiation followed by the country of Vietnam (belonging to the West) and the nation of the United Kingdom (belonging to the East) would reveal the fact that they are directly related to the six components of Hofstede’s model of culture, namely, masculinity, individualism, power distance, long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence (Appendix 2). Thus, the people of Vietnam are more likely to prefer the kind of negotiation style which is likely to take into consideration the voices of all the individuals who are involved in the process of negotiation as well as respect whereas the people of the United Kingdom who are more individualistic in nature would not agree to the same kind of negotiation style for the process of negotiation (Trapp and Kehr 2016). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the concept of culture indeed plays a key role in the process of negotiation and the style of negotiation that is being used to achieve the desired result.
The style of negotiation is also influenced by the context as well as the situation in which they are being used. For example, scholars like Lewicki et al. (2011) are of the viewpoint that gender has a profound impact on the process as well as style of negotiation. It is generally seen that men are more assertive as well as dominant in comparison to women and this particular fact has a profound impact on the process of negotiation and also the style that is being used (Mazei et al. 2015). In addition to this, emotions also play a significant role on the process as well as the style adopted for the purpose of negotiation and many experts are of the viewpoint that the emotions generally impedes the process of negotiation and mostly hinders the process altogether (Wilson et al. 2016).
Kim et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that different situations as well as contexts require the help of different processes as well as styles of negotiation. For example, a person who is negotiating with a vendor or a store would naturally be taking the help of the process of process analysis rather than the structural or the strategic approaches of negotiation. A person, on the other hand, who is negotiating with other business enterprise regarding some business issues of his or her business enterprise would naturally consider taking the help of structural or strategic approaches of negotiation rather than the process analysis approach of negotiation. Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that with the change in the approach of negotiation the style of argumentation which is being utilized for the process of negotiation also changes in a significant manner (Brett and Thompson 2016). Therefore, it would be apt to say that with the change in the context or the approach which is being undertaken for the process of negotiation the type of argumentation policy or style that is being utilized also changes in a significant manner keeping in view the context in which the process of negotiation is being undertaken.
Scholars have given various kinds of negotiation styles which are commonly being utilized by the individuals as well as the parties who normally undertake the process of negotiation (Brett and Thompson 2016). For example, the five major styles of negotiation that are commonly being utilized by the various individuals as well as parties, namely, competing, accommodating, compromising, collaborating and avoiding (McCarthy and Hay 2015). It is significant to note that the context as well as the scenarios in which these diverse kinds of negotiation styles are used is drastically different from each other and also the desired outcome that each of these styles of negotiation are expected to generate are very different from each other. Thus, the competing style of negotiation is being used by a particular individual or a party when they want to achieve a “I win – You lose” kind of consensus and it is significant to note that this particular style of negotiation is one of the most commonly used styles of negotiation (McCarthy and Hay 2015). The accommodating style of negotiation, on the other hand, is utilized by a party or an individual when they want an outcome which is something like “I Lose – You Win” and in comparison to the competing style of negotiation this particular style of negotiation is rarely utilized (McCarthy and Hay 2015). The compromising style of negotiation is another most commonly utilized style of negotiation and the outcome generated by it is something like “I Lose / Win Some – You Lose/ Win Some” (McCarthy and Hay 2015). The collaborating style of negotiation is very commonly used in everyday life and the outcome generated by it is something like “I Win – You Win” (McCarthy and Hay 2015). The avoiding style of leadership is one of the most rarely used styles of negotiation and the outcome generated by it is “I Lose – You Lose” (McCarthy and Hay 2015). These in short are some of the most commonly used styles of negotiation and as already mentioned they are affected by various factors like culture, gender, the context in which they are being used and others. Furthermore, it is generally seen that almost all the individuals as well as the major organizations of the world inevitably take the help of these different styles of negotiation at one point or the other for the achievement of their desired agendas.
I would like to mention at this particular juncture that I believe in taking the help of the collaborative style of negotiation wherein I and also the other individuals who are involved in the process of negotiation stand to win something out of the process of negotiation. I am personally of the viewpoint that this is one of the best styles of negotiation since it not only takes the ethical standpoint of giving something back to all the individuals who are involved in the process of negotiation but at the same time it respects as well gives each of the members who are involved in the process of negotiation to give their opinions.
To conclude, the process of negotiation is something which is being used by almost all the individuals of the world irrespective of the fact that they are aware of it or not. The primary purpose of the various individuals who take the help of the process of negotiation is to come up with a relevant solution or a middle path with which all the individuals who are at a deadlock agrees with. Furthermore, it is seen that in the present times various diverse theories as well as approaches of negotiation depending on the context or the scenarios in which they are being used. However, it is important that the various concepts of ethics should underpin the process of negotiation otherwise the total idea would be futile. In addition to this, it is seen that there are various factors which affects the style of negotiation like culture, context and others and depending on these factors the use of the style of negotiation varies. However, one thing is certain that the process of negotiation is not only reserved for the business enterprises or the diplomats but it is something which all the human beings take the help of in their day-to-day lives.
References
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