Reflective Report on Developing Negotiation Skills: Strategies and Real-Life Experiences

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The process of ideal and effective negotiation is quite complex as it not only involves understanding the demands of the opposite party but also involves setting the terms and expectations so that both parties can end the negotiating session satisfied with major dealings on the hands of both in the apparent future. I was determined to ensure that I managed to develop my negotiation skills in an effective manner and reap both academic and professional benefits as these set of competencies are valuable for registering career growth, especially in fields which are in demand such as the Human Resource Department. My initial plan which I created to develop my negotiation skills was based around undertaking detailed reading regarding textbooks which would help me gain domain specific knowledge regarding negotiation along with watching videos on educational and streaming platforms such as YouTube (Van der Molen and Gramsbergen-Hoogland, 2018). This plan however was full of flaws when analysed and critiqued as this approach was quite linear and did not help me develop the various layers which are required when staging a proper and professional negotiation. This plan was also devoid of any long term learning material which could help me sustain my learning about negotiation skills and this plan is also not very relevant as it does not include any avenue for real life negotiation simulation which is quite important for individuals to learn about the intricate details which are part of any negotiation process. My first approach towards developing my negotiation skills was to work on the following skills in the order of their priority in my mind.

• Communication skills- These skills are very important in the field of both casual and corporate negotiation as it is very important to ensure that the party which is involved in the active negotiation process understands every little detail in order to avoid potential misunderstandings which can be deal breaker in negotiation process. In order to effectively generate a negotiation result, it is important that both parties are capable enough to indulge in meaningful conversations and work towards cooperating in a manner which satisfies the main demands of one or both involved parties.
• Planning- It is one of the most important skills which are needed in the process of negotiation as without proper prior planning before the process of negotiation, there is major threat that the entire process gets off the rails and fall off. It is very important for people to know the exact type of preparation which must be done before entering into a negotiation as failure to do this results in people overlooking key terms of their deal and get into bad contracts (Da'as, 2019).
• Value creation- This according to me is also a very important skill which people should add to their negotiation skill development process and competency portfolio as knowing how to add both real and perceived value to a deal or negotiation offer is quite potent and helps people satisfy the other party in a proper manner. Since both parties in a negotiation are in it to get the biggest “piece of the pie”, an effective negotiator makes offers and deals which honour their terms and conditions while giving other party a valuable agreement which is a win-win condition for them or both. Get a free example of assignment from Instant assignment.

In order to make some changes to my initial plan towards developing my negotiation skills, a personal audit of my current strengths and weaknesses have been developed herein as form of a personal SWOT analysis.

On the basis of the above conducted analysis, I would to further develop my skills such as the negotiation oriented planning along with negotiation tools and techniques which can be applied in both a professional and casual context.

Both the skills related to negotiation planning and negotiation tools and techniques were applied to me in two real life situations with were both professional and casual in nature and some details of these situations are listed herein.

• The purchase of a second hand car- This situation arose in my personal life as I wanted to purchase a vehicle to reflect my status in society and to make travel easier for me and satisfy my itch for undertaking long road trips with my friends. I wanted to purchase a second hand SUV with a budget of $35000 and was ready to undertake negotiations with the middle man who was the representative of the client.
• Business negotiation with a supplier at the job- This situation involved a professional negotiation which occurred during my job in which me and my senior teammates and our operational manager were negotiating a new raw material deal with our local supplier as the previous contract had expired (Macfarlane and Burg, 2019). Get best Programming assignment Help in USA.

For the purpose of undertaking both these negotiation demanding situations, I took numerous steps which would help me during the course of setting a new deal which satisfies me personally when it comes to the car ownership and my team and manager for the supplier negotiation case. My first step towards preparing for both of these situations was undertaking detailed market research to back up my claims and statements made in the negotiation process. When it comes to the car deal, I researched regarding the car model that I am interested in, the current price of that model in the market along with the average price of the particular model that is fetched on the second-hand automobile market. Along with that, I also diversified my options and ensured that I take into account the offers being floated to me from the car dealers along with the middle men of the client who is interested in selling their particular car to me.

When it comes to undertaking professional business negotiation, the planning which was undertaken by me was much more methodical and precise as my manager gave me some particular avenues to research into. These avenues included the terms and conditions of the previous supplier contract which contains all the major areas which need to be addressed in the negotiation. I also went into detail to prepare a list of local suppliers to create backups in negotiation which helps create a situation of urgency during conversations which is quite necessary during business negotiations. My intended strategy and objectives for both these situations are listed herein (Maude, 2020).

Car purchase

• For the purpose of getting a proper deal for the second hand SUV car model, my main strategy was to find a fixed amount of price that I was willing to go up to and was the final straw for the negotiation.
• I also planned to oversee the features and the physical condition of the car by myself so I can find flaws and some arguments to hold onto during the conversation to get the price lowered
• One of the major parts of my strategy during this negotiation is to initially start with a higher price which could then be potentially lowered to give the opposite party a false feeling of being in the position of power (Torrescarcovich, 2022).

Business supplier negotiation

• The first step was to look into the background of the supplier who is going to be the part of the negotiation process in order to take into account their credibility to plan the initial negotiation in advance
• I also undertook major market research as it was imperative for me to ensure that the supplier's demands are matching with the current industry trends and there is no over commitment of money and other resources on part of the company
• I also took into account all the previous terms and economic inflation into account to anticipate the rise in money that the supplier would ask for. This strategy would help me and my team to understand the perspective of the supplier which is very important when striking a deal.

The overall outcome of both of these negotiations were mixed as I was able to get a great deal for a used SUV for $40,000 which was well within my budget which I am satisfied with. When it comes to the professional negotiation with the supplier, we were able to strike a successful deal with the supplier which did not go well as we could not come into an agreement with the supplier due to a rise in prices and lack of common ground (Laubert and Geiger, 2018).

When it comes to dealing with major efficiency during negotiation, the two major behavioral techniques which impact the whole process is making demands and making trades which were both used during the two aforementioned situations. When one seeks to make a demand, their objective is to make the other party come into a stern agreement with the made demands and this was done by me during the supplier negotiation which did not go down well as such stern demands are often mistook as a signal of disrespect and rude behaviour. On the other hand, making trades during the personal car selling had a positive behavioral impact as I was able to bring the price down after duly noticing that the car had a damaged accelerator. I was able to offer the client a little extra money if he took care of the needed repairs and we both came on the same page at the end with is one of the basic requirements of an effective negotiation.

My overall experience during the course of both these negotiation situations was a mixture of happiness and disappointment as although I succeeded in the personal front, I could not manage to close out the business deal in an effective manner. My negotiation process did get hindered as I overestimated my negotiation capability along with not reaching about the market and industry in an optimum manner. The next negotiations that I will be a part of will include a better and more developed approach by me as I will learn the art to behave and make demands in a more sophisticated manner. I will also learn the art of counteroffering and making better trades as one of the major reasons as to why my attempt at business negotiation failed is due to my limited exposure to the field of negotiation and my narrow approach towards understand the other party's perspective (Graham, 2018).

CONCLUSION 

The above reflective report went into detail regarding the various practices and negotiation oriented tools and techniques which are very useful for individuals when it comes to their casual and business oriented negotiating endeavours. The report highlighted the major strategy formation which undergoes before the negotiation takes place along with the impact of behavioural expectations in the process of negotiation. It was concluded from this report that in order to manage an effective negotiation, one must look to understand the perspective and demand of the other party and prepare to counteroffer at every moment till the deal in question stands to benefit both to the best extent possible.

Read More - Effects Of Leadership Style On Employee Motivation

REFERENCES

Books and Journals:

• Da'as, R.A., 2019. Teachers' skill flexibility: Examining the impact of principals' skills and teachers' participation in decision making during educational reform. International Journal of Educational Management, 33(2), pp.287-299.
• Graham, J.L., 2018. A third theory: inventive negotiation. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
• Laubert, C. and Geiger, I., 2018. Disentangling complexity: how negotiators identify and handle issue-based complexity in business-to-business negotiation. Journal of Business Economics, 88(9), pp.1061-1103.
• Macfarlane, B. and Burg, D., 2019. Women professors and the academic housework trap. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 41(3), pp.262-274.
• Maude, B., 2020. International business negotiation: principles and practice. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Torrescarcovich, E.G., 2022. The Influence of Cultural Awareness Training on Successful Business Negotiations of Security Cooperation Workforce Personnel with Foreign Countries: A Single Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
• Van der Molen, H.T. and Gramsbergen-Hoogland, Y.H., 2018. Communication in organizations: Basic skills and conversation models. Routledge.
• Yassin, H.M., Shawkat, A.I. and Hamed, A.H., 2021. Wisdom as a Predictor of Negotiation Skills among University Students. BuhÅ«th, 1(8), pp.109-143.

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