conclusion on negotiation essay

The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide To Successful Negotiating by Steve Gates

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9.10. CONCLUSION

Your ability to broker agreements, dissolve deadlock situations, precondition expectations and attract sustainable deals requires all of the skills, attributes, knowledge and self-awareness we have covered in The Negotiation Book .

For many, the challenges presented by negotiation don't come naturally and, as with any performance coupled with your own motivation to continuously improve, you have one of the most rewarding (in so many ways) personal development opportunities available to you.

Negotiating effectively is firstly about you accepting that it is only you who can influence the situations you are faced with. You can blame the market, personalities, timing, your options, the power balance or any circumstance that you may think happens to be working against you, but ultimately it is you who can turn around situations and make what would otherwise be deadlock situations into workable and profitable deals.

It is time to stay calm, see the tactics for what they are and exercise nerve and patience. Power real or perceived, however generated, will play its part in your negotiations and, no matter how good you are as a negotiator, where the balance of power is against you or your circumstances, you will no doubt experience the frustration of feeling of being compromised. Trust your instinct, exercise composure. It will make the difference between those agreements where you create value and those where you simply distribute it.

If you have to take a time-out, adjourn ...

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BUS209: Organizational Behavior

Conflict and Negotiations

This chapter provides an excellent introduction to conflict and negotiation. You will learn about the types, causes, and consequences of conflict, as well as how to manage conflict. The text then transitions to understanding and employing negotiation strategies within the organization.

Conflict can run the gamut from minor annoyances to physically violent situations. At the same time, conflict can increase creativity and innovation, or it can bring organizations to a grinding halt. There are many different types of conflict, including interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intergroup. Within organizations, there are many common situations that can spur conflict. Certain organizational structures, such as a matrix structure, can cause any given employee to have multiple bosses and conflicting or overwhelming demands. A scarcity of resources for employees to complete tasks is another common cause of organizational conflict, particularly if groups within the organization compete over those resources. Of course, simple personality clashes can create intrapersonal conflict in any situation. Communication problems are also a very common source of conflict even when no actual problem would exist otherwise. When conflict arises, it can be handled by any number of methods, each with varying degrees of cooperation and competitiveness. Different situations require different conflict handling methods, and no one method is best. Negotiations occur during many important processes, and possessing astute negation skills can be an incredible tool. A key component to negotiations involves having a BATNA, or "best alternative to a negotiated agreement". Negotiations typically move through five phases, including investigation, determining your BATNA, presentation, bargaining, and closure. During a negotiation, it is important not to make any number of common mistakes. These mistakes can include accepting the first offer, letting ego get in the way, having unrealistic expectations of the outcome of the negotiation, becoming too emotional during the process, or being weighed down by previous failures and letting the past repeat itself. It is important to keep in mind that many cultures have preferential methods for handling conflict and negotiation. Individuals should understand the cultural background of others to better navigate what could otherwise become a messy situation.

Summary and Conclusion

• First Online: 11 January 2015

Cite this chapter

• Alan McCarthy 1 &
• Steve Hay 1  

7974 Accesses

We’ve gone through some key points that will help you enhance your negotiation skills. We’ve defined negotiation and looked at the alternative strategies for conflict resolution. We have explored the philosophical points that allow you to create your own personal mantras for engagement in “win-win” negotiation. You are now familiar with the five phases of every negotiation, and you have the ten golden rules providing guidance for your next deal. We’ve emphasized the critical importance of planning and gone through the RDC ten-point plan, and out of this we’ve expanded on the jellyfish analogy so you can make flexible and intelligent proposals. You now know about the “negotiation bow tie” that can help you to create additional value above and beyond the value that either of the parties involved in the negotiation could find in isolation—what has been called a “super-win.” You are also aware of the key cross-cultural issues in negotiation. We have discussed some similarities and differences between commercial, hostage, and diplomatic negotiations, and we’ve identified the lessons that each can learn from the others. We have explored various ways in which a deadlock can be broken. You also have some ideas to consider around the physical arrangements and facilities for a negotiation. For organizations, we have stressed the need to develop a negotiation strategy and a framework to plan, guide, and support successful negotiations. Finally, you have seen the importance of reflective practice, coaching, and support in negotiation.

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McCarthy, A., Hay, S. (2015). Summary and Conclusion. In: Advanced Negotiation Techniques. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-0850-2_16

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What’s Your Negotiation Strategy?

• Jonathan Hughes
• Danny Ertel

Many people don’t tackle negotiations in a proactive way; instead, they simply react to moves the other side makes. While that approach may work in a lot of instances, complex deals demand a much more strategic approach.

The best negotiators look beyond their immediate counterparts to see if other constituencies have a stake in the deal’s outcome or value to contribute; rethink the scope and timing of talks; and search for connections across multiple deals. They also get creative about the process and framing of negotiations, ditching the binary thinking that can lock negotiators into unproductive zero-sum postures.

Applying such strategic techniques will allow dealmakers to find novel sources of leverage, realize bigger opportunities, and achieve outcomes that maximize value for both sides.

Here’s how to avoid reactive dealmaking

Idea in Brief

The challenge.

Negotiators often mainly react to the other side’s moves. But for complex deals, a proactive approach is needed.

The Strategy

Strategic negotiators look beyond their immediate counterpart for stakeholders who can influence the deal. They intentionally control the scope and timing of talks, search for novel sources of leverage, and seek connections across multiple deals.

Tactical negotiating can lock parties into a zero-sum posture, in which the goal is to capture as much value from the other side as possible. Well-thought-out strategies suppress the urge to react to moves or to take preemptive action based on fears about the other side’s intentions. They lead to deals that maximize value for both sides.

When we advise our clients on negotiations, we often ask them how they intend to formulate a negotiation strategy. Most reply that they’ll do some planning before engaging with their counterparts—for instance, by identifying each side’s best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) or by researching the other party’s key interests. But beyond that, they feel limited in how well they can prepare. What we hear most often is “It depends on what the other side does.”

• JH Jonathan Hughes is a partner at Vantage Partners, a global consultancy specializing in strategic partnerships and complex negotiations.
• Danny Ertel is a partner at Vantage Partners, a global consultancy specializing in strategic partnerships and complex negotiations.

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Stages of Negotiations and Their Features

Research of the difference between men and women in negotiation, the principles of negotiations, fisher & ury developed four principles of negotiation, negotiation and conflict resolution, batna – how to use it effectively to achieve personal and professional goals, analysis of factors influencing an organizational communication, effects of cultural differences in international business and price negotiation, the role of dialogue in politics, law, legislation and legal commentary looks to evaluate the principle of misrepresentation, vision and actions on jointly building silk road economic belt and 21st-century maritime silk road, women in negotiation toolkit: skill 1: choose to negotiate, a report on ralph bunche: the skilled negotiator, reflective journal: how reflexivity could help facilitate negotiation practice, personal negotiation experience: role of emotions in negotiation, personal negotiation experience: a reflection, personal negotiation experience: strategies and concession making, relevant topics.

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Negotiation Paper, Essay Example

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Negotiation is an important part of life. Understanding it and the many faucets associated with it is important. This paper will address the various areas that are important for being a successful negotiator. Prior to this course, negotiation was simply something seen on television in a hostage situation. There was no real understanding how many things in life negotiation is necessary for. Seeing the many areas that aid with negotiation will provide the groundwork for me to be a successful negotiator in the future.

Negotiation is a necessary means for handling conflict in many areas of life. The dual concern model is a means for handling negotiation. This model assumes that both parties involved prefer to handle the conflict based on two primary dimensions: empathy and assertiveness. Empathy is the part that focuses on the fact that one is concerned with the interest and needs of a specific party. Assertiveness deals with addressing individual interests or needs. They both work hand-in-hand with each other. Both parties typically have their own interest in mind with a select amount of concern for the other parties needs.

In negotiation, it is important to determine if distributive or integrative negation is more appropriate. In distributive bargaining, the negotiator tries to secure the most benefit for themselves, with no concern for the other party. “Integrative bargaining is a negotiation strategy in which all parties collaborate to find a “win-win” solution to their dispute so that all parties achieve maximum mutual gains.” (Nabar 2010) Obviously there are many factors that can affect with type of negotiation is being used. It is dependent on if the parties are out for their own personal benefit or for both parties to gain.

When developing an opening offer it is important to consider two questions: “who should make the first offer, and how will making or not making the first offer affect the negotiation process and the result?” (Venter 2012) Negotiation can be a long drawn out process, especially if one party is not willing to give at all. Knowing exactly what is being offer will allow counter offers to be presented. Without an initial offer, there is no real starting point for the negotiation process.

Another important part of negotiation is establishing target and resistance points. Knowing the other parties goals will aid in knowing their limits. “The negotiator can pursue two general routes to achieve this task: obtain information indirectly about the background factors behind an issue (indirect assessment) or obtain information directly from the other party about their target and resistance points (direct assessment).” (Lewicki, Barry; & Saunders 2010) One route is doing research behind the persons back, and one route is asking the party directly.

There are many lessons to learn for planning a negotiation. Researching the other party’s interest is a vital part of negotiation. By knowing what their ultimate end desires are, it is easier to motivate them in the way you want. BANTA is the best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Setting the minimum expectations that you are willing to walk away with will set a ground level for any negotiation. It will keep you from settling for less than what you intended to. This will also guide the negotiator for when it is best to walk away.

Strategizing for negotiation is as important as the actual negotiation. Logrolling is a means of strategizing. This is an exchange, a trade off of issues to maximize the value of the negotiation. Another strategy is to make a range of requests, some important and some less important to create leverage for the negotiation. This is the way for the negotiator to exchange the lesser important items, for those of higher importance. It is also important to consider the psychology of negotiations. This is perception, emotion, and body language to name a few. “For the negotiator it is worth studying all aspects of human behavior and motivation because in any complex negotiation it is necessary to understand the person or organization with whom we are dealing.” (Palmer 2006)

There are important lessons learned on negotiation in information exchange, manageable versus unmanageable questions and communication break-down. What is being said and what is being perceived are often two different things. The exchange of manageable questions is ones that can be answered or negotiated. Unmanageable ones are open ended with no potential for answers or resolutions. Communication breakdowns occur when one party fails to respond in a manner that the other party can understand.

Power is important in negotiation. This can influence the outcome both negatively and positively. Some of the measure of power is based on position. Who they are along with the power associated with them and the negotiation at hand. Ethics are an important part of negotiation. The negotiator needs to act with honesty and integrity. Reputation, trust, and justice are all essential for the desired results in all negotiations.

There are also cultural and international differences in negotiation. By educating yourself in this area, it gives the negotiator an advantage. This includes values, beliefs, and even language. Reaching the other party in a way that they are familiar will create a better ground for the negotiation.

Seeing the many areas that aid with negotiation will provide the groundwork for me to be a successful negotiator in the future. It is important to go into any situation that requires negotiation armed with the tools learned in this class. Personally I will educate myself and prepare before I even start the process. I would have never negotiated prior to this class; well I would have never gotten very far. Now I am confident the end result will be exactly what I set out to negotiate.

References:

Venter, Dr. DP. (2012). Negotiation Open Offering. Retrieved from http://www.negotiationtraining.com.au/articles/new-agreement/

Lewicki, Roy J.; Bruce Barry; & David M. Saunders. (2010) Negotiation. Mcgraw-hill Press.

Palmer, Andrew. (2006) Psychology and Negotiation. Retrieved from http://www.negotiation.biz/psychology.htm

Nabar, Arun. (2010) Strategies and Tactic of Integrative Bargaining. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/45939723/Negotiation-Skills-Group-10-Integrative-Bargaining

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Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field: A Joint BI/CRQ Discussion BI and the Conflict Resolution Quarterly invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

Follow BI and the Hyper-Polarization Discussion on BI's New Substack Newsletter .

Hyper-Polarization, COVID, Racism, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative Read about (and contribute to) the  Constructive Conflict Initiative  and its associated Blog —our effort to assemble what we collectively know about how to move beyond our hyperpolarized politics and start solving society's problems. 

By Michelle Maiese

October 2003

What is Negotiation?

In simplest terms, negotiation is a discussion between two or more disputants who are trying to work out a solution to their problem.[1] This interpersonal or inter-group process can occur at a personal level, as well as at a corporate or international (diplomatic) level. Negotiations typically take place because the parties wish to create something new that neither could do on his or her own, or to resolve a problem or dispute between them.[2] The parties acknowledge that there is some conflict of interest between them and think they can use some form of influence to get a better deal, rather than simply taking what the other side will voluntarily give them.[3] They prefer to search for agreement rather than fight openly, give in, or break off contact.[4]

When parties negotiate, they usually expect give and take. While they have interlocking goals that they cannot accomplish independently, they usually do not want or need exactly the same thing.[5] This interdependence can be either win-lose or win-win in nature, and the type of negotiation that is appropriate will vary accordingly. The disputants will either attempt to force the other side to comply with their demands, to modify the opposing position and move toward compromise, or to invent a solution that meets the objectives of all sides. The nature of their interdependence will have a major impact on the nature of their relationship, the way negotiations are conducted, and the outcomes of these negotiations.[6]

Mutual adjustment is one of the key causes of the changes that occur during a negotiation. Both parties know that they can influence the other's outcomes and that the other side can influence theirs. The effective negotiator attempts to understand how people will adjust and readjust their positions during negotiations, based on what the other party does and is expected to do.[7] The parties have to exchange information and make an effort to influence each other. As negotiations evolve, each side proposes changes to the other party's position and makes changes to its own. This process of give-and-take and making concessions is necessary if a settlement is to be reached. If one party makes several proposals that are rejected, and the other party makes no alternate proposal, the first party may break off negotiations.[8] Parties typically will not want to concede too much if they do not sense that those with whom they are negotiating are willing to compromise .

The parties must work toward a solution that takes into account each person's requirements and hopefully optimizes the outcomes for both. As they try to find their way toward agreement, the parties focus on interests , issues , and positions , and use cooperative and/or competitive processes to come to an agreement.

Approaches to Negotiation

Negotiation theorists make several overlapping distinctions about approaches to negotiation. Fisher, Ury, and Patton distinguish between positional bargaining , which is competitive, and interest-based bargaining or principled negotiation, which is primarily cooperative. But they also make the distinction between soft, hard, and principled negotiation, the latter of which is neither soft, nor hard, but based on cooperative principles which look out for oneself as well as one's opponent.[9]

Morton Deutsch also makes the distinction between competitive and cooperative approaches.[10] According to Deutsch, the most important factors that determine whether an individual will approach a conflict cooperatively or competitively are the nature of the dispute and the goals each side seeks to achieve. Often the two sides' goals are linked together, or interdependent. The parties' interaction will be shaped by whether this interdependence is positive or negative , according to Deutsch:

• Goals with positive interdependence are tied together in such a way that the chance of one side attaining its' goal is increased by the other side's attaining its goal.[11] Positively interdependent goals normally result in cooperative approaches to negotiation, because any participant can "attain his goal if, and only if, the others with whom he is linked can attain their goals."[12]
• On the other hand, negative interdependence means the chance of one side attaining its goal is decreased by the other's success.[13] Negatively interdependent goals force competitive situations, because the only way for one side to achieve its goals and "win" is for the other side to "lose."

Although Fisher, Ury, and Patton argue that almost any dispute can be resolved with interest-based bargaining (i.e., a cooperative approach), other theorists believe the two approaches should be used together. Lax and Sebenius, for example, argue that negotiations typically involve "creating" and "claiming" value . First, the negotiators work cooperatively to create value (that is, "enlarge the pie,") but then they must use competitive processes to claim value (that is, "divide up the pie").[14]

However, a tension exists between creating and claiming value. This is because the competitive strategies used to claim value tend to undermine cooperation, while a cooperative approach makes one vulnerable to competitive bargaining tactics.[15] The tension that exists between cooperation and competition in negotiation is known as "The Negotiator's Dilemma:"[16]

• If both sides cooperate, they will both have good outcomes.
• If one cooperates and the other competes, the cooperator will get a terrible outcome and the competitor will get a great outcome.
• If both compete, they will both have mediocre outcomes.
• In the face of uncertainty about what strategy the other side will adopt, each side's best choice is to compete.
• However, if they both compete, both sides end up worse off.[17]

In real life, parties can communicate and commit themselves to a cooperative approach. They can also adopt norms of fair and cooperative behavior and focus on their future relationship. This fosters a cooperative approach between both parties and helps them to find joint gains.

Planning for Negotiations

Effective planning is crucial to meeting negotiation objectives. If the parties are to reach a stable agreement, specific events must take place before the parties ever come to the table.

• Parties must frame the problem, and recognize that they have a common problem that they share an interest in solving. Frames are the conceptions that parties have of the situation and its risks. They allow the parties to begin to develop a shared definition of the issues involved, and the process needed to resolve them.[18] When the frames of both parties match, they are more likely to focus on common issues and have a common definition of the situation. However, when the frames do not match, communication between the parties is likely to be more difficult. Unless the different outlooks on the problem begin to overlap, it is unlikely that negotiations will be successful.[19] If negotiators understand what frame they are operating from and what frame the other is operating from, they may be able to shift the conversation and develop common definitions. The way in which parties define the problem can shape the rest of the planning process.
• In the early stages of framing, negotiators must also determine their goals, anticipate what they want to achieve, and prepare for the negotiation process. They must define the issues to be discussed and analyze the conflict situation. In many cases, negotiators can appeal to research or consult with experts to help them develop a complete list of the issues at stake. Next, parties should assemble all the issues that have been defined into a comprehensive list. The combined list of issues and priorities from each side determines the negotiation agenda.
• Negotiators often exchange and negotiate the list of issues to be discussed in advance. Consultation between negotiators prior to actual negotiation allows them to agree on the agenda of issues to be discussed, as well as the location of the negotiations, the time and duration of the sessions, the parties to be involved in the negotiations, and techniques to pursue if negotiation fails. Negotiators should also agree on principles that will guide the drafting of a settlement, the procedures to be used in negotiations, and the formula by which a general agreement is to be reached.[20] Discussions about these procedural issues are often crucial for the success of substantive negotiations. If parties cannot agree on negotiation procedures and proposed items for the agenda, they may very well decide to abandon the negotiations altogether.
• After assembling issues on an agenda, the negotiators must prioritize their goals and evaluate the possible tradeoffs among them.[21] Negotiators must be aware of their goals and positions and must identify the concerns, desires, and fears that underlie their substantive goals. They must determine which issues are most important, as well as whether the various issues are linked or separate. In addition, negotiators should be aware of the underlying interests and goals of the other side. Because the linkages between parties' goals often define the issue to be settled, these goals must be determined carefully. If one party wants more than the other party is capable or willing to give, the disputants must either change their goals or end the negotiation.
• Once they have determined the relative importance of the issues, parties need to decide the order in which issues should be discussed. Many sequencing options are possible: going from easy to hard, hard to easy, or tackling everything together. Different situations suggest different answers to that question, and different negotiators and mediators prefer one approach over the others.
• Negotiators that are operating on behalf of a constituency should consult with their constituents as well as with the other side to ensure that the constituents' needs and priorities are included in the negotiations.[22]
• The next step is for negotiators to define specific targets with respect to the key issues on the agenda. Parties should try to figure out the best resolution they can expect, what counts as a fair and reasonable deal, and what is a minimally acceptable deal.[23] They should also be aware of the strongest points in their position and recognize the strongest points in the other side's position. This enables parties to become aware of the range of possible outcomes (see ZOPA ) and to be flexible in what they will accept. It also improves the likelihood that they will arrive at a mutually satisfactory outcome.
• Because negotiations typically involve more than one issue, it is helpful for negotiators to anticipate different ways of packaging issues. They can balance the issues they regard as most important by being more flexible about items they deem less important.[24] They should also decide which items they can abandon and use as leverage to get what they really want with respect to the most important issues.
• Planning for negotiation also involves the development of supporting arguments. Negotiators must be able to present supporting facts and arguments, anticipate how the other side will respond to these arguments, and respond to the other party's claims with counter-arguments. This includes locating facts to support one's point of view, determining what sorts of arguments have been given in similar negotiations in the past, anticipating the arguments the other side is likely to make, and presenting facts in the most convincing way possible.[25]
• Finally, planning involves assessing the other party's priorities and interests and trying to get a better idea of what that party is likely to want. Negotiators should gather background information about the other party's current needs, resources, and interests. This can be done through preliminary interviews or consultations with those who have done business with the other party in the past. In addition, negotiators need to understand the other party's objectives. Professional negotiators will often exchange information about targets or initial proposals before negotiations begin. Third, negotiators should be aware of the other party's negotiation style, reputation, and the strategy and tactics they commonly use. They should investigate that party's past behavior in related settings, determine his or her organizational position, and find out whom he or she admires and whose advice carries weight.[26] An individual's past negotiation behavior is a good indication of how he or she will behave in the future. Fourth, negotiators should understand the other party's alternatives. If the other negotiator has strong alternatives, he or she will probably be willing to set high objectives and be willing to push hard for these objectives during negotiation.

Sources of Power in Negotiation

Negotiation is a process of communication in which the parties aim to "send a message" to the other side and influence each other.[27] Thus, power in negotiation lies in the ability to favorably affect someone else's decision. Some assume that because threats of physical force exert influence, the ability to make such threats is the essence of negotiating power. But making threats is a costly and dangerous way of trying to exert influence.

There is also a widespread belief that the best way to start a negotiation is with an extreme position. The idea is that negotiators should let others know they are in charge by taking a hard line, and should then soften their position later if appropriate.[28] However, this may not be the most effective tactic. The more extreme the opening positions are, and the smaller the concessions, the more time and effort it often takes to move toward agreement.[29] And as each side tries to use force to make the other change its position, anger and resentment result, putting a heavy strain on the relationship between the parties. Thus, it is a mistake to try to use force or threats before one has exhausted the other elements of negotiating power. Threatening to impose harsh consequences without having first made a firm and clear offer is actually likely to reduce a negotiator's level of power.[30]

The ability to exert influence depends upon the combined total of a variety of factors. First, having a good alternative to negotiation contributes substantially to a negotiator's power. A negotiator with very strong alternatives does not need the negotiation in order to achieve at least a satisfactory outcome.[31] In their 1981 bestseller, Getting to Yes ,[32] Roger Fisher and William Ury coined the term " BATNA " (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) to refer to this type of negotiating power. When parties have many options other than negotiation, they have more leverage in making demands. Therefore, parties should develop a strong understanding of their alternatives before participating in negotiations. Making one's BATNA as strong as possible, and then making that BATNA known to one's opponent, can strengthen one's negotiating position.

Second, a skilled negotiator who knows about the people and interests involved as well as the relevant facts is better able to influence the decisions of others.[33] The abilities to listen, to empathize , and to communicate clearly and effectively are crucial in negotiating effective agreements. Likewise, an awareness of various negotiating styles and cultural differences can be a huge asset. A good working relationship also increases a negotiator's level of power. Such relationships are characterized by trust and the ability to communicate effectively and easily. If a negotiator establishes a reputation for candor and honesty, his or her capacity to exert influence is enhanced. A negotiator who understands the point of view from which the other party is operating is more likely to communicate persuasively, with minimal misunderstanding.[34]

In addition, while facts and ideas are important in changing another person's opinions and perceptions, the effectiveness of persuasion depends on how these facts and ideas are selected and presented. To be persuasive, negotiators must consider the content of the message, the structure of the message, and the delivery style. First, negotiators must make the offer attractive to the other party and emphasize those features of the offer that the other party is likely to find appealing.[35] Negotiators should also try to formulate a proposal, however minor, to which the other party can agree. This will put the other negotiator into the mindset of saying "yes" and will increase the likelihood that he or she will agree with a second, more significant proposal or statement. These yesable propositions can also help to reduce tension and hostility and create minor points of agreement.[36]

In addition, negotiators should try to make their messages consistent with their opponent's values. Thus negotiators can enhance their chances of success by jointly developing objective criteria and standards of legitimacy , and then shaping proposed solutions so that they meet these joint standards,[37] which may include appeals to principles of fairness and expert opinions. Negotiators should try to demonstrate by following the suggested course of action, that the other party will be acting in accordance with his own values or some higher code of conduct. Agreements about general principles can be an important first step in the negotiation process.

One final way to influence the other side is to invent a good solution to the problem. This typically involves devising an ingenious solution that addresses the interests of both sides. Brainstorming can be used to help generate such solutions in advance and increase a negotiator's chances of affecting the outcome in a favorable way.[38] Introducing new opportunities for joint gain may also help to create a situation that is ripe for settlement. Each side recognizes that it has much to gain through collaboration, and that if both sides work together, they can reap rewards. Rather than seeking "power over" the other side, negotiators in this way exercise "power with" one another.[39]

Obstacles to Negotiation

In intractable conflicts, removing the obstacles to negotiation is the critical first step in moving toward negotiated agreements. Sometimes people fail to negotiate because they do not recognize that they are in a bargaining position. They may fail to identify a good opportunity for negotiation, and may use other options that do not allow them to manage their problems as effectively.[40] Or, they may recognize the need for bargaining but may bargain poorly because they do not fully understand the process and lack good negotiating skills.

In cases of intractable conflict, parties often will not recognize each other, talk with each other, or commit themselves to the process of negotiation.[41] They may even feel committed, as a matter of principle, to not negotiate with an adversary. In such cases, getting parties to participate in negotiations is a very challenging process. In addition, both parties must be ready to negotiate if the process is to succeed. If efforts to negotiate are initiated too early, before both sides are ready, they are likely to fail. Then the conflict may not be open to negotiation again for a long time.

Before they will negotiate, parties must be aware of their alternatives to a negotiated settlement (their BATNA ). They must believe that a negotiated solution would be preferable to continuing the current situation, that a fair settlement can be reached, and that the balance of forces permits such an agreement.[42] William Zartman refers to this as the belief that there is a "Way Out."[43] Weaker parties must feel assured that they will not be overpowered in a negotiation, and parties must trust that their needs and interests will be fairly considered in the negotiation process.

In many cases, conflicts become " ripe " for negotiation when both sides realize that they cannot get what they want through a power struggle and that they have reached a hurting stalemate .[44] If the parties believe that their ideal solution is not available and that foreseeable settlement is better than the other available alternatives, the parties have a "Zone of Possible Agreement" (ZOPA) . This means that a potential agreement exists that would benefit both sides more than their alternatives do.

However, it may take some time to determine whether a ZOPA exists. The parties must first explore their various interests, options, and alternatives. If the disputants can identify their ZOPA, there is a good chance that they will come to an agreement. But if they cannot, negotiation is very unlikely to succeed. In addition, each side must believe that the other side is willing to compromise . If the parties regard each other with suspicion and mistrust , they may conclude that the other side is not committed to the negotiation process and may withdraw.[45]

When there is little trust between the negotiators, making concessions is not easy. First, there is the dilemma of honesty .[46] On one hand, telling the other party everything about your situation may give that person an opportunity to take advantage of you. However, not telling the other person anything may lead to a stalemate . The dilemma of trust concerns how much you should believe of what the other party tells you. If you believe everything this person says, then he or she could take advantage of you. But if you believe nothing this other person says, then reaching an agreement will be very difficult. The search for an optimal solution is greatly aided if parties trust each other and believe that they are being treated honestly and fairly.[47]

In many cases, the negotiators' relationship becomes entangled with the substantive issues under discussion.[48] Any misunderstanding that arises between them will reinforce their prejudices and arouse their emotions. When conflict escalates , negotiations may take on an atmosphere of anger , frustration, distrust , and hostility. If parties believe that the fulfillment of their basic needs is threatened, they may begin to blame each other and may break off communication. As the issue becomes more personalized, perceived differences are magnified and cooperation becomes unlikely. If each side gets locked into its initial position and attempts to force the other side to comply with various demands, this hostility may prevent negotiators from reaching agreement or making headway toward a settlement.[49] In addition, parties may maintain their commitment to a course of action even when that commitment constitutes irrational behavior on their part (see entrapment ). Once they have adopted a confrontational approach, negotiators may seek confirming evidence for that choice and ignore contradictory evidence.[50] In an effort to save face , they may refuse to go back on previous commitments or to revise their position.

To combat perceptual bias and hostility, negotiators should attempt to gain a better understanding of the other party's perspective and try to see the situation as the other side sees it.[51] In some cases, parties can discuss each other's perceptions, making a point to refrain from blaming the other. In addition, they can look for opportunities to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the other side's perceptions. Such de-escalating gestures can help to combat the negative stereotypes that may interfere with fruitful negotiations. In ideal circumstances, negotiators also establish personal relationships that facilitate effective communication. This helps negotiators to focus on commonalities and find points of common interest.

Finally, if the "right" people are not involved in negotiations, the process is not likely to succeed. First, all of the interested and affected parties must be represented. Second, negotiators must truly represent and have the trust of those they are representing. If a party is left out of the process, they may become angry and argue that their interests have not been taken into account. Agreements can be successfully implemented only if the relevant parties and interests have been represented in the negotiations,[52] in part because parties who participate in the negotiation process have a greater stake in the outcome. Similarly, if constituents do not recognize a negotiator as their legitimate representative, they may try to block implementation of the agreement. Negotiators must therefore be sure to consult with their constituents and to ensure that they adequately deal with constituents' concerns.

These concerns are related to what Guy and Heidi Burgess call the "scale-up" problem of getting constituency groups to embrace the agreements that negotiators create. In many cases, participation in the negotiation process helps negotiators to recognize the legitimacy of the other side's interests, positions, and needs. This transformative experience may lead negotiators to develop a sense of respect for the adversary, which their constituents do not share. As a result, negotiators may make concessions that their constituents do not approve of, and they may be unable to get the constituents to agree to the final settlement. This can lead to last-minute breakdown of negotiated agreements.

[1] "Negotiation," International Online Training Program on Intractable Conflict, Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, [available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/negotn.htm ]

[2] Roy J. Lewicki, David M. Saunders and John W. Minton, Negotiation, 3 rd Edition (San Francisco: Irwin McGraw-Hill, 1999), 5.

[3] Ibid., 7.

[4] E. Wertheim, "Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts: An Overview," College of Business Administration, Northeastern University, [available at: http://webarchive.iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/training/conflict_overview.html ]

[5] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 8.

[6] Ibid., 9.

[7] Ibid., 10-11.

[8] Ibid., 13.

[9] Roger Fisher, William Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 2 nd edition, ed. Bruce Patton, (New York: Penguin Books, 1991).

[10] Morton Deutsch, "Cooperation and Competition," in The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice , eds. Morton Deutsch and Peter Coleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 200), 22.

[11] Morton Deutsch, "Cooperation and Competition," in The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice , eds. Morton Deutsch and Peter Coleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 200), 22.

[12] Morton Deutsch, The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973), 20.

This section of Deutsch's earlier work on constructive and destructive conflict resolution processes is closely paralleled by the later chapter in The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice , which offers a summarized version of his older work.

[13] Morton Deutsch, "Cooperation and Competition," in The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice , eds. Morton Deutsch and Peter Coleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000), 22.

[14] David A. Lax and K. Sebenius, "Interests: The Measure of Negotiation," pp. 161-180 in Negotiation Theory and Practice, eds. J. William Breslin and Jeffrey Z. Rubin, (Cambridge: Program on Negotiation Books, 1991), 161.

[16] David Lax and James K. Sebenius, The Manager as Negotiator: Bargaining for Cooperation and Competitive Gain (New York: The Free Press, 1986), 29.

[17] This is the "payoff structure" of the prisoner's dilemma game, which is used to investigate how people choose between cooperating and competing in different situations.

[18] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 29-30.

[19] Harold S. Saunders, "We Need a Larger Theory of Negotiation: The Importance of Pre-Negotiating Phases," pp. 57-70 in Negotiation Theory and Practice, eds. J. William Breslin and Jeffrey Z. Rubin, (Cambridge: Program on Negotiation Books, 1991), 64.

[20] Saunders, 68.

[21] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 41.

[22] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 56.

[23] Wertheim, [available at: http://webarchive.iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/training/conflict_overview.html ]

[24] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 61.

[25] Ibid., 62.

[26] Lax and Sebenius, 77.

[27] Roger Fisher, "Negotiating Power: Getting and Using Influence," pp. 127-140 in Negotiation Theory and Practice, eds. J. William Breslin and Jeffrey Z. Rubin, (Cambridge: Program on Negotiation Books, 1991), 128.

[28] Ibid., 129.

[29] Fisher and Ury, 6.

[30] Fisher, 138.

[31] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 46.

[32] The original book was published in 1981. In 1991, Fisher and Ury published a 2 nd Edition of Getting to Yes . The updated edition was edited by Bruce Patton, and incorporates Fisher and Ury's responses to criticisms of the first edition.

[33] Fisher, 130.

[34] Ibid., 131.

[35] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 189.

[36] Wertheim, [available at: http://webarchive.iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/training/conflict_overview.html ]

[37] Fisher, 133.

[39] See essay on Power.

[40] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 5.

[41] Saunders, 59.

[42] Ibid., 65.

[43] This is explained further in William Zartman's essay on Promoting Ripeness in this system.

[44] Rubin, 10.

[45] Saunders, 67.

[46] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 12.

[47] Ibid., 13.

[48] Fisher and Ury, 20.

[49] Wertheim, [available at: http://webarchive.iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/training/conflict_overview.html ]

[50] Lewicki, Saunders, and Minton, 157.

[51] Fisher and Ury, 23.

[52] Rubin, 8.

Use the following to cite this article: Maiese, Michelle. "Negotiation." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: October 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/negotiation >.

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Essay on Conflict and Negotiation

Conflicts and negotiations are an everyday occurrence. Just like change, they are inevitable. Apart from being harmful, conflict can have its benefits in achieving desired objectives contrary to popular beliefs. Conflicts and negotiations are critical to the upward trajectory of any organization since they spur innovation and creativity. The main objective of the study was to evaluate conflict, conflict resolution and negotiation policies, practices and procedures in a sampled organization in Nairobi, Kenya. Additionally, employee perception of the afore-mentioned policies and procedures was evaluated. A questionnaire was administered to collect data from both the management and lower ranking employees of the sampled organization. Seventy respondents were selected from the organization using convenience sampling methodology while descriptive tools of percentages and frequencies where utilized for data analysis. All statistical tests were conducted using SPSS version 23.0. Results of the study revealed the leading drivers of conflict within the organization. It also brought to light the conflict and negotiation policies and procedures put in place by the organization as well as employees’ perception of these measures.

Conflict  and  Negotiation

Introduction

Conflict and negotiations have baffled many and have depicted a semantic jungle. This owes to the various meanings and connotations associated with these terms (De Dreu and Carnevale, 2003). They have presented scholars with uncertainties over their meaning and relevance as well as how to navigate them. Situations involving conflicts and negotiations are unavoidable in all human relations including in organizations and even between countries (Dewulf et al., 2009). A conflict or negotiation situation is evident where there exists a conflict of interest or when different people want different things and both opposing sides actively seek solutions, rather than throwing in the towel (Rahim, 2010). These terms are organizational realities when working with others.

In tandem with Robbins and Judge (2011) and Spaho (2013), conflict has different definitions according to different authors. The common ground of all these definitions is that conflict is a perception. When a person perceives that another person has the capacity of negatively affecting anything worthwhile to them, conflict arises. There exist differences among people in social settings, including cultural, ethical and educational. Hence, the absence of conflict more often than not points to lack of profound social interaction (De Dreu and Van de Vliert, 2000). Conflict should be encouraged in organizations in order to boost creativity. This is in accordance with De Dreu and Van de Vliert (2000) who assert that organizations which are harmonious and tranquil are susceptible to being static and unresponsive to change. Conflict could be functional. However, in other instances, it could be time-consuming for organizations, cause stress, emotionally strenuous and reduce respect as well as trust (Peterson and Behfar, 2003; Ikeda et al., 2005; Penny and Spector, 2005; Jehn et al., 2008).

Negotiation on the other hand, is a process in which two or more entities seek to reach a mutually acceptable agreement in a situation characterized by some level of disagreement (Oetzel et al., 2003). During a successful negotiation, each party wins. The overall aim should be an agreement, not victory (Bülow and Boje, 2015). For each need that requires meeting and satisfying, there is a potential situation for negotiation. A negotiation usually involves a number of steps including the exchange of proposals and counter proposals. In good-faith negotiation, both sides are expected to make offers and concessions (Pruitt, 2003). Given that conflicts are continually becoming an ever present feature in organizations and administration, numerous studies have revealed that negotiation skills are increasingly becoming paramount and a pre-requisite of career and personal success (Matusitz and Breen, 2003).

Methodology

This methodology follows a research done on an international organization with a subsidiary in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization had 70 workers. The research design adopted was a quantitative descriptive approach (Bruner and Ripani, 2008). The main reason behind the adoption of the research design was to provide a description of the status of a particular phenomenon as it were presently. In the same breadth, Cresswell and Clarke (2007) noted that research designs are imperative since they help navigate the methods and ideas that research must adhere to during the study. They also lay the foundation for the interpretation of results in the end. This is corroborated by Brink and Wood (1998) who reveal that studies of this nature ought to be descriptive.

Seventy (70) respondents were sampled for this research but only 60 responded. Of the 60 respondents, 10 were part of the management team and 50 were lower ranking employees. The convenience sampling technique was utilized to select respondents. This is owing to respondents being selected based on their willingness to respond to the questionnaire. The five-point Likert scale of measurement was employed to collect data from the respondents. In this regard, respondents were made to indicate their level of agreement or disagreements on a symmetric agree-disagree scale for a series of statements.

The primary tool used for collecting data was questionnaire. Questions used in the questionnaire were structured in a way that evoked the required data that was needed to achieve the objectives of the study. The close-ended response strategy was used to design the questionnaire which was administered and reverted within a fortnight. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. Descriptive analysis gives a clear description of the results arrived at. Data management and analysis was done using SPSS software (version 23) (George and Mallery, 2016).

The results were presented using percentages and frequencies. Demographic data of the respondents show that the male gender was predominant at 54% of staff in the firm. In regards to age, 6 out of 60 sampled respondents were below 25 years. Fifteen respondents fell within the age bracket of 26-30 years. Additionally, 12 respondents were within the range of 41-50 years, 25 respondents were between 31-50 years while 2 respondents were above 50 years. The work tenure for the various employees was as follows; 30% have worked for less than 5 years in the organization, 54% have worked for between 6-10 years, 10% for between 11 to 15 years while the remaining employees have worked for not less than 16 years in the organization.

A study done by Nahavandi and Malakzadeh (2007) shows that different goals, perceptions and beliefs among individuals are some of the causes of conflict in organizations. With this background, the researcher sought to shed more light on the factors that cause strife or conflict in organizations. Five sources of conflict were identified by the employees. An overwhelming percentage of 94% identified differing values, opposing interests, breakdown in communication, dismal performance and scanty resources as the main drivers of conflict in the organization. Furthermore, three additional causes of conflict were identified by the 94% of the employees. There were; difference in perception, lack of accountability and competition among employees. The remaining 6% were uncertain.

Rahim (2010) affirms that policies developed and introduced by organizations, have a ripple effect on employees and their performances. To this end, the researcher sought to evaluate the perception of employees in connection to policies introduced by the firm. The four main conflict negotiation policies in the organization are mediation, arbitration, open communication channels and informal complaint process. Respondents were asked which policies were implemented and which ones they preferred. All respondents opined that all the policies were being implemented. In regards to preference, 64% preferred open communication channels, 22% preferred the informal complaint process while 14% preferred mediation. The arbitration policy was not preferred by any of the respondents.

The results obtained conformed to the findings by Nahavandi and Malakzadeh (2007) who substantiated that indeed differing values, opposing interests, breakdown in communication, dismal performance and scanty resources are the main causes of conflict in organizations. In other related studies, Robins and Langston (2001) assert that conflict can take a substantive of affective trajectory. In this regard, they discovered that substantive conflicts can be sparked by disagreements, debates, or disputes over resource distribution, task performance, and role assignments. Affective conflicts can be caused by a variety of interpersonal dynamics, including rivalries, jealousies, role definitions, or struggles for power and favor.

It is essential for managers to adhere to the policies they have put in place in resolving and negotiating conflicts when they occur. An active conflict management allows participating parties to openly air issues and grievances, thereby sharing information and resolving conflicts holistically (Lewicki et al., 2010). Moreover, Tjosvold et al. (2004) is of the opinion that to counter arguments, openness is paramount. The study further reveals that great possibilities lie in open conversation and argument confrontation. The positive results of conflict negotiation are, according to Lewicki et al. (2001), a result of the active approach which benefits team effectiveness.

The study revealed the bone of contention that cause employee conflict and that merits the attention of employers and management in organizations. The study reveals a pool of other sources of conflict that need to be further researched on. It is in the best interests for the administration and management of organizations to introduce and implement policies that employees’ opinions have been taken into account. Policies have a long-term impact on employees and also affect their productivity. In reality, conflicts are handled by first or middle line managers. This then means that top management involvement in conflict resolution points to deficiencies in the lower ranks. In conclusion, Darling and Fogliasso (2009) argue that it is impossible to get rid of conflict in its entirety. Instead, organizations should try to manage it for both institutional benefits and individual satisfaction.

Brink, P. J. (1998).  Advanced design in nursing research . Sage.

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137 (1), 30-40.

Bülow, A. M. and Boje, D. M. (2015). The antenarrative of negotiation: On the embeddedness of negotiation in organizations.  Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation ,  1 (3), 200-213.

Creswell, J. W. and Clark, V. L. P. (2017).  Designing and conducting mixed methods research . Sage publications.

Darling, J. R. and Fogliasso, C. E. (2009). Conflict management across cultural boundaries: a case analysis from a multinational bank.  European Business Review .

De Dreu, C. K. and Carnevale, P. J. (2003). Motivational Bases of Information Processing and Strategy in Conflict and Negotiation.

De Dreu, C. K. and Van de Vliert, E. (Eds.). (2000).  Using conflict in organizations . Sage.

Dewulf, A., Gray, B., Putnam, L., Lewicki, R., Aarts, N., Bouwen, R. and Van Woerkum, C. (2009). Disentangling approaches to framing in conflict and negotiation research: A meta-paradigmatic perspective.  Human relations ,  62 (2), 155-193.

George, D. and Mallery, P. (2016).  IBM SPSS statistics 23 step by step: A simple guide and reference . Routledge.

Ikeda, A. A., Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira, T. and Cortez Campomar, M. (2005). Organizational conflicts perceived by marketing executives.  EJBO-Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies .

Jehn, K. A., Greer, L., Levine, S. and Szulanski, G. (2008). The effects of conflict types, dimensions, and emergent states on group outcomes.  Group Decision and Negotiation ,  17 (6), 465-495.

Lewicki, R. J., Weiss, S. E. and Lewin, D. (2010). Models of conflict, negotiation and third party intervention: A review and synthesis.  Journal of organizational behavior ,  13 (3), 209-252.

Lewis, D. K. and Langton, R. (2001). Marshall and Parsons on.

Matusitz, J. and Breen, G. M. (2006). Negotiation tactics in organizations applied to hostage negotiation.  Journal of Security Education ,  2 (1), 55-73.

Nahavandi, A. and Malekzadeh, A. R. (2007). Leader style in strategy and organizational performance: An integrative framework.  Journal of Management Studies ,  30 (3), 405-425.

Oetzel, J., Meares, M., Myers, K. K. and Lara, E. (2003). Interpersonal conflict in organizations: Explaining conflict styles via face‐negotiation theory.  Communication Research Reports ,  20 (2), 106-115.

Penney, L. M. and Spector, P. E. (2005). Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): The moderating role of negative affectivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational

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Peterson, R. S. and Behfar, K. J. (2003). The dynamic relationship between performance feedback, trust, and conflict in groups: A longitudinal study.  Organizational behavior and human decision processes ,  92 (1-2), 102-112.

Pruitt, D. G. (2003).  Communication chains in negotiation between organizations . Sabancı Universitesi.

Rahim, M. A. (2010).  Managing conflict in organizations . Transaction publishers.

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Spaho, K. (2013). Organizational communication and conflict management.  Management-Journal of Contemporary Management Issues ,  18 (1), 103-118.

Tjosvold, D., Tang, M. M. and West, M. (2004). Reflexivity for team innovation in China: The contribution of goal interdependence.  Group & Organization Management ,  29 (5), 540-559.

This section will feature information that could not make its way into the main document.

Recommendations

Based on the results and conclusion of the current study, the following recommendations are made for different organizations;

• Participatory type of management should be encouraged by organizations rather than the autocratic
• A well-oiled system of information for all should be put in place to avoid rumour-mongering.
• Staff welfare should be paramount maximum running and optimum productivity of the
• Workshops for training and equipping staff on conflict, conflict resolution and negotiation procedures should be organized
• It should be noted that supremacy battles between employees of organizations should not be the Instead, harmony in the work place should reign supreme in order to achieve the goals and objective of the organization.
• There should be adequacy of interaction and dialogue in conflict resolution and
• Management should learn how to delegate duties and authority to lower-level employees in order to boost morale and
• Decision-making in the organizations should be multi-level to provide room for accommodation of diverse

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Book Review: Memoirist Lilly Dancyger’s penetrating essays explore the power of female friendships

This cover image released by Dial Press shows “First Love” by Lilly Dancyger. (Dial Press via AP)

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Who means more to you — your friends or your lovers? In a vivid, thoughtful and nuanced collection of essays, Lilly Dancyger explores the powerful role that female friendships played in her chaotic upbringing marked by her parents’ heroin use and her father’s untimely death when she was only 12.

“First Love: Essays on Friendship” begins with a beautiful paean to her cousin Sabina, who was raped and murdered at age 20 on her way home from a club. As little kids, their older relatives used to call them Snow White and Rose Red after the Grimm’s fairy tale, “two sisters who are not rivals or foils, but simply love each other.”

That simple, uncomplicated love would become the template for a series of subsequent relationships with girls and women that helped her survive her self-destructive adolescence and provided unconditional support as she scrambled to create a new identity as a “hypercompetent” writer, teacher and editor. “It’s true that I’ve never been satisfied with friendships that stay on the surface. That my friends are my family, my truest beloveds, each relationship a world of its own,” she writes in the title essay “First Love.”

The collection stands out not just for its elegant, unadorned writing but also for the way she effortlessly pivots between personal history and spot-on cultural criticism that both comments on and critiques the way that girls and women have been portrayed — and have portrayed themselves — in the media, including on online platforms like Tumblr and Instagram.

For instance, she examines the 1994 Peter Jackson film, “Heavenly Creatures,” based on the true story of two teenage girls who bludgeoned to death one of their mothers. And in the essay “Sad Girls,” about the suicide of a close friend, she analyzes the allure of self-destructive figures like Sylvia Plath and Janis Joplin to a certain type of teen, including herself, who wallows in sadness and wants to make sure “the world knew we were in pain.”

In the last essay, “On Murder Memoirs,” Dancyger considers the runaway popularity of true crime stories as she tries to explain her decision not to attend the trial of the man charged with killing her cousin — even though she was trained as a journalist and wrote a well-regarded book about her late father that relied on investigative reporting. “When I finally sat down to write about Sabina, the story that came out was not about murder at all,” she says. “It was a love story.”

Readers can be thankful that it did.

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Using AI to predict GPA from college application essays

Jonah Berger and Olivier Toubia used natural language processing to understand what drives academic success. The authors analyzed over 20,000 college application essays from a large public university that attracts students from a range of racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds and found that the semantic volume of the writing, or how much ground an application essay covered predicted college performance, as measured by grade point average. Essays that covered more semantic ground predicted higher grades. Similarly, essays with smaller conceptual jumps between successive parts of its discourse predicted higher grades. These trends held even when researchers controlled for factors including SAT score, parents’ education, gender, ethnicity, college major, essay topics, and essay length. Some of these factors, such as parents’ education and the student’s SAT scores, encode information about family background, suggesting that the linguistic features of semantic volume and speed are not determined solely by socioeconomic status. According to the authors, the results demonstrate that the topography of thought, or the way people express and organize their ideas, can provide insight into their likely future success.

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The topography of thought

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Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Analysis of the 2024 social security trustees’ report.

The Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their annual reports today on the financial status of the Social Security and Medicare programs over the next 75 years. The latest Social Security projections show that the program is quickly approaching insolvency and highlight the need for trust fund solutions sooner rather than later to prevent across-the-board benefit cuts or abrupt changes to tax or benefit levels. The Social Security Trustees project:

• Social Security is approaching insolvency. Under current law, Social Security cannot guarantee full benefits to current retirees. The Trustees project the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will deplete its reserves by 2033, when today’s 58-year-olds reach the full retirement age and today’s youngest retirees turn 71. Upon insolvency, all beneficiaries will face a 21 percent across-the-board benefit cut. Including the Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund, the theoretically combined trust funds will be insolvent by 2035 and beneficiaries would face a 17 percent cut.
• Social Security faces large and rising imbalances. According to the Trustees, Social Security will run cash deficits of $3 trillion over the next decade, the equivalent of 2.3 percent of taxable payroll or 0.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Annual deficits will grow to 3.4 percent of payroll (1.2 percent of GDP) by 2050 and 4.6 percent of payroll (1.6 percent of GDP) by 2098. Social Security’s 75-year actuarial imbalance totals 3.5 percent of payroll, which is over 1.2 percent of GDP or nearly $24 trillion in present value terms.
• Social Security’s finances have improved from last year but remain perilous. Social Security’s 75-year solvency gap was reduced from 3.61 to 3.50 percent of payroll as a result of stronger-than-expected economic performance and fewer expected disability applicants, partially offset by lower expected birth rates in future years.
• Time is running out to save Social Security. Policymakers have only a few years left to restore solvency to the program, and the longer they wait, the larger and more costly the necessary adjustments will be. Acting sooner allows more policy options to be considered, allows for more gradual phase in, and gives employees and employers time to plan.

With insolvency rapidly approaching, failing to address Social Security’s imbalances is an implicit endorsement of a 21 percent benefit cut imposed on all beneficiaries regardless of age, income, or need. Policymakers should implement pro-growth trust fund solutions sooner rather than later to ensure long-term solvency and give beneficiaries time to plan and adjust.

Social Security is Approaching Insolvency

Social Security’s retirement program is only nine years from insolvency, and action must be taken soon to prevent an across-the-board benefit cut for many current and future beneficiaries.

The Trustees project the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI) trust fund will deplete its reserves by 2033; the SSDI trust fund is in much stronger shape and will remain solvent over the next 75 years. On a theoretically combined basis – assuming revenue is reallocated between the trust funds – Social Security will become insolvent by 2035.

Upon insolvency of the OASI fund, all retirees – regardless of age, income, or need – will face a 21 percent across-the-board benefit cut, which will grow to 31 percent by the end of the 75-year projection window. We previously estimated that a typical couple retiring in the year of insolvency would face a $17,400 cut in their annual benefits. On a combined basis, insolvency would lead to a 17 percent initial cut, growing to 27 percent by the end of the window.

The year 2033 is only nine years away. That means the OASI trust fund is on course to run out of reserves when today’s 58-year-olds reach the normal retirement age and when today’s youngest retirees turn 71. Meanwhile, the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund will exhaust its reserves in 2036, when today’s 53-year-olds become eligible.

The Trustees’ findings are similar to recent estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which estimated the OASI trust fund would be exhausted by Fiscal Year (FY) 2033, the HI trust fund by FY 2035, and the theoretically combined Social Security trust funds by FY 2034.

Social Security Faces a Large and Growing Shortfall

The Trustees project that Social Security will run chronic deficits. They estimate the combined program will run a cash-flow deficit of $169 billion this year – which is 1.7 percent of taxable payroll or 0.6 percent of GDP. Social Security will run $3.0 trillion of deficits over the next decade.

Over the long term, the Trustees project Social Security’s cash shortfall (assuming full benefits are paid) will grow to 2.6 percent of taxable payroll (0.9 percent of GDP) by 2035, to 3.4 percent of payroll (1.2 percent of GDP) by 2050, and to a high of 5.1 percent of payroll (1.7 percent of GDP) by 2079. Costs will then decline to 4.6 percent of payroll (1.6 percent of GDP) by 2098.

Social Security’s growing long-term shortfall is the result of rising costs, mostly due to the aging of the population. Total Social Security costs have already risen from 11.0 percent of taxable payroll in 2003 to 14.5 percent of payroll in 2023 and are projected to rise further to 16.8 percent by 2050 and 18.1 percent of payroll by 2098. Revenue will fail to keep up with growing costs, rising only modestly from 13.0 percent of payroll today to 13.5 percent by 2098.

On a 75-years basis, the Social Security trust funds face an actuarial shortfall of 3.5 percent of taxable payroll, which is 1.2 percent of GDP or $23.8 trillion in present-value terms. A plan to restore sustainable solvency over the next 75 years would require the equivalent of increasing payroll taxes immediately by 27 percent or reducing spending by 21 percent for all current and future beneficiaries, or some combination. Actual reforms could be better targeted, rather than across the board, and phased in gradually.

Social Security’s Finances Have Improved Modestly But Time Has Run Short

Social Security’s long-term outlook has improved relative to last year’s projection, mainly on the disability side, but its financial challenges remain large. The 2023 Social Security Trustees’ Report estimated a 75-year actuarial imbalance of 3.61 percent of taxable payroll, which has declined to 3.50 percent in this year’s report. The insolvency date for the theoretically combined trust funds has been pushed back one year from 2034 to 2035 but is still only 11 years away. 

The most significant improvements from last year’s report are driven by changes in economic and disability assumptions. On the economic side, stronger near-term output, updated educational attainment, and greater covered employment led to a 0.13 percent of payroll improvement. Meanwhile, a significant reduction in expected disability applications – driven by recent experience – led to an additional 0.12 percent of payroll improvement.

Methodological and programmatic data changes improved the 75-year outlook by 0.08 percentage points of payroll mostly due to updates to the sample of newly eligible retired worker and disabled-worker beneficiaries used to project average benefit levels as well as updated post-entitlement benefit adjustment factors.

Partially offsetting these improvements, new demographic assumptions increased Social Security’s 75-year shortfall by 0.16 percentage points of payroll. Most significantly, the Trustees now expect lower fertility – at 1.9 children per woman instead of 2.0 percent. They also incorporated lower-than-projected actual fertility in 2023, higher mortality rates, and other updates to population, immigration, and marriage assumptions.

Legislative and regulatory changes had a negligible effect on Social Security’s 75-year shortfall. Since the 2023 report, there have been ongoing judicial developments related to immigration policy, including a ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that deferred full implementation of the program. While the 2023 report assumed the DACA program would be fully implemented by mid-2023, the Trustees now assume the program will not be fully implemented until mid-2024.

The remaining changes to the outlook come from the new projection window. Including the year 2098 in the Trustees’ 75-year solvency projections worsened Social Security’s 75-year actuarial imbalance by 0.06 percentage points of payroll.

Although the 75-year imbalance shrunk this year, it has generally been growing over the past 15 years. This year’s 3.50 percent of payroll imbalance is more than 80 percent larger than the 1.92 percent of payroll imbalance estimated in 2010.

Importantly, while Social Security’s finances have generally worsened overall, Social Security Disability Insurance’s finances have continued to improve. As recently as 2015, the SSDI program faced a 0.31 percent of payroll (17 percent of revenue) shortfall and was only one year from insolvency. A temporary reallocation of payroll taxes from the old-age program reduced that shortfall to 0.26 percent of payroll the next year.

Since that time, a combination of administrative reforms, strong labor markets, and other factors has eliminated that shortfall, turning it into a 0.14 percent of payroll surplus. Despite this improvement, policymakers should continue to support improvements to the disability program, which can improve fairness and administration of benefits while supporting individuals with disabilities who want to remain in or return to the workforce. Such reforms can also help grow the economy and improve the Social Security program’s combined finances.

Delaying Fixes to Social Security is Costly

The Trustees recommend that “lawmakers address the projected trust fund shortfalls in a timely way in order to phase in necessary changes gradually and give workers and beneficiaries time to adjust to them.” Quick action would also give policymakers choices in making targeted adjustments, enhancing benefits for vulnerable populations, and achieving pro-growth reforms.

According to the Trustees, lawmakers could restore 75-year solvency with the equivalent of a 27 percent (3.3 percentage point) payroll tax increase, a 21 percent reduction in all benefits, or a 25 percent reduction in benefits for new beneficiaries if they act today.

Delaying action until 2035 would increase the size of necessary adjustments by about one-fifth. In that year, taxes would need to be raised by 32 percent (4.0 percentage points) or benefits cut for all beneficiaries by 25 percent. It would be impossible to restore solvency from new beneficiaries alone – even eliminating all benefits would be insufficient.

Thoughtful trust fund solutions would not only prevent deep across-the-board benefit cuts, but could also support economic growth , reduce inflationary pressures, and improve the nation’s fiscal outlook . We have published ten options to improve Social Security solvency   – including a number of benefit and revenue changes. Other proposals can be designed with our Social Security Reformer tool . The closer we get to insolvency, the fewer of these options remain available.

The Social Security Trustees continue to warn that the Social Security retirement program is significantly out of balance and just nine years from insolvency. Absent reforms, Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits to many current beneficiaries, let alone today’s workers and future generations.  Taking no action to fix Social Security will be an implicit endorsement of a 21 percent across-the-board cut to all beneficiaries, regardless of age or need.

As policymakers delay necessary action, the program’s finances continue to deteriorate. The longer policymakers wait, the larger and more abrupt any adjustments will need to be. All options should be on the table including changes to revenue, spending and the retirement age.

Fortunately, many well-known options to fix Social Security’s finances exist and could be enacted and implemented with political will and bipartisanship. A number of comprehensive plans already exist to restore solvency, and our Social Security Reformer Tool allows anyone to design their own. Policymakers should also consider pursuing new, innovative solutions to promote economic growth and improve retirement security in concert with addressing the program’s finances.

Policymakers cannot wait much longer to enact thoughtful Social Security reforms.

What's Next

Event Recap: The Trustees' Reports on the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds

Maya MacGuineas on Fox News' "Special Report"

Social Security and Medicare Trustees Confirm Trust Funds Need Saving

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Like Love by Maggie Nelson review – music, passion and friendship

Vibrant essays from the author of The Argonauts touch on art, inspiration, and many of the central dilemmas of our times

“A s a child I had so much energy I’d lie awake and feel my organs smolder,” Maggie Nelson wrote in 2005’s Jane: A Murder . She was a dancer before she was a writer and you can feel the commitment to the fire of bodily motion in her masterpieces: the shimmeringly brutal excavation of girlhood and violence in Jane , the story of her aunt’s killing at the hands of a rapist; the clear-headed yet ecstatic celebration of the transformations of pregnancy and top surgery, and the new kind of family she and her trans partner brought into being in The Argonauts (2015). Her dedication to the material finds the forms it needs; I don’t think she sets out to bend genres. Instead, her high-stakes eviscerations of body settle into radically new forms.

Is this the energy of the rebel or the valedictorian? For decades, Nelson has parted her hair, fastened her top button, won the right grades and grants while throwing herself voluptuously into the counterculture, dreaming of being an “ electric ribbon of horniness and divine grace ” like one of her inspirations, Prince . It’s an American energy – expansive, new, full of power, pleasure, change and motion; a frontier energy, even when she’s writing about New York. We can hear Whitman behind her, and Emerson. “Power ceases in the instant of repose,” Emerson pronounces in Self-Reliance ; “it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state, in the shooting of a gulf, in the darting to an aim.”

A decade after The Argonauts became the bible of English graduates everywhere, the essays in Like Love arrive to help us understand Nelson’s place in a culture where, to her half-delight, she has become such a powerful voice. Spanning two decades, they range from appreciations of influences including Prince and Judith Butler , to wild, freefalling conversations with figures such as Björk, Wayne Koestenbaum and Jacqueline Rose. There is a passionate, wondering account of her formative half-erotic friendship with the singer Lhasa de Sela . The writing isn’t consistent, any more than her books are. But I like to take my thinkers and writers whole, as she does. The essays offer a kind of composite self-portrait, and illustrate how she thinks, sometimes painstakingly, sometimes with casual jubilance, about some of the central dilemmas of our time.

In the face of the climate crisis, how to avoid “giving in to the narcissistic spectacle of the slo-mo Titanic going down”? In the face of the crisis in feminism, how and whether to move beyond sexual difference? The written exchanges show her interlocutors thinking it through, too. “ You dare to step into the future like no one else atm ,” Björk says. It’s true. This is where all that restless energy is leading. This is why she’s an Emersonian, shying away from nihilism. “There are new lands, new men, new thoughts,” Emerson wrote in Nature , discarding the “dry bones” of his ancestors; “Let us demand our own works and laws and worship.”

In her powerful piece on the artist Carolee Schneemann , Nelson posits her as a female incarnation of Emerson’s self-reliant man. But it’s Nelson herself who proffers new laws and worship – whose project amounts to a practical philosophy of contemporary American culture. In The Argonauts she offers the gift of a future we can somehow share; one that acknowledges the miseries of the present, that has space for dreams, but is obstinately material and in our world. Here, in dialogue with Jacqueline Rose, she proposes that “ Everybody deserves the kind of non-stultifying internal breathing space of fluidity or instability that is attributed to queers, or to women, or whatever.”

Like Love’s title comes from writer and theatre critic Hilton Als ’s vision of a group on the subway not as white women or black men but as mouths that need filling “with something wet or dry, like love, or unfamiliar and savory, like love”. Nelson, too, is drawn to mouths – to orifices in general – as organs of pleasure and pain, and as portals enabling a radical openness.

Because Nelson likes writing about her friends, there’s a kind of homogeneity to much of the book that cumulatively left me feeling a little claustrophobic, longing especially for the roominess of time travel. With the exception of 2009’s Bluets , Nelson’s writing is so located in the postwar world that the past can feel entirely absent. This is her affinity with Emerson and Whitman again – her song to the future – but I wonder if I’m alone in wishing that, alongside those two often acknowledged ancestors, her future could have artists, activists and libertines from earlier centuries informing it, too.

Which is not to say that she’s wrong to write about the people in her circle. The brutality of the present moment may require us precisely to batten down the hatches and commit to extreme solidarity. At a time when institutional life is collapsing, when the pandemic privileged family over friends, when work expands in ways that leave many too exhausted to socialise, Nelson demonstrates what it means to dedicate yourself to a cohort with seriousness and strenuousness. “You, to me, quickly became an inspiration,” she tells the poet Brian Blanchfield , “a brother, a support in times of seriously dark waters, an editor, a lender of excellent and pivotal books, a cheerleader, a colleague, a couch sleeper (and couch mover), a fellow swimmer … a corrupting gambler, (queer) family.” Like Love may be one of the most movingly specific, the most lovingly unruly celebrations of the ethics of friendship we have.

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Joseph Epstein, conservative provocateur, tells his life story in full

In two new books, the longtime essayist and culture warrior shows off his wry observations about himself and the world

Humorous, common-sensical, temperamentally conservative, Joseph Epstein may be the best familiar — that is casual, personal — essayist of the last half-century. Not, as he might point out, that there’s a lot of competition. Though occasionally a scourge of modern society’s errancies, Epstein sees himself as essentially a serious reader and “a hedonist of the intellect.” His writing is playful and bookish, the reflections of a wry observer alternately amused and appalled by the world’s never-ending carnival.

Now 87, Epstein has just published his autobiography, “ Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life: Especially if You’ve Had a Lucky Life ,” in tandem with “ Familiarity Breeds Content: New and Selected Essays .” This pair of books brings the Epstein oeuvre up to around 30 volumes of sophisticated literary entertainment. While there are some short-story collections (“The Goldin Boys,” “Fabulous Small Jews”), all the other books focus on writers, observations on American life, and topics as various as ambition, envy, snobbery, friendship, charm and gossip. For the record, let me add that I own 14 volumes of Epstein’s views and reviews and would like to own them all.

Little wonder, then, that Epstein’s idea of a good time is an afternoon spent hunched over Herodotus’s “Histories,” Marguerite Yourcenar’s “Memoirs of Hadrian” or almost anything by Henry James, with an occasional break to enjoy the latest issue of one of the magazines he subscribes to. In his younger days, there were as many as 25, and most of them probably featured Epstein’s literary journalism at one time or another. In the case of Commentary, he has been contributing pieces for more than 60 years.

As Epstein tells it, no one would have predicted this sort of intellectual life for a kid from Chicago whose main interests while growing up were sports, hanging out, smoking Lucky Strikes and sex. A lackadaisical C student, Myron Joseph Epstein placed 169th in a high school graduating class of 213. Still, he did go on to college — the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — because that’s what was expected of a son from an upper-middle-class Jewish family. But Urbana-Champaign wasn’t a good fit for a jokester and slacker: As he points out, the president of his college fraternity “had all the playfulness of a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.” No matter. Caught peddling stolen copies of an upcoming accounting exam for $5 a pop, Epstein was summarily expelled.

Fortunately, our lad had already applied for a transfer to the University of Chicago, to which he was admitted the next fall. Given his record, this shows a surprising laxity of standards by that distinguished institution, but for Epstein the move was life-changing. In short order, he underwent a spiritual conversion from good ol’ boy to European intellectual in the making. In the years to come, he would count the novelist Saul Bellow and the sociologist Edward Shils among his close friends, edit the American Scholar, and teach at Northwestern University. His students, he recalls, were “good at school, a skill without any necessary carry-over, like being good at pole-vaulting or playing the harmonica.”

Note the edge to that remark. While “Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life” is nostalgia-laden, there’s a hard nut at its center. Epstein feels utter contempt for our nation’s “radical change from a traditionally moral culture to a therapeutic one.” As he explains: “Our parents’ culture and that which came long before them was about the formation of character; the therapeutic culture was about achieving happiness. The former was about courage and honor, the latter about self-esteem and freedom from stress.” This view of America’s current ethos may come across as curmudgeonly and reductionist, but many readers — whatever their political and cultural leanings — would agree with it. Still, such comments have sometimes made their author the focus of nearly histrionic vilification.

Throughout his autobiography, this lifelong Chicagoan seems able to remember the full names of everyone he’s ever met, which suggests Epstein started keeping a journal at an early age. He forthrightly despises several older writers rather similar to himself, calling Clifton Fadiman, author of “The Lifetime Reading Plan,” pretentious, then quite cruelly comparing Mortimer J. Adler, general editor of the “Great Books of the Western World” series, with Sir William Haley, one of those deft, widely read English journalists who make all Americans feel provincial. To Epstein, “no two men were more unalike; Sir William, modest, suave, intellectually sophisticated; Mortimer vain, coarse, intellectually crude.” In effect, Fadiman and Adler are both presented as cultural snake-oil salesmen. Of course, both authors were popularizers and adept at marketing their work, but helping to enrich the intellectual lives of ordinary people doesn’t strike me as an ignoble purpose.

In his own work, Epstein regularly employs humor, bits of slang or wordplay, and brief anecdotes to keep his readers smiling. For instance, in a chapter about an editorial stint at the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Epstein relates this story about a colleague named Martin Self:

“During those days, when anti-Vietnam War protests were rife, a young woman in the office wearing a protester’s black armband, asked Martin if he were going to that afternoon’s protest march. ‘No, Naomi,’ he said, ‘afternoons such as this I generally spend at the graveside of George Santayana.’”

Learned wit, no doubt, but everything — syntax, diction, the choice of the philosopher Santayana for reverence — is just perfect.

But Epstein can be earthier, too. Another colleague “was a skirt-chaser extraordinaire," a man "you would not feel safe leaving alone with your great-grandmother.” And of himself, he declares: “I don’t for a moment wish to give the impression that I live unrelievedly on the highbrow level of culture. I live there with a great deal of relief.”

In his many essays, including the sampling in “Familiarity Breeds Content,” Epstein is also markedly “quotacious,” often citing passages from his wide reading to add authority to an argument or simply to share his pleasure in a well-turned observation. Oddly enough, such borrowed finery is largely absent from “Never Say You’ve Had a Happy Life.” One partial exception might be the unpronounceable adjective “immitigable,” which appears all too often. It means unable to be mitigated or softened, and Epstein almost certainly stole it from his friend Shils, who was fond of the word.

Despite his autobiography’s jaunty title, Epstein has seen his share of trouble. As a young man working for an anti-poverty program in Little Rock, he married a waitress after she became pregnant with his child. When they separated a decade later, he found himself with four sons to care for — two from her previous marriage, two from theirs. Burt, the youngest, lost an eye in an accident while a toddler, couldn’t keep a job, fathered a child out of wedlock and eventually died of an opioid overdose at 28. Initially hesitant, Epstein came to adore Burt’s daughter, Annabelle, as did his second wife, Barbara, whom he married when they were both just past 40.

Some pages of “Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life” will be familiar to inveterate readers of Epstein’s literary journalism, all of which carries a strong first-person vibe. Not surprisingly, however, the recycled anecdotage feels less sharp or witty the second time around. But overall, this look back over a long life is consistently entertaining, certainly more page-turner than page-stopper. To enjoy Epstein at his very best, though, you should seek out his earlier essay collections such as “The Middle of My Tether,” “Partial Payments” and “A Line Out for a Walk.” Whether he writes about napping or name-dropping or a neglected writer such as Somerset Maugham, his real subject is always, at heart, the wonder and strangeness of human nature.

Never Say You’ve Had a Lucky Life

Especially if You’ve Had a Lucky Life

By Joseph Epstein

Free Press. 304 pp. $29.99

Familiarity Breeds Content

New and Selected Essays

Simon & Schuster. 464 pp. $20.99

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Chicago students honored for powerful essays on violence impact

'do the write thing' finalists announced in chicago.

There were 100 students honored Tuesday night for writing essays about how violence affects them.

CHICAGO - One hundred students were recognized on Monday for their essays reflecting on the impact of violence in their lives and communities.

The event, known as "Do the Write Thing," is part of a nationwide initiative aimed at curbing violence. The celebratory ceremony unfolded at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where the young participants were joined by their families, teachers and school principals.

Out of a total of 800 submissions from middle school students across the city, the top ten finalists emerged. From this talented pool, two exceptional individuals were unveiled as the winners.

Rylie Thompson, representing Arthur Dixon Elementary, and Beautiful Pearson, from Parker Community Academy, clinched the coveted titles. 

Alongside their well-deserved trophies, Thompson and Pearson secured an all-expenses-paid journey to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

During their visit, the students will have the opportunity to explore the esteemed Library of Congress and, potentially, engage with policymakers. Furthermore, their compelling essays have been immortalized in a book, slated for preservation within the Library of Congress's archives.

Beautiful Pearson's essay can be found HERE or below.

Rylie Thompson's essay can be found HERE or below.

Effective Communication in Negotiations Essay

Introduction, communication, process of negotiation, role of communication in negotiation, focus of communication, non-verbal communication during negotiation, case study involving communication in negotiation, works cited.

The term negotiation refers to a dialogue between different parties or people. It aims at arriving at an understanding and crafting a satisfactory outcome that satisfies the parties involved. In addition, it is the bargaining for collective or individual advantage. It results in an agreement to guide the course of action, and resolves differences among different parties. In this process, each party attempts to gain some advantage over the other.

As a method of conflict resolution, negotiation settles differences among belligerent parties. Most studies that have been done in relation to communication and conflict resolution have general ideas. The few studies that have been conducted on negotiations provide shallow information. However, the outcomes of negotiations depend on effective communication. Ideas, opinions, and views of each party are conveyed through communication. Therefore, this essay discusses communication during negotiations.

Communication is the process used to bring about consensus and understanding among disputing parties (McGinn and Markus 4). It is the conveying of information or a message, verbally or non-verbally; from the sender to the receiver. Effective communication occurs when the receiver decodes a similar understanding as the one encoded by the sender. Communication clarifies the goals of negotiations in an attempt to solve the conflict. However, the formality of communication is dependent on the context in which it takes place. Communication is made up of inter-related components (McGinn and Markus 5).

These include the sender, receiver, message, and a channel. The sender is also referred to as the source, which generates the message. In this case, the message represents the idea, opinion, or the view of the sender. It is also called the intended effect on the receiver. This message is conveyed through a medium known as a channel to the receiver who is also known as the encoder. Negotiation involves a process through which ideas, views, and opinions are exchanged to bring out mutual understanding among the disputing groups. Communication can be classified into two forms. That is verbal and non-verbal. Both categories have impacts on the outcomes of the negotiation process. Therefore, parties involved in negotiation should pay attention to verbal and non-verbal messages to enhance mutual agreements.

The communication process starts with preparation (“SkillsYouNeed.com” par. 8). This includes all decisions taken concerning where and when the negotiation will occur. To avoid disagreements, both parties should agree mutually on the time and venue of the negotiations. These discussions are done through communication. Communication clarifies the context, time, and position of each party. In addition, communication defines the rules of the process to the concerned parties. Finally, it clarifies all materials and references used during the negotiations. They encompass the following; organizational policies, guidelines, state laws, and international conventions among others.

Secondly, discussions take place (“SkillsYouNeed.com” par. 9). At this stage, each party communicates their understanding of the case. There are essential skills of communication that facilitate discussion for example, questioning clarifies ideas. Therefore, questioning is particularly significant in this process. Listening helps both parties to learn about each other’s point of view. Each party should be ready to listen to the other by giving them a chance to articulate themselves. Clarifying is the third skill of communication that sheds more light on the opinions or ideas of each party. In addition, one may make notes for future clarification. Speaking a lot and paying less attention may increase the persistence of the conflict. Therefore, each party should be granted an equal chance to argue their case. Good communication in negotiations enhances the clarification of goals. This is useful in prioritizing the propositions and establishes a common ground (Lewick par. 9).

An agreement comes at the final stage when the suggestions have been prioritized (“SkillsYouNeed.com” par. 12). At this stage, the terms of the agreement are drawn and course of action developed. Each party should feel at ease with the result. Communication is essential to ensure each party adheres to the agreements. Therefore, follow-ups are made and the results communicated back to each party. In case there is a need for adjustments, all parties are called back to re-draft the agreement. All this is done through communication.

Communication coordinates the outcomes of the negotiations (“Oregonstate.edu” par. 3). It is the process through which the negotiation process takes place. In addition, communication conveys information through overt, covert, intentional, and unintentional methods. This happens through verbal and non-verbal communication. Furthermore, communication expresses tactical actions and strategic intentions of the process. In other words, it expresses the vested interests in relation to the results of the process. It also identifies patterns of behavior among the parties involved. It reveals both verbal and non-verbal cues of the parties. Finally, it alters expectations and perceptions of the outcome, process, relationship, and bargaining situation.

In negotiations, communication focuses on substantive issues being discussed (“Oregonstate.edu” par. 4). These include interests, demands, and proposals of each group. These are issues which define the conflicts. In addition, communication highlights procedural issues that come up during the process. They include probable solutions, misinterpretations, and interpersonal relationships.

Non-verbal communication affects resolutions of a dispute or conflict (“Oregonstate.edu” par. 6-9). These include chronemics which means time, proxemics that defines distance and space, and kinesics which is also referred to as body language. In addition, there are physical and eye expressions which influence negotiations. However, the outcome of communication is also affected by contextual issues like the environment, culture, and international conventions.

James and John are employees of a certain company in Australia. Both are line managers in different departments. In this company, subordinates are transferred weekly from one department to another. However, one day Jack retained two employees whom he termed as competent. Therefore, John’s department experienced a deficit of two members. This caused a conflict between the two heads of departments. This called for negation to settle the conflict that had affected the company’s productivity.

They prepared for the process by setting the time, place, and rules to govern all parties involved. The process began on the second day where John and Jack exchanged their opinions and ideas concerning the case. Each party was given a chance to speak and listen to another. However, in the process, misunderstandings rose because of non-verbal communication. Jack complained that John kept on smiling while the issue was serious. On the second day of the process, they settled the conflict and drafted guidelines for inter-departmental transfer of employees.

In the above case of Jack and John’s communication plays a significant role from preparation to settlement of the conflict. Different skills are used such as listening and turn-taking. However, a misunderstanding arises from non-verbal methods of communication where Jack criticizes John of smiling while the issue is serious. On the second day, they settle the conflict and draft operational guidelines for inter-departmental transfers.

Most studies do not discuss communication in negotiations comprehensively. Negotiation takes place through communication. This involves both verbal and non-verbal communication. Effective communication enhances the outcome of negotiations. The process of negotiation commences with preparation and culminates with an agreement. In each stage, communication plays a significant role in determining the outcome. During this process, communication focuses on substantive and procedural issues. Furthermore, non-verbal communication affects the outcome of communication. Therefore, both verbal and non-verbal communications dictate negotiation outcomes.

Lewick, Saunder. Communication: Negotiation as a Process , 2011. Web.

McGinn, Kathleen L and Markus, Nöth. Communicating Frames in Negotiations . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School, 2012. Print.

Oregonstate.edu. n.d. Key Aspects of Communication in Negotiation, n.d. Web.

SkillsYouNeed.com. Negotiation , 2013. Web.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Effective Communication in Negotiations." March 13, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effective-communication-in-negotiations/.

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