Ch 9: Relationships in Negotiation

Question 1

What are the 7 ways in which existing relationships can affect negotiation dynamics?

Answer 1

1. Negotiating within Relationship Takes Place Over Time
2. Beyond the discussion of issues, negotiation is a way to learn more about the other party and increase interdependence
3. Resolution of simple distributive issues has implications for the future
4. Distributive Issues within Relationship Negotiations can be Emotionally Hot
5. Negotiating within Relationships may Never End
   * Parties may defer negotiations over tough issues in order to start on the right foot

*Attempting to anticipate the future and negotiate everything up front is often impossible

*Issues on which parties truly disagree may never go away

6. In many negotiations, the other person is the focal problem- habits, personality etc.
7. In some negotiations, relationship preservation is the overarching negotiation goal, and parties may make concessions on substantive issues to preserve or enhance the relationship.
   -Concessions possible solution to “person-is-the-problem” negotiation

Question 2

Describe negotiations in Communal Sharing Relationships

Answer 2

Has more cooperation and empathy, integrative solutions

Uses Compromising or problem-solving strategies for conflict resolution

Question 3

Describe Identity Theory

Answer 3

Theory for understanding groups with common interests

Groups act as a tribe, sharing a common identity

Common identity results in the failure of traditional negotiation techniques- they become more subjective

Strong emotions are typical kind of conflicts and inhibits effective conflict resolution

Question 4

Overall effectiveness of Relationships in Negotiation

Answer 4

Integrative solutions more likely for those not in close relationships

Lack of assertion and accommodation more typical for those in close relationships.

Question 5

Critical Role Played by Reputation in Negotiation

Answer 5

-reputations are perceived and highly subjective

-Shaped by past behaviour; also influenced by achievements and individual characteristics

-Develop over time and once developed are hard to change

-Other’s reputation can shape emotional states as well as their expectation

-Negative reputations are difficult to repair

Question 6

Describe the role of Trust in Negotiation

Answer 6

trust as “an individual’s belief in and willingness to act on the words, actions and decisions of another

-Research shows that higher levels of trust make negotiations easier

Question 7

Other research findings on Trust

Answer 7

Individual Antecedants

-Individual motives shape expectations of trust

Situational Antecedents

Trust and Negotiation Processes
-The emphasis on focusing on different things is amplified by the type of negotiations the
parties expect:
*If they expect distributive neg. the trustor tends to focus on the risks of disclosing info; trustee focuses on benefits they can gain from the other
*If they expect integrative- trutor tends to focus more on what kind of info they can give; trustee focuses on what info they need to meet common interests

Outcomes

Question 8

Describe Trust Repair Strategies

Answer 8

1. Verbal Accounts: Apologies, explanations, accounts etc
2. Pay reparations/ tangible resources like money or goods
3. Violator and victim can put structures in place to minimize breaking of trust in future- like contracts and monitoring systems

Question 9

Explain the role of Justice in Negotiations

Answer 9

Justice: The question of what is fair or just.

Forms of Justice:
1. Distributive: Fair distribution of outcomes: rewards and punishments

2. Procedural: fairness in the process of determining outcomes
3. Interactional: who parties treat each other in one-to-one relationships- how parties expect to be treated affect their perception on the justice of the treatment
4. Systemic: How organizations appear to treat groups of individuals and the norms that develop for how they should be treated.

Issues of discrimination- like the concept of systemic racism

Question 10

Relationships among Reputation, Trust, and Justice

Answer 10

If a party feels they have been treated fairly; they are more likely to trust the other party. This trust will also lead to a positive reputation

Question 11

What are the five steps to repairing a relationship?

Answer 11

Consider:

1. What might be causing any present misunderstanding, and what can I do to understand it better?
2. What might be causing a lack of trust, and what can I do to repair the trust that is broken
3. What might be causing one or both of us to feel coerced, and what can I do to put the focus on persuasion rather than coercion
4. What might be causing one or both of us to feel disrespected, and what can I do to demonstrate acceptance and respect?
5. What might be causing one or both of us to get upset, and what can I do to balance emotion and reason- get to the bottom of the feeling of anger and work on managing your feelings