How does negotiation help in resolving conflicts




















Focus on the source of the problem and the ways negotiators can address it. Engage in active listening. Conflict resolution—and negotiations themselves—are likely to stall if one party does not feel heard by the other.

Engage in active listening techniques like repeating back critical information, reaffirming statements, and maintaining eye contact. Find shared interests. Redefine the issue, so both sides can identify needs and achieve a win, no matter how small. Then, work together to develop a win-win situation. Set an objective. Of course, the desired outcome of the conflict resolution is an end to conflict so negotiations can continue.

If the goal of the negotiations is to solidify a business deal and the conflict revolves around price structure, the objective could be to compromise on an acceptable price that provides value for the client and profit for the company; the win-win, in this situation, is a clear objective that requires give and take.

In addition, it is especially important during conflict resolution to determine the BATNA of the opposing negotiator. Such an insight may present an opportunity to reduce conflict and promote compromise. Contact Us. These barriers include how you view yourself and others, what you expect following the resolved conflict and what position of power you hold versus the person you are negotiating with.

Gender can also act as a barrier, since the way certain people are taught to deal with conflict as a young boy or girl may resurface in their adult years during negotiations. These barriers will not stop the resolution of conflict entirely but can slow down the process and be difficult to navigate around. Crystal Vogt has been an editor and freelance writer since and has had her work mentioned on MediaBistro, Yahoo!

Finance and MSN Money, among other outlets. She received her M. Why do we have a conflict? What are its root causes? Who is involved, and with whom do we need to reach agreement? What are our interests? Do we have multiple interests? Which are most important? Can we describe them very specifically and clearly? Does all of the team feel the same way? What are the interests of the other parties? Are there hidden agendas? What is our best alternative to reaching agreement in this negotiation?

Is this option realistic and achievable? Have we researched it thoroughly? What approach do we intend to use in these negotiations? Do we understand how to use an interest-based approach in this negotiation? Have we practised brainstorming and generating options for mutual gain? How do we expect the other parties to approach the negotiations, and how will we deal with them?

Are we equipped to deal with dirty tactics? Do we know where stalemates and deadlocks may arise? What objective standards can help inform settlement? Are these standards in our favour? Is there likely to be dispute over standards? How do we expect a satisfying agreement to look? What issues will need to be dealt with from the beginning? How might the other side explain and justify such an agreement to their constituencies?

Consider drafting a framework agreement. Opening Negotiations There are many different ways to start and run a negotiation process.

Here are some recommendations to get you started: introduce negotiators and their teams to each other; allocate time for a brief opening statement by each side, where parties can state their understanding of the problem, and how they would like to proceed; discuss what approach will be taken in the negotiations; discuss whether an outside facilitator or mediator will be necessary to assist the process; set an agenda or process for the negotiations, or talk about how you will do this as the first stage of the negotiations; decide who will chair the negotiations and take notes, or record key decisions both of these roles may be shared by the parties ; decide on the venue, date and times for the rest of the negotiation process; discuss any interim measures e.

An example of an opening statement can be seen below. A voter walks to cast his vote in the presidential elections in Monrovia, Liberia, November Exploring Interests and Finding Solutions An interest-based approach to negotiations is based on four key principles: separate the people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent options for mutual gain; and insist on using objective criteria.

Separate the People From the Problem In any negotiation you are dealing with human beings — people with deeply-held values and ways of seeing the world, strong feelings and different backgrounds.

The human element in a negotiation can be its downfall or its key success factor. If people are hurt, frustrated and have their backs against the wall, they will cause a negotiation to fail. If they have a positive relationship, where trust has been built up and enhanced over a long period of time, they will work hard to see a negotiation succeed. Substantive Issues and Relationships Often the actual issues that are being negotiated, and the relationship between the parties become mixed up.

Look Behind Positions What lies behind the positions? Using the Circle of Conflict The Circle of Conflict will assist in this process by placing root causes of the conflict in context. Each Side has Multiple Interests Any one position may conceal a large number of different interests. Invent Options for Mutual Gain Interest-based negotiation is fundamentally a creative approach to negotiation. Ivory Coast rebel leaders during a news conference announcing the suspension of negotiations with West African mediators in October Stalemates and Deadlocks True deadlock in negotiation is actually very rare.

There are three kinds of obstacles you may experience in negotiation: impasse — you are in complete disagreement over one issue, and it threatens the negotiations; stalemate — both sides are still talking, but are unable to make any progress towards solution; and deadlock — the negotiation process has so frustrated both sides that you see no point in continuing with the process any longer.

Understand the Causes of Conflict Conducting a full conflict analysis prior to engaging in negotiation is vital. Go Back to Interests If you have got stuck arguing about concessions that will bring the parties to agreement, it may be helpful to stop the process and go back to talking about interests.

Expand the Size of the Cake The classic cause of blocks in negotiations is where parties become polarised around one decision , with neither prepared to back down. The Set Aside When you reach an impasse, simply set aside that issue and continue with the negotiation process.

Change the Dynamics If a stalemate has been reached, do one of a number of things to change the dynamic in the negotiation and get it going again: change the negotiators if you are working in teams, there may be a personality issue ; change the time or venue or take a break to allow tension to ease and the negotiators to gain a sense of perspective change the ambiance in the room ; or conduct some kind of exercise or discussion to ease tension — and take the focus away from the contested issues.

Often parties negotiate under the perception that they are competing for access to limited resources. Practical Brainstorming Some recommendations for using brainstorming in a negotiation process. Clarify purpose — decide what you wish to get out of the session. Few participants — too many people taking part can derail and confuse this process; under 10 is a good number.

If there are more people, divide them into teams, with each group incorporating people from all the parties. Representation — ensure that all the negotiating parties are represented in the process. Change environment — a new physical space will make a statement about new ideas, and help to suspend judgement. Informal — any place that creates a relaxed, happy environment will assist a move away from structured thinking to a creative, right brain approach.

Facilitator — you may want someone to coordinate and encourage this process. Record — write down all ideas, in full view of everyone. Even seemingly ridiculous ideas can lead to, or be developed into, highly useful ones. No criticism — strongly enforce the no criticism approach. Formulating Recommendations After completing the brainstorming session, you will probably have a huge range of ideas — from the conservative to the wild, from the achievable to the ridiculous.

Reporting Back If the brainstorm group is representative of a wider forum, it will be necessary to share the results of the session with the negotiating teams. Around and Around Accept that this may be a circular process that is repeated many times. What if They Use Dirty Tricks? Unethical Negotiating Ploys Here is a guide to spotting unethical gambits, as used by the other parties, and some ideas on how to counter them.

Higher Authority or Ambiguous Authority Sometimes people are not above lying in a negotiation. The Decoy The other side can use a decoy to take your attention off the real issue in the negotiation. Escalating Demands For every concession a negotiator makes, they may raise another demand, or even reopen issues you thought were already settled. Extreme Demands Sometimes a negotiator will open with a ridiculous demand, hoping that when a compromise position is reached, it will be closer to their side of the range than yours.

Lock-in Tactics There is a well-known story of two dynamite trucks hurtling towards each other at high speed down a one-lane road. Agreements The purpose of entering into a negotiation process is to reach an agreement. Celebration rituals in communities… TOP: A bull, symbolising peace, is slaughtered in welcome at the airstrip in Thiet, Sudan, in March , as Dinka and Neur chiefs arrive for a peace conference.

Who Should Write the Agreement? Negotiating in Teams In a complex negotiation, or one involving groups or factions of many people, you may find yourself negotiating as part of a team of people. Negotiating Alone If you are negotiating on your own, it is important to be aware of the different roles you will be carrying at different times.

Dealing with Emotion During the course of a negotiation process, it is highly likely that you will need to have a process or mechanism that will allow you to vent or release strong emotions. If you are negotiating alone — have someone ready to offer you support, like a counsellor, friend, colleague or family member. This should be someone who is not involved in the conflict, and will help you to process the emotion and go back to make a positive contribution to the negotiations.

Energy, Stress and Motivation Negotiating, particularly in multifaceted, long, drawn-out negotiation processes, can be exhausting … and very stressful. Here are some ideas for maintaining energy in negotiations. Stop at regular intervals , and give yourself a rating, out of five, on each of these criteria: How tired am I feeling? What to Do in a Break? Find out how to re-energise yourself — try some of the following suggestions. Try singing, shouting or humming provided you are out of earshot of the other side.

Listen to some tranquil music that you have selected in advance to relax you. Try some breathing exercises — concentrating on your breath as you breathe slowly and deeply in and out. This will relax you and increase the oxygen flow to your brain and vital organs. Eat or drink something energising. In negotiations, stay away from sweets, heavy carbohydrate snacks and caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee or Coca-Cola — these will temporarily raise, but then also lower, your energy reserves.

Rather stick to fruit or fruit juice, and small protein snacks — these will help maintain your mental energy and focus.

At meals, eat lightly and focus on salads and small portions of protein, not large carbohydrate portions like rice, potatoes or maize. Dump emotions — find a neutral party preferably not someone in your team, whose anxiety will be further increased on which to dump your feelings or emotions.

Perhaps call a friend, counsellor or confidant, who will be primed beforehand simply to listen and receive your feelings, without criticism or challenge. Module Content. Harassment Harassment or bullying behavior. Inappropriate Contains mature or sensitive content. Misinformation Contains misleading or false information. Setting a limited time-scale can also be helpful to prevent the disagreement continuing.

This stage involves ensuring all the pertinent facts of the situation are known in order to clarify your own position. Your organisation may well have policies to which you can refer in preparation for the negotiation.

Undertaking preparation before discussing the disagreement will help to avoid further conflict and unnecessarily wasting time during the meeting.

During this stage, individuals or members of each side put forward the case as they see it, i. Key skills during this stage include questioning , listening and clarifying. Sometimes it is helpful to take notes during the discussion stage to record all points put forward in case there is need for further clarification. It is extremely important to listen, as when disagreement takes place it is easy to make the mistake of saying too much and listening too little.

Each side should have an equal opportunity to present their case. From the discussion, the goals, interests and viewpoints of both sides of the disagreement need to be clarified. It is helpful to list these factors in order of priority. Through this clarification it is often possible to identify or establish some common ground. Clarification is an essential part of the negotiation process, without it misunderstandings are likely to occur which may cause problems and barriers to reaching a beneficial outcome.

This stage focuses on what is termed a 'win-win' outcome where both sides feel they have gained something positive through the process of negotiation and both sides feel their point of view has been taken into consideration. A win-win outcome is usually the best result. Although this may not always be possible, through negotiation, it should be the ultimate goal. Suggestions of alternative strategies and compromises need to be considered at this point.

Compromises are often positive alternatives which can often achieve greater benefit for all concerned compared to holding to the original positions.



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