Individual Negotiation Reflection - Coursework Example

Lecturer's name is : Dr David Collins My name is : Mklef Alshammriy Student number: c3106427 Course code: GSBS6483 Course name: Cross Cultural Negotiations & Management Assignment name: Reflective Portfolio Contents Contents 2 Individual Negotiation Reflective Report 3 1.Reflection on the First Three Negotiations Performed 3 2.Observation of team meetings and dynamic decision 5 3.Final Reflection of the Final Group Negotiation 6 4.Reflections on the final negotiation 7 5.Conclusion 9 References 10 Individual Negotiation Reflective Report 1. Reflection on the First Three Negotiations Performed The first negotiation involved bargaining the cost of a used car. My group played the role of a customer. The dealer’s price was $ 12,500, While was our price is $ 10,500. Since according to Cragan et al (2004) information is power, we researched intensively on the internet to identify the costs of various models and their characteristics. Our aim was to have information as our competition ground. Having the information at hand, we applied the theory of supply and demand to win this negotiation. It was a win-lose situation and hence our decision to make the dealer understand that this was not our only option and we could simply opt for another dealer giving a better offer. We looked into other services offered such as having the car washed, the oil changed three times and free services for six months. Since the supply side was high, we the dealer opted to accept the price we offered and fulfil all our demands. We thus won in the negotiation. Information power base was evident since this gave us a negotiating ground leading to settlement of the deal (Conley, & William, 1998). The second negotiation involved the application of e-communication. Having become very essential in the current generation especially with well developed internet connections, e-communication have enabled people move businesses to a higher level. Businesses must adopt such mode of communication if they have to remain relevant and competitive (Kouki & Wright, 1999). The advantage of this mode of marketing and communication reduced chances of tribalism, cross-gender difficulties, gender bias and racism. This is because individuals do not meet face to face. However, e-marketing has several challenges including limitation of the number of people accessing internet and it consuming a lot of time (Kouki & Wright, 1999). These problems were experienced during our negotiation with time consumption being the biggest challenge. My group was representing a Chinese company BFM which was negotiating with an Australian company HHA. The negotiation was about 2011 2012 summer fashion. Our challenges included waiting a long time for a response from a client and we were also unable to detect the clients’ intentions which is detected through another person’s expressions. This meant that we also lacked the power to convince the customer through expression and sampling attributed to involved distance. The case was even worse where there were disagreements with the negotiation hence one and a half hours were used for the deal to be closed. Additionally, time difference problems arose since the clients were in different regions and we had to work with hours making setting the actual time quite tasking. However, we at last came to an agreement through the application of integrative kind of negotiations and applying the win-win strategy. The third negotiation depended on strategic balance between negotiation points. My team was represented Paige Tuner, a famous author who intended to change his publishing company and was looking for the best offer. Severally, the discussion went out of control as groups engaged in a heated debate. It took the intervention of the moderator to redirect the negotiations (Heavrin and Carrell, 2008). Our group applied every strategies within our disposal to try and emerge the winner and meet our objectives. A lot of time was consumed due to several diversions from the main topic. We then came to an agreement with each team benefiting from the negotiation. We had learnt the role of unity and team work among group members in maintaining focus(Friedman & Barry, 1998). We also came to learn that, with better organization, less time is wasted. 2. Observation of team meetings and dynamic decision One of our strength as a group was our ability to keep time. This was evident during the preparation for the first negotiation. All the four group members comprising of four Saudis. Being participants from a similar cultural background though having different upbringings was of advantage to us as a group as there were no personal conflicts during the discussion because of our concentration on a person’s strength (Kouki & Wright, 1999). We concentrated on search for information during the first preparation with each member being given a topic to look into. We begun the meetings by first identifying relevant points for our negotiations in the sale of the used car and later dividing these points equally for further research. However, group members were encouraged to read even those topic that had not been assigned to them. In the second meeting, we engaged in a discussion of our findings to come up with the best recommendations of the strategies to apply. All team members were actively involved probably because none felt inferior to the other which results from cultural difference. Participatory leadership styles was thus applied with one member being selected to head the discussions and enhance active participation of all group members (Heavrin and Carrell, 2008). We utilized our previous research in taking over the win. The group discussions were however affected by various misunderstandings especially when some members failed to attend the meeting in time or complete their assignment due to difference in personal characteristics. Our assumption that we would definitely win in the next negotiation brought us down in the next negotiation. To begin with, We did not prepare well enough as we held very few meetings as a result of some members being absent or late for team meetings. This resulted to a wastage of time which was of advantage to our competitors. We also had several conflict due to lack of a clear understanding of our personality despite our common cultural back ground (Heavrin and Carrell, 2008). The negotiations however favored both teams since each team had to benefit for the deal to be closed. We realized that team work and brainstorming were very essential before conducting any negotiations. Identified our challenges in the second negotiations, we decided to concentrate on developing team members through identifying and utilizing each person’s strengths as our competing ground. This proved quite effective and applicable in the third negotiations. 3. Final Reflection of the Final Group Negotiation The previous negotiations had endorsed each one of us with various skills and knowledge. This meant that we were in for a stiffer competition especially with raised standards. The knowledge we had gained from previous group discussions, internet research and brainstorming session was very essential at this point. We thought we had known everything just to realized that there was a lot to learn.. We had developed as a team due to our improved cultural awareness and ability to coordinate our ideas. We had learnt the importance of treating each situation uniquely by determining the complexity of the matter and the nature of the people involved from our previous success and failures to be an effective negotiator (Friedman & Barry, 1998). Having experienced challenges in the second preparation, we identified our mistakes and were determined to win the third negotiation. We set the pace by having each member research on the mines in China as we had learnt the importance of being informed in the other negotiations. The group was also well organized and held discussions for three to four hours every day. We were able to work as a team upholding the values of each other. This was necessary especially because the last negotiations were likely to attract heated debates that would result to group members coming to a disagreement or conflicting with each other. Planning results to organization of points in a logical manner beginning with the strongest to the weakest. We begun our planning by mobilizing members to contribute equally in the discussions as their ideas were very important. When every persons feels that their emotional need for recognition has been met, they are likely to be productive in any job (Pole et al, 1992). We held enough meetings and applied collaborative approach where each member intensively contributed to developing the group to a well organized and united team. During the first negotiation meeting on closure of the mines, we got to discuss the demands of our opponents but did not make a decision immediately. Negotiations were characterized with conflict due to the many issued that needed to be looked not before settling at an optimum decision. We decided to divide various roles among the members of the team according to each person’s ability in playing the role of Fernet Brio. One member was assigned the role of a financial manager while I was assigned the role of a HR. The other two were assigned the role of a project manager and support services manager. 4. Reflections on the final negotiation The final negations took place towards the end of the trimester when each team had learnt various strategies which are important during negotiations. Having the capability of evaluating the learning styles of every individual makes good leaders (Nooriafshar and St Hill, 1998) This is because such individuals are able to communicate effectively hence enhancing the capacity of the group to meet its ojectivest (Zammit, 2006). My group had held several meetings where we held brainstorming sessions for possible threats in our next negotiation since this negotiation held the highest marks. As a result, we were in a position to respond to any query from our opponents. we made use of information power to gain support from the government (Conley & William, 1998). The ideas we gained from research helped build our confidence (Stephanie, 2003). Having the required information and a clear strategic plan in place whereby members had been accorded responsibilities according to their capability, the final process was smooth. We identified group members in field of finance, project management, support services and human resource and accorded them roles respectively. Both teams had learnt from previous experiences and were all prepared for the grand negotiations. A win-win strategy was therefore preferred in this negotiation. To begin the negotiations, the project managers introduced their group members and handed over handouts prepared by the teams. The discussions kicked off with identification of the number of mines to be closed which in this case were 40. After holding long discussions, we agreed to close the mines in two phases. The first phase involved the closure of 10 mines in the first year and 30 mines in the second year. Though both teams came to an agreement on the fixed term, our team won due to the fact that we were well informed, ready to answer any emerging question and had a strong strategic plan. The agreed terms would result to a reduction of 3000 jobs, a payment of $15000000 to improve an existing railway line and training 100 engineers on a safe and secure environment. Though there were delays where opponents had to take time to consult each other before making a decision which resulted to wastage of time a very important resource in the process, the overall negotiations were successful (Lewicki et al, 2006). In upgrading the railway, we came to conclusion that profits would be divided at a ratio of 60% for us to 40% for the opponents. However, this terms were adjustable in future due to organizational changes that are inevitable as time passed by. The deal closed by the signing of a contract between the two groups. 5. Conclusion In all these negotiations, every person had a chance to identify their weaknesses and learn how to improve on them. In addition, we learnt various skills and modes of preparation before engaging in any negotiation. The very most important were the role of planning, effective leadership and communication, research and teamwork. These skills are applicable in the real business world. These negotiations developed my communication skills and improved my understanding on various strategies applicable in negotiation. We all learnt that information in power especially in developing confidence in an individual. Lastly, each person benefited from learning about intercultural matters thus developing a strong personality in presentation of ideas. The most important and critical part of negotiations was identified as the planning process without which negotiations are bound to fail. References Conley, M., and William, O'. (1998). A Natural History of Disputing." Just Words: Law, Language and Power, pp. 78-97. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cragan, F., David, W. and Chris, K. (2004). Communicating in Small Groups: Theory, Process, Skills, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Friedman, R and Barry, B. (1998) Bargainer Characteristics in Distributive and Integrative Negotiation: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 74, issue No. 2, pp 345- 359. P Heavrin, C., and Carrell, M., 2008, Negotiating Essentials: Theory, Skills, and Practices, Pearson Education, pp 41-43 Kouki, R & Wright, D (1999). Telelearning via the internet. London: Idea group publishing. Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., and Saunders, D. M., 2006, Essentials of negotiation, McGraw- Hill/Irwin Nooriafshar, M. and St Hill, R., (1998) Adopting The Technologies Associated With Modern Computing To Incorporate Studentsˆ Modal Preferences Into Course Design. Toowoomba: University of Southern Queensland. Poole, M. S. & Dale L. Shannon (1992) “Communication Media and Negotiation Process,” pp.21-45 Stephanie, M. (2003) "Real teams in small Australian firms", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Iss: 9. (learning style) Zammit, K. (2006). Senior management teams: Member roles and team effectiveness within large hospitality organizations. Melbourne: Victoria University (both). Read More