Distributive Bargaining Strategies and Tactics in Negotiation
Distributive Bargaining Strategies and Tactics
Assessing and Managing Perceptions
Assess the other party’s target, resistance point, and cost of terminating negotiations: Identify the other party’s desires through indirect assessment (observations, past actions, reports) or direct assessment (direct questioning).
Manage the other party’s impression of your target, resistance point, and cost of terminating negotiations: Control information flow through screening activities (limited disclosure) or direct action (justifying your position).
Modify the other party’s perception of their own target, resistance point, and cost of terminating negotiations: Make your desired outcome seem less attractive to influence their perception and uncover overlooked information.Manipulating Negotiation Costs
Manipulate the actual costs of delaying or terminating negotiations: Create a sense of urgency through disruptive action (demonstrating consequences of failed negotiations), alliance with outsiders (involving influential third parties), or schedule manipulation (increasing time pressure).
Additional Negotiation Concepts
Unsatisfactory Agreements
Explore the potential consequences when one or both parties feel they haven’t achieved the best possible outcome or believe they’ve made concessions.
Extreme Opening Offers
Analyze the disadvantages of making an extreme opening offer in a negotiation.
Importance of Concessions
Explain the significance of concessions in the negotiation process and their role in reaching agreements.
Value Creation vs. Value Claiming
Discuss why processes to create value should precede those to claim value in negotiations, providing two key reasons.
Generating Alternative Solutions
Identify the two general categories of techniques used to generate alternative solutions to problems in integrative negotiation.
Compromise in Problem Redefinition
Describe the concept of compromise as a technique for redefining problems and explain when it should be used.
Common vs. Shared Goals
Differentiate between common goals and shared goals in the context of negotiation.
Eliciting Information with Mistrust
Outline three tactics to effectively elicit information from the other negotiator when trust is lacking.
Consequences of Unclear Goals
Explain the potential consequences for a negotiator who fails to establish clear goals before entering a negotiation.
Wishes vs. Goals
Elaborate on the statement: “Wishes are not goals, especially in negotiation,” highlighting the importance of setting specific and achievable objectives.
Strategic Avoidance
Identify three reasons why negotiators might strategically choose to avoid negotiation.
Cultural Differences in Negotiation Phases
Compare and contrast how American and Asian negotiators typically progress through the different phases of negotiation.
Resistance Point
Define the concept of a resistance point in negotiations and its role in determining the negotiator’s bottom line.
Proactive Target Setting
Explain why setting targets in negotiation requires proactive thinking and consideration of one’s own objectives.
Professional vs. Personal Negotiation
Discuss the key differences between negotiating in a professional context and negotiating solely for personal interests.
Ethics in Negotiation
Define ethics and its relevance in the negotiation process.
Bluffing vs. Lying
Define a bluff and explain why distinguishing between a bluff and a lie is crucial in ethical negotiation.
Power Imbalance and Ethical Frustration
Explore why negotiators with unequal power may experience frustration with each other regarding ethical considerations.
Emotional Manipulation
Provide an example of emotional manipulation as a marginally ethical negotiating tactic.
Dealing with Deception
Name three approaches (excluding asking probing questions) to address the other party’s use of deception in negotiation.
Responding to Deception
Explain why responding in kind is not advisable when a negotiator detects deception from the other party.
Stereotyping
Define stereotyping and its potential impact on negotiation.
Overcoming Misperception and Bias
Outline three pieces of advice for negotiators to mitigate the negative effects of misperception and cognitive biases in negotiation.
Strategic Use of Emotion
Explain why negotiators might strategically use emotion as an influence tactic and under what circumstances it could be effective.
Positive Emotions and Integrative Processes
Describe how positive feelings can promote more integrative negotiation processes.
Negative Emotions and Distributive Situations
Explain how negative emotions may lead parties to perceive the negotiation as competitive or distributive.
Anger as a Negotiation Tactic
Analyze whether using anger as a negotiation tactic has the same effect for powerful and low-power negotiators.