Reflective Journal: How Reflexivity Could Help Facilitate Negotiation Practice

Introduction

In this journal, I will discuss the use of my reflexivity writing during my negotiation workshops. A brief overview of my reaction and understanding of negotiation, the relevance of studying this unit which includes my workshop scenario participation, self-assessment tasks, stimulation assessment scenario, and topics covered during lectures.

I was keen to explore how reflexivity could help me facilitate my negotiation practice should in the case when issues arose in my professional field of practice. I was concerned about how a negotiation process can be successful and how parties can reach an agreement without having conflicts. I consider myself fortunate because this unit has affected me positively and improved my ability of how to handle difficult negotiation situations. I concluded this journal with why negotiation is useful, arguing that in my experience then, now, and after how this unit has made me a great and confident experienced negotiator.

Workshops scenarios

The relevance of this unit has helped me better my understanding on how to negotiate through difficult circumstances because I have always thought that negotiation most time leads to conflicts.

In this reflexive journal, I will use the four principles of negotiation by Fisher and Ury to elaborate on how this unit has contributed success to my everyday life.

• Separate the people from the problem
• Focus on interests, rather than positions
• Before settling on an agreement, generate different options
• The agreement should be based on objective criteria

In relation to the scenarios, in week one tutorial was the bogan virus on whom to receive the treatment, as a group of 4 we tried not to react emotionally to the issue. the seasonal worker was the first picked because he contribute to society by harvesting crops and doing home repairs for residents in the surrounding towns, the second picked was the Epidemiologist, she contributed to creating the vaccine and was infected during her research tests, the third pick was the young Genius due to the facts that she was currently finishing medical school that way she can contribute to the society.

If I were to connect this scenario with my own skills before doing this unit, I would have picked maybe some other victims that were infected because I might attach some emotions to the scenario. But now it has enhanced my professional experience when issues like this should happen.

Week 2, I thought walking away from any negotiation means a person is not capable of handling the situation, but the $2 game of positional bargaining increased my knowledge that effective negotiation does not always close a deal but then again walking away can be much wiser than trying to reach an agreement because an effective negotiator identifies and knows the importance of long-term friendship.

This is why, Fisher & Ury, mentioned that one of the following reasons why positional bargaining does not produce a good agreement is because It tends to neglect the respective interest of the other party be it the soft or hard style.

Thompson, & Leonardelli, cited that fisher and Ury recognized the soft and hard styles as a problem because they believe that negotiators should use principled style to reach an efficient and amicably outcome since such styles might influence and affect negotiators' reactions and behavior.

In week 3, I gained a lot of understanding and learning of how to build my skills on deal makings and improve my ability to bargain successfully during the Ugli oranges exercise very trickish scenario. Here, I learned from my mistake which is to know the details and ask questions before closing a negotiation deal because one of the great challenges to overcome when negotiating is to learn from one mistake and that the most powerful interests are human basic needs, which should not be overlooked at.

Self-assessments

That is why fisher and Ury suggested that to get a good agreement, parties should focus on interests. This interest-based negotiation has helped in enhancing my skills and learning approach in building my relationship with other students and my tutor.

Being creative and a team player in week 4 and 5 negotiations, made me realize that my style is a blend negotiator, and my self-assessment inventory scores are accommodating and collaborative which was applied during my video simulation 1 of being Raja where I had to generate various options before we seal on the agreement in the neighboring dispute.

Lectures and Stimulations

The assessment simulation exercises in weeks 12 and 13 were very important, it made me see the different sides of me and the different reasons of negotiation on how to resolve a dispute between parties. In addition, arriving to a positive conclusion made me understand the relevance of negotiation. We were able to use the objective criteria method to fair judge, the scenario of both stimulations which can produce a wise agreement and Improve not damage the relationship between me and the other students. Further, it built and made me gain the confidence and skills that are needed to be a successful constructive negotiator in a real-world situation.

I was able to make a wise decision because I knew what my options and alternatives were, thought to myself the reason I negotiate is to produce something better than the results. The Best Alternative to a Negotiation Agreement (BATNA) is the key to most assets that exist, whereby the party with the best BATNA is more powerful and the weaker party can take one side step to improve its alternative in negotiation.

From the lectures, I discovered that sometimes positional negotiation is not a bad cop after all, but it fails to reach a wise agreement. Positional negotiation can sometimes be difficult because it will not concede on a major issue and most times information is withheld. Fisher, & Ury stated that negotiation method should produce an agreement between the negotiators and improve their relationship. Since positional is a win/lose and biased in favour of the hard player I guess what might work for me will be Interest-based when it comes to negotiating in my professional practice.

Interest-based win/win approach seeks mutual benefits, it is cooperative. Unlike the lose/lose that signifies conflict, I viewed conflicts as war. I do not like conflict I see it as malicious competition. Now, I know that Most conflicts can be avoided if during interaction we listen effectively, understand the situation and separate the people from the problem. And if conflicts are managed well it can present creativity, it also identifies who wants change.

I never thought that conflict could be a situation of win/win goals until I did my first simulation assignment 1, I noticed a collaborative process during the conflict scenario. It has brought to my understanding and knowledge that conflict could be among the benefits to strengthen relationships or even improve any situation in a constructive negotiation just like the Mercury Issue.

Have always thought constructive negotiation should be very easy and structured to reach an agreement quickly but to my knowledge and understanding during the lecture and my stimulation assessment 2 of acting as a World Coal Power Association (WCPA), I learned that constructive negotiation could be very challenging to build an agreement that meets the needs of all parties in the negotiation process. Which makes me feel that most real-world industries use constructive negotiation in tackling issues to recognize and overcome potential barriers to agreement because there is strength and numerous benefits that lead to greater bargaining power when negotiating as a group.

Since the agreement between parties involves communication, I found the communication topic more interesting because communication takes the center stage in a negotiation where there is a sender and a receiver, and it is a powerful and persuasive tool or tactic in negotiation. Meanwhile, in my negotiation practice during the Mercury Issue, I understood and gained more knowledge that further meetings can be re-scheduled if there is a failure to agree in order to avoid time-wasting and future relationships not to be damaged. Furthermore, I learned that someone's behavior, knowledge, and interpersonal skills are some significant elements that can affect a negotiation outcome. Besides, I observed that effective negotiation increases the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA).

Conclusion

In this journal, I have discussed how studying negotiation has improved my knowledge and ability to reach an agreement if there is a dispute. Also, the quality of an ongoing and lasting relationship can be more important than the outcome of a negotiation, and discovering how negotiation tactics can help me solve problems and ease tension at a bargaining table. I have looked at the ways negotiation has improved my communication skills positively and intellectually shaped my attitude towards other students, also focusing on my experiences during workshop scenarios on how to prepare oneself with facts before negotiating because most of us (the students) were not properly prepared during the week 12 simulation scenario.

References

1. Fisher, Roger et al. 2012 Getting to yes : negotiating an agreement without giving in . Updated and revised ed. London: Random House Business.
2. Fisher, R. & Ury, W. 1982 Getting to Yes. Management Review. 71.
3. Fisher, R. & Ury, W. 1991. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
4. Jones, D. 2015 ‘Conflict resolution: Wars without end’, Nature, 519(7542), pp. 148–150. doi: 10.1038/519148a.
5. Lynott, William 2016 Common Negotiating Mistakes. Security Dealer & Integrator. 38 (8), 54,56. [online]. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1809565624/.
6. McCarthy, W., 1985. The role of power and principle inGetting to YES. Negotiation Journal, 1(1), pp.59-66.
7. Spangler, B., 2003. Best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). Guy and Heidi Burgess, eds, Beyond Intractability. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA.
8. Thompson, L. and Leonardelli, G. J. 2004 ‘The big bang: The evolution of negotiation research’, Academy of Management Executive, 18(3), pp.113–117.
9. Zartman, I.W., 2007. Negotiation and conflict management: Essays on theory and practice. Routledge.