Page 141 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 130

Number of participants
As the number of participants in the negotiation increases, the situation becomes more
complex and the tone more formal. In a dialogue the negotiators are directly concerned
with one another. They decide upon the rules by which the communication proceeds.
Negotiators with the best communication skills often have an advantage. They will
usually also determine the tone of the negotiation and exercise influence on the process of
affairs.
When more participants are involved in the negotiations, for example, three from both
parties, usually a conversation leader or chairman is appointed to lead the negotiations
according to an agreed upon procedure. The conversation often proceeds in a number of
phases. Such a phase model gives support in bringing order to the complexity of the
situation, allowing all the participants to have a chance fully to explore the negotiation
space.

The subject

Negotiations are concerned with certain affairs. In many situations they are concerned
with the distribution of money or goods. With this distribution the negotiation has a
material question at stake. The distribution code must be negotiated: who receives what?
In our example Dinner Ltd and Central Heating are concerned with such a distribution
code.
In other situations the negotiations are about people: who is going to execute the plans
that have been developed? How many hours do they need for that execution? Often in
negotiations several aspects of personnel and payment are integrated. In our example
Gerald Glass has to come to an agreement about the timing of the replacement of the
central heating, on the number of persons who will execute the job, and finally on the
costs of the project.

The relationship with the other negotiator(s)
Negotiators can differ from one another in many regards. The relationship can therefore
be unequal. For example, the difference in age, function, experience and position can
influence one of the parties favourably. For this reason it is advisable that negotiators
who find themselves in a weaker position than the other party should prepare well for the
negotiation situation. Even in a straightforward negotiation one can profit from preparing
the conversation in advance.

Negotiating skills

There are four elements of the negotiation situation to be influenced by the negotiator:
• the negotiation space
• the positions
• the atmosphere
• the structure of the negotiation.