Question

Most people fail to recognize the importance of networking and negotiating to their career success. People who are good at networking tend to form better human relations with key individuals who can help them in advancing their professional careers. People who are good at negotiating have a better chance of getting what they truly desire. One’s ability to negotiate affects his or her compensation in the workplace.

Negotiating Women, Inc. is a consulting company that focuses on women exclusively by providing negotiation and leadership training for them. The mission statement for Negotiating Women, Inc is twofold: first, to provide women with the resources—conceptual frameworks as well as practical skill sets—to succeed in the workplace, and second, to help organizations create cultures that value and can profit from the diverse talents women bring.[i] (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Its areas of expertise include negotiating, leadership, conflict resolution, gender analysis, alliances/coalitions, and sales management. The company specializes in live negotiation training, online e-learning courses, and consulting services designed to help women at every stage of their careers claim their value and create conditions for success.

Carol Frohlinger is the president of Negotiating Women, Inc. She is a lawyer, negotiation expert, cofounder of Negotiating Women, Inc., and coauthor of Her Place at the Table: A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success. She recently coauthored Nice Girls Just Don’t Get It: 99 Ways to Win the Respect You Deserve, the Success You’ve Earned, and the Life You Want.

Ms. Frohlinger has consulted for organizations such as Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, the Healthcare Business Women’s Association, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, The Principal Financial Group, the New York State Bar Association, and the National Association of Women Lawyers. She has been invited by media outlets including CBS MoneyWatch, NPR, Martha Stewart Living Radio, Newsday, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Women’s Health, and The New York Times to share her expertise on how to attract, retain, and promote talented women.

At Networking Women Inc., workshops are conducted in which participants learned to make their value visible and to avoid sabotaging themselves. In a recent interview, Ms. Frohlinger echoed the view of many when she said that the playing field in the workforce is still not equal, so women are impacted unintentionally in a disproportionately negative way. She said women are left out of the informal networks where information is shared about new positions and openings on the next managerial level. More often than not, women do not have access to hiring managers or other influential individuals who could put out a feeler for them.

This is where networking makes a big difference; unfortunately, in some industries, women are left out of these networks. According to Ms. Frohlinger, it is not intentional, but it is just the way things are. She points out that companies may say they promote solely on performance, “but you are naïve if you think that your promote-ability is based only on your work.” Having a strong relationship with the right people is just as important, she reminds women.

On its Web site, Negotiating Women, Inc. has posted 15 questions about women, leadership, and negotiation that Negotiating Women, Inc. can address through their workshops. Among them are the following:

• I have a really exciting plan to change the ways our group does its work. How do I negotiate to make the changes?

• I was just offered a great opportunity to lead a highly visible project at work. I am so excited that I am ready to take it. But I am worried that I won’t be able to take on this extra work and do my current job. What should I do?

• My boss just offered me a new job that doesn’t interest me very much, but I know that if I say no, that will be the last promotion to come my way. What should I do?

• My boss always supports me and consistently gives me great opportunities. I feel I am underpaid relative to my colleagues, but I hesitate to bring it up because I am afraid he will see me as ungrateful. What should I do?

• I have a hard time negotiating for myself when it comes to salary. I know I bring value to my company; I have the reviews and promotions to show it. But every time I start to negotiate about money, I lose my conviction and accept what is offered. What should I do?

• I have just been appointed to a new leadership role over others in the group. I am concerned that people will not accept me in the role. How can I change their perceptions?

• I am having trouble pulling the team together. There are some people who are trying to make it difficult for me to succeed. What can I do?

• At my annual performance review in a year when my bottom line has been outstanding, my boss surprised me. He didn’t discuss my outstanding year but instead focused on my style, telling me that I am too aggressive and that I need to change my style. What should I do?

Carol Frohlinger’s theories on women in leadership positions have received support from other highly respected women like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Sheryl is a leading technologist who has worked for Yahoo and Facebook. Her book, Lean In: Women and the Will to Work, encourages women to pursue their ambitions, and it focuses on how women can be more successful in the business world.

QUESTIONS:

Support your answers to the following questions with specific information from the case and text or with information you get from the Web or another source.

6. Why has Negotiating Women, Inc. focused its attention on women?

7. The text discusses some of the many reasons to develop your networking skills (such as to get a job or a better position, to perform better at your current job, or to advance within your organization). In what ways does Negotiating Women, Inc. address some of these needs?

8. The case listed examples of questions that can be addressed by Negotiating Women Inc. Select any two questions on the list and indicate whether they can be addressed using networking, negotiating, or both.

9. Experts in the field of negotiation generally agree that setting goals too low “is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” especially for women. Therefore, the advice is for women to develop a backbone, something that takes preparation to accomplish. How can networking help someone in this situation?

10. A good negotiation tactic is to not make unilateral concessions during negotiations. Instead, experts advise that you should figure out the other side’s hidden agenda, devise an alternative if you cannot reach an agreement, and plan to deflect moves that put you on the defensive. The textbook describes the negotiating process as consisting of four steps: planning, bargaining, possibly a postponement, and an agreement or no agreement. In which step does this scenario belong?

11. In Chapter 3 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. we discussed job satisfaction and its determinants—the work itself, pay, growth and upward mobility, supervision, coworkers, and attitudes toward work. Which of these determinants can be greatly enhanced through negotiating?

12. In Appendix A (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. the “Career Management” section defines career planning as the process of setting career objectives and determining how to accomplish them. How can networking help with one’s career planning?

Answer 1

1) Negotiating Women, Inc. has conducted adequate business and market research define deciding on the target audience for the type of services provided by them. It is an accepted fact supported by extensive research that women may lack the required competence and negotiating ability to exploit all available opportunities within the professional workplace optimally e for achieving the success they are capable of commensurate with the qualifications and skill-set. The natural qualities of a woman of being submissive, complacent, adaptive, accepting, empathetic and compassionate can prove to be natural barriers to success unless women train themselves to utilize these very qualities to achieve success within the professional world.

These very qualities when modified with development of complementary qualities of assertiveness, determination, aspiration, and the art of negotiating why positive use of the superior ability of communication and interpersonal interaction that women naturally possess developed into leadership and self-preservation skills to ensure woman is able to adequately protect their own interests, and with the right training, even those of others within her sphere of influence. The company understands that there is an exceptional opportunity for women to achieve professional success providing the demand and adequate supply of talented and qualified women to fulfill the demand for jobs requiring women to take the lead. There is an identified gap within the candidates for the development of the qualities which guarantee satisfaction, growth, and success within the professional environment. Negotiating women imported has accurately identified the service gap and exploited the opportunity to provide the required services to help women achieve the success that they dream of within the professional environment. It has been to have the confidence to leave format to initiate and to stand up for themselves and all that they believe in. They encourage the women to be themselves, unleash their entire potential, and be the change in the workplace while offering supportive services to achieve success effectively.

2) Negotiating Women, Inc. trains women regarding the importance of networking for attaining success through upward mobility within the career in the professional environment. The creation and maintenance of an adequate professional network facilitate regularly obtaining information about existing and future opportunities which may be suitable and provide better scope for growth or promotion or job satisfaction or simply be more suitable as a job profile subsequently leading to improved chances of success for the individual. The company helps women in creating, maintaining and optimal utilization of an effective network.

My boss always supports me and consistently gives me great opportunities. I feel I am underpaid relative to my colleagues, but I hesitate to bring it up because I am afraid he will see me as ungrateful. What should I do? Both networking and negotiating, put in a word to the boss on your great work and the disparity in compensation through the network, then utilize negotiating skills to get the best possible offer.

I have just been appointed to a new leadership role over others in the group. I am concerned that people will not accept me in the role. How can I change their perceptions? Networking can be used to great advantage in this situation as a network can help create an image of a person by highlighting the qualities an individual possesses and serving as a means of providing credibility at the same time, as it is not from the person itself but from a third party who may not be part of the group nor in a position to benefit from providing such support.

3) Networking can help women gain a lot of confidence and self-belief along with self-worth due to exposure to a large number of individuals with similar qualification and skill set to be able to arrive at an accurate conclusion regarding one's own abilities. This can prove to be extremely positive building confidence while creating more realistic goals to accomplish, and facilitator meaning ease of accomplishment due to information and support from individuals within the network on how to handle similar situations that approving to be an obstacle for achieving the desired growth and promotion within the workplace for an individual. It serves as a means of brainstorming with individuals in a similar situation and can help provide with an extremely innovative and successful solution on how to overcome certain obstacles at work by providing an idea how to manage people in a more effective manner.

4) This scenario belongs in the process of planning and bargaining. It is mostly the bargaining process which consists of negotiation to be undertaken to achieve consensus with both parties attempting to gain maximum benefit through the negotiation while acceding minimum benefit to the other. A successful negotiator achieves consensus by manipulation of the other party to concede to the major demands which hold maximum importance for the individual and providing satisfaction to the other party by accepting demands which do not have too much significance in value for the negotiator. It is simply equestrian superior people management skills to achieve consensus and the best bargain without resorting to aggression or antagonism which could sabotage the process and lead to a deadlock. to be able to achieve this successfully it is essential that the individuals have a plan in mind as to the major factors that cannot be compromised upon and those which open to extensive bargaining and thirdly the ones which do not matter and can be sacrificed to obtain consensus on the major factors. An effective plan provides clarity within the bargaining process to the individual by using every factor to leverage the negotiation towards the required outcome of acquiescence on the major factors. This becomes for the efficient by adopting an empathetic approach to the negotiation and being able to second guess the thoughts and intentions of the other side to optimize the benefit from the negotiation by manipulation of the entire process.

5) Negotiation is a process which is used by individuals within almost every aspect of our life. Every day we resort to negotiation within a situation to be able to create the most beneficial outcome for our self. It may be related to sharing housework with our spouse, keeping the room tidy and study time with our child along with access to technology, the best bargain or deal while we are shopping, or the extent of work to be performed by the domestic help. Women have natural negotiation skills due to them requiring to use bargaining to be able to acquire basic rights since time immemorial. Negotiation can be effectively utilized within the workplace achieving just and equitable work conditions, compensation, = and adequate opportunity for growth and upward mobility, supervision, and co-workers. It is important that every employee have the right to negotiate for what they perceive to be just and equitable pay for the required work. It is for this reason that this power is provided within the national labor relation act to ensure that it is right which can be exercised by every worker. It also protects the right to negotiate for equal opportunity along with safety within the workplace with no harassment from supervisors or coworkers through the implementation of an adequate respectful workplace policy which is the right of every individual and negotiable with the employer. Work provide dignity to an individual and to society so it is essential that this dignity is supported by the provision of adequate scope for negotiation to achieve the just and fair compensation and environment for every individual.

6) Planning and strategizing a career for adequate growth to means all future career goals his an essential part of life management and requires adequate and optimal investment of time and effort. Therefore it is essential that, to achieve maximum results, we understand the importance of networking in a professional life by deciding on the strategy to be followed. Networking was essentially defined as a process facilitating exchange of Information and ideas among individual or group sharing a common interest, but with the unprecedented advancement in communication technology networking has transcended the barrier of common interest and become association which is beneficial or maybe in the future.

Professional networks maybe expansive networks which provide abroad umbrella under which group of contacts exist. These contacts maybe from varied areas of our lives, such as present and former colleagues or industry contacts from previous or present jobs. These contacts mostly have the capability to broaden your personal horizon with endorsement as a potential hire, as well as being able to speak for your accomplishments and experience in your job. This network can be extremely useful in a job search and includes all people who can possibly connect with all available potential job opportunities. It may also include friends and family having the ability to help getting the best possible job opportunities. The network being extremely expensive maybe come exceedingly difficult to manage and identify the truly useful contacts which can propel career growth. The network being extremely large causes one to lose focus and also becomes impossible maintain and remain in touch. Streamlining becomes important in networks as it is not a creation of a directory.

Nodal professional networks are known for the smart networking technique applied. Within this network not only the types of contacts but ability of every contact to provide value to your career in a specific scenario is also analysed. It is similar to optimisation of professional network. The term loading is self-descriptive has been a central point within a system or network from which different branches extend outward. Another network mostly is a monero subject of people but also a more powerful and influential people which may include recruiting managers other leaders who involved in hiring decisions. These influencers within the northern network can be taken advantage of during a job search. These networks have various branches and focusing on the right one becomes important to ensure usefulness of the network. It may become difficult to maintain a balance between all branches as it may require different types of interaction and management.

Three interesting methods of networking through subgroups as per Harvard Business Review article on how leaders create and use networks are operational networks, strategic networks and personal networks. Operational networks consists of people within a network who are unrelated trade groups of professional organisations I have knowledge of connected to the kind of work we are involved with. strategic networks are contacts women not necessarily be in a career field industry but a visionary our leaders who can provide the required direction or impetus to our career by opening up away news which could lead to an important or big career change. Personal networks consists of all fellow workers and alumni along with social media connections and all professional networks within organisations.