Question

Identify a negotiation situation that took place in one team member's organization (It can either be internal to the organization or it can be between organizations). Prepare a 1,750- to 2,100-word paper that includes the following: · Identify the constituents and agents, and describe their role in the negotiation process. · Identify cultural and audience impact on the negotiations (if any) · Describe two of three factors (power, influence, coalitions) that contributed to or supported the negotiation strategies, and analyze their effectiveness. · Develop two or three additional factors (power, influence, coalitions) that could have been used to improve negotiation performance, and explain why these factors may or may not be more beneficial. · Describe the ethical approach practiced within the selected organization, and its impact on the negotiation process. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Answer 1

This is an experience that one of my colleagues had:

As a business professional, it is mandatory to have collaborative terms with other organizations that help with certain projects of your company. One such is to hold a conference where top-notch VIPs were invited to have a business meeting regarding the company's performance this year and plan for the 2nd half of the year. Since the job on hand was to book a venue to host the meeting, my friend, who takes care of events, was assigned the job.

The country of conference was decided by the events team as Malaysia and the rest of the job was given to my friend. While searching for the venue, he came across the Ramadan period celebration during the 1st week of July and hesitated as the conference was scheduled to be held during that week. It is an auspicious festival and he was aware that Malaysian venues would e quite busy with the festivities and all the properties would have been booked already.

With some hesitation, yet affirmation, he approached his internal team and spoke about the requirement in the change of the date. This involved negotiations between the team head, him, his colleague and a HR manager. While they understood that the venue may not be available, there was also the crisis of getting all the delegates together on another date, as they had other meetings post that. As the person in charge, it was my friend's duty to warn about the likely unavailability of the venue, which was the situation. As the head of the team, his team leader brought in the HR manager, as they have the power to put forth the decision to the VIP committee.

This situation was put forth to the committee and they received a lot of disappointment as their other schedules were jam packed. However, the team leader and the HR manager managed to get a consensus for a date before Ramadan so that the conference can happen before the festivities begin.

In this example, we see how a cultural implication had an impact in the shifting of the date of the Conference. The audience i.e. the VIP committee showed resistance as they were not in a position to postpone their schedules to accommodate the conference. With the power bestowed on the team leader, he was able to convince the committee to agree to an advanced date for the conference. If my colleague had mentioned about this instead, the issue would either have been escalated or would never have been solved. The HR manager could influence the VIPs as she had a closer connection to the committee due to her work. As both of them had a greater part of their say in the negotiations, which were fair and suitable, the committee ultimately took to the decision to advance the date and keep the meeting before the festivities.

If the team had brought in norms and values, it would have made a greater impact, as the team would consider ethics of the host country and their countrymen. That would have made the discussions a lot easier and simpler. Although the committee accepted advancing the date, this would have happened earlier than seeing the resistance from their end. Another factor that could have been added is the perception of the conference holding country. Their cultural values is more important than a conference of a company. Holding good relations with the host country is essential for future.

The most ethical approach is to either advance or postpone the conference as it impacts the host country and the values they hold. It will also affect the image of the company that approaches the venue. Any business relations needs trust, understanding and relationship building to be successful. The venue may have facilitated with hosting the conference, but it would hesitate the next the company approaches, as they would already have the impression of rigidity from the company's end.