Читать книгу Negotiating - David Brown, David Brown - Страница 7

You are trying to reach a commercial agreement, secure an industrial relations agreement, solve a problem or resolve a dispute. Negotiation should take place when you need somebody’s consent to a proposal, and they need yours before you decide to agree. But you should only negotiate if negotiation is the best way to achieve your objectives.

Consider that there are many alternatives to negotiating, and in some situations they may give you a better result.

 Persuade. Persuade them that what you are proposing is the best option. This is a buying or selling approach that might be used in connection with a price rise or one of the terms of the contract. It doesn’t cost you money.

 Impose. Just tell them what they must do, or what you must do (you could say you have no choice). Shops are effectively doing this when they offer goods on a non-negotiable basis. Sometimes price rises or purchasing conditions are presented as non-negotiable.

 Instruct. It’s a less severe form of impose, but you are still dictating the terms if you choose to do this.

 Postpone. Put it off till circumstances change. An example of this would be putting off price rises or reductions in a commodity such as oil or metals, because the short-term situation is too volatile. You could choose to allow the market to settle down.

 Leave it to chance. Allow the situation to be dictated by outside events, such as linking a price to the dollar or inflation.

 Give in. This is an option, but not one you will enjoy. Sometimes governments, companies or individuals have to give in because the odds are 100% against them.

 Problem solve. If both parties can work on solving the same problem this may be a good idea. Employers and a trade union might co-operate to decide how best to deal with a financial crisis.

 Arbitrate. Allow another person or body to solve this for you. An industrial tribunal could resolve an industrial dispute.

 Plead. Rely on an appeal to someone’s good nature. This is only a good idea if you can rely on their good nature, or if it’s not important to you.

Whether one of these alternatives is a better option than negotiating depends on many factors – you, your boss, your negotiating partner’s circumstances, the market in which you operate, the short term, the long term, your confidence levels and risk, to name but a few. We will study these options in more detail in 1.3 and give you ideas on how to decide on the best option.

Before you embark on any negotiation, be sure to recognize that there may be better ways of solving the problem.