This chapter examined various aspects of a growing field of negotiation that explores the complexities of negotiating across borders. We began the chapter with a discussion of the American negotiating style, from both American and non-American perspectives. While there is a great deal of consistency in perceptions of the American negotiating style, it is important to remember that there is also a lot of variability within cultures.
The chapter concluded with a discussion of how to manage cultural differences when negotiating across borders. Weiss presents eight different culturally responsive strategies that negotiators can use with a negotiator from a different culture. Some of these strategies may be used individually, whereas others are used jointly with the other negotiator. Weiss indicates that one critical aspect of choosing the correct strategy for a given negotiation is the degree of familiarity (low, moderate, or high) that a negotiator has with the other culture. However, even those with high familiarity with another culture are faced with a daunting task if they want to modify their strategy completely when they deal with the other culture.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Finding and Using Negotiation Leverage (Chapter 6 - Summary)
By leverage, we mean the process of gaining or using various sources of power in order to obtain and use temporary advantage over the other negotiating party. We began by exploring three sources of power: information and expertise, control over resources, and the location within an organizational structure (which leads to either formal authority or informal power based on where one is located relatively to flows of information or resources).
We then turned to examine a very large number of influence (leverage) tools that one could use in negotiation. These tools were considered in two broad categories: influence that occurs through the central route to persuasion, and influence that occurs through the peripheral route to persuasion.
In the last major section of the chapter, we considered how the receiver – the target of influence – either can shape and direct what the sender is communicating, or can intellectually resist the persuasive effects of the message. Effective negotiators are skilled not only at crafting persuasive messages, but also at playing the role of skilled “consumers” of the messages that others direct their way.
By leverage, we mean the process of gaining or using various sources of power in order to obtain and use temporary advantage over the other negotiating party. We began by exploring three sources of power: information and expertise, control over resources, and the location within an organizational structure (which leads to either formal authority or informal power based on where one is located relatively to flows of information or resources).
We then turned to examine a very large number of influence (leverage) tools that one could use in negotiation. These tools were considered in two broad categories: influence that occurs through the central route to persuasion, and influence that occurs through the peripheral route to persuasion.
In the last major section of the chapter, we considered how the receiver – the target of influence – either can shape and direct what the sender is communicating, or can intellectually resist the persuasive effects of the message. Effective negotiators are skilled not only at crafting persuasive messages, but also at playing the role of skilled “consumers” of the messages that others direct their way.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Leadership Documents
Creating Leadership Documents
In business, documents usually fall into broad types: (1) correspondence (e-mails, memos, and letters) and (2) reports (including proposals, progress reviews performance reports, and chart packs). Leadership documents are correspondence and reports by which managers and executives assert their influence in a wide range of organizational settings.
Selecting the Most effective Communication Medium
As with any effective leadership communication, you need to clarify your purpose, analyze your audience, and develop a communication strategy before you put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard to create a document.
These followings are written mediums:
- Text Message
- E-Mail
- Memo
- Letter
- Discussion Outline
- Chart Pack or Deck
- Reports
Each of these written mediums has advantages and disadvantages as well.
Creating Individual and Team Documents
Whether you are creating document alone or in collaboration with a team or other group, having some plan will help you be more productive and streamline the document creation process considerably.
Creating Individual Documents
Every person has own approach of creating documents. For example, some people work best from an outline, while others feel more comfortable using the idea mapping or brainstorming techniques. You should find the approach that works for you, but realize that you will be more productive if you follow some sort of step-by-step plan. Following exhibit provides a phased approach you might follow if working alone, from the first step to the final.
Individual Document Creation Process
Phase 1:
Analyzing and Planning
1. Clarify your purpose
2. Develop your 3. Analyze your audience strategy
4. Select your medium
5. Determine your key messages
Phase 2:
Creating and Developing
6. Decide on the best organization
7. Generate ideas
8. Gather data
9. Check for completeness
10. Double check your logic
11. Write a complete draft with headings
Phase 3:
Refining and Proofing
12. Reorganize, if necessary
13. Revise, cutting excess
14. Read the document aloud to check tone and flow
15. Print out and proofread the final version
Creating Team Documents
Leaders must often manage the process of document creation within a team setting. Without a plan, team document creation can involve extra work and result in a lower quality document.
Teams use one of two ways to divide the tasks: (1) on person on the team does all of the writing with others providing the content to the scribe (the single-scribe approach), or (2) the team divides the writing among the team members according to the sections for which they have provided most of the content (the multiple-writer approach).
Organizing the Content Coherently
To “cohere” means to hold together, which is what you want your documents to do. You want the pieces – paragraphs and sections – to conform to a systematic arrangement or plan that is logical and apparent to readers.
Organizing and Content
The logic of entire document, as that of each section, should be obvious to your readers. You want the logic to be so clear and the organization so tight that no one wonders, “Where did that come from?” Although they are useful references, too frequent use of the following expressions in a report may signal that the organization may need to be stronger: “As mentioned or discussed earlier,” “Returning to point A again,” or “In the previous section.”
Opening with Power
In your opening, most of the time you should begin strongly by quickly stating your main message, but let your analysis of your audience guide you.
Developing with Reason
You should aim for the same directness and brevity in the discussion or development section of your document as you do in your introduction.
Closing with Grace
Once you have taken your audience through your decision, you should end as quickly and directly as you began. A conclusion in a letter, memo, or e-mail should call for action, mention contact information or follow-up arrangements, anticipate any problems, and offer a courtesy closing.
In business, documents usually fall into broad types: (1) correspondence (e-mails, memos, and letters) and (2) reports (including proposals, progress reviews performance reports, and chart packs). Leadership documents are correspondence and reports by which managers and executives assert their influence in a wide range of organizational settings.
Selecting the Most effective Communication Medium
As with any effective leadership communication, you need to clarify your purpose, analyze your audience, and develop a communication strategy before you put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard to create a document.
These followings are written mediums:
- Text Message
- Memo
- Letter
- Discussion Outline
- Chart Pack or Deck
- Reports
Each of these written mediums has advantages and disadvantages as well.
Creating Individual and Team Documents
Whether you are creating document alone or in collaboration with a team or other group, having some plan will help you be more productive and streamline the document creation process considerably.
Creating Individual Documents
Every person has own approach of creating documents. For example, some people work best from an outline, while others feel more comfortable using the idea mapping or brainstorming techniques. You should find the approach that works for you, but realize that you will be more productive if you follow some sort of step-by-step plan. Following exhibit provides a phased approach you might follow if working alone, from the first step to the final.
Individual Document Creation Process
Phase 1:
Analyzing and Planning
1. Clarify your purpose
2. Develop your 3. Analyze your audience strategy
4. Select your medium
5. Determine your key messages
Phase 2:
Creating and Developing
6. Decide on the best organization
7. Generate ideas
8. Gather data
9. Check for completeness
10. Double check your logic
11. Write a complete draft with headings
Phase 3:
Refining and Proofing
12. Reorganize, if necessary
13. Revise, cutting excess
14. Read the document aloud to check tone and flow
15. Print out and proofread the final version
Creating Team Documents
Leaders must often manage the process of document creation within a team setting. Without a plan, team document creation can involve extra work and result in a lower quality document.
Teams use one of two ways to divide the tasks: (1) on person on the team does all of the writing with others providing the content to the scribe (the single-scribe approach), or (2) the team divides the writing among the team members according to the sections for which they have provided most of the content (the multiple-writer approach).
Organizing the Content Coherently
To “cohere” means to hold together, which is what you want your documents to do. You want the pieces – paragraphs and sections – to conform to a systematic arrangement or plan that is logical and apparent to readers.
Organizing and Content
The logic of entire document, as that of each section, should be obvious to your readers. You want the logic to be so clear and the organization so tight that no one wonders, “Where did that come from?” Although they are useful references, too frequent use of the following expressions in a report may signal that the organization may need to be stronger: “As mentioned or discussed earlier,” “Returning to point A again,” or “In the previous section.”
Opening with Power
In your opening, most of the time you should begin strongly by quickly stating your main message, but let your analysis of your audience guide you.
Developing with Reason
You should aim for the same directness and brevity in the discussion or development section of your document as you do in your introduction.
Closing with Grace
Once you have taken your audience through your decision, you should end as quickly and directly as you began. A conclusion in a letter, memo, or e-mail should call for action, mention contact information or follow-up arrangements, anticipate any problems, and offer a courtesy closing.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
The Nature of Negotiation
People negotiate all the time. Negotiation is not a process reserved only for skilled diplomat, top salesperson, or ardent advocate for organized labor; it is something that everyone does, almost everyday. Sometimes people negotiate for major things like a new job, other times for relatively minor things, such as who will wash the dishes. The structure and processes of negotiation are fundamentally the same about the minor things as they are about major things.
Negotiations occur for one of two reasons: (1) to create something new that neither party could do on his or her own, or (2) to resolve a problem or dispute between the parties.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEGOTIATION SITUATION
There are several characteristics common to all negotiation situations:
1) There are two or more parties – that is, two or more individuals, groups, or organizations.
2) There is a conflict of interests between parties.
3) Negotiations occur because the parties think they can get better results.
4) There is no system – no fixed or established set of rules or procedures – for resolving the conflict.
5) When we negotiate, we expect give and take. Successful negotiation involves the management of intangibles as well as the resolving of tangibles.
INTERDEPENDENCES
In negotiation, both parties need each other. A buyer cannot buy unless someone else sells, and vice versa. In other words the parties need each other in order to accomplish their goals. This situation of mutual dependency is called interdependence.
MUTUAL ADJUSTMENT
Interdependent relationships – those in which people are mutually dependent – are complex. Both parties know that they can influence the other’s outcomes and that their outcomes can, in turn, be influenced by other. The mutual adjustment continuous throughout the negotiation as both parties act to influence the other. It is important to recognize that negotiation is a process that transforms over time, and mutual adjustment is one of the key causes of the changes that occur during a negotiation.
People negotiate all the time. Negotiation is not a process reserved only for skilled diplomat, top salesperson, or ardent advocate for organized labor; it is something that everyone does, almost everyday. Sometimes people negotiate for major things like a new job, other times for relatively minor things, such as who will wash the dishes. The structure and processes of negotiation are fundamentally the same about the minor things as they are about major things.
Negotiations occur for one of two reasons: (1) to create something new that neither party could do on his or her own, or (2) to resolve a problem or dispute between the parties.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEGOTIATION SITUATION
There are several characteristics common to all negotiation situations:
1) There are two or more parties – that is, two or more individuals, groups, or organizations.
2) There is a conflict of interests between parties.
3) Negotiations occur because the parties think they can get better results.
4) There is no system – no fixed or established set of rules or procedures – for resolving the conflict.
5) When we negotiate, we expect give and take. Successful negotiation involves the management of intangibles as well as the resolving of tangibles.
INTERDEPENDENCES
In negotiation, both parties need each other. A buyer cannot buy unless someone else sells, and vice versa. In other words the parties need each other in order to accomplish their goals. This situation of mutual dependency is called interdependence.
MUTUAL ADJUSTMENT
Interdependent relationships – those in which people are mutually dependent – are complex. Both parties know that they can influence the other’s outcomes and that their outcomes can, in turn, be influenced by other. The mutual adjustment continuous throughout the negotiation as both parties act to influence the other. It is important to recognize that negotiation is a process that transforms over time, and mutual adjustment is one of the key causes of the changes that occur during a negotiation.
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