Put Your Skills to Practical Use

In this week’s Discussion, you will practice the negotiation skills and strategies you have learned. Using the fictional scenario provided, role-play the conflict with a friend, family member, coworker, or anyone willing to participate.

To begin, you and your partner will each select one of the employees mentioned in the scenario below. Provide your partner with a copy of the scenario and try to work out your conflict using negotiation skills and strategies you have learned thus far. No experience or knowledge of conflict is needed for your partner’s character. Simply read the scenario and prepare to role-play.

Scenario

Two employees, Brian and Jon work in the same enclosed office and there are no other spaces available where either could be shifted. They are becoming increasingly frustrated about how to share the space and be productive. Brian likes to work with the door open, but Jon likes the door closed. Brian tends to shift tasks frequently, talking on his cell phone or speaking to people going by, while Jon prefers to do one task at a time. Jon tends to talk to himself as he is working. Jon also likes to put large sticky notes on the wall to visualize what he is working on, while Brian works primarily on his computer. Brian likes to spread a number of different items out to refer to as he is working and tends to leave them on the floor and all around his desk until he is finished. Both are claiming that each other’s work habits are preventing the other from working to full capacity.

After you have completed the role-playing activity, use the Discussion board to reflect upon the activity and discuss your experiences.

To prepare for this Discussion, pay particular attention to the following Learning Resources:

· Review this week’s Learning Resources, especially:

Natasha Mills 

Put Your Skills to Practical Use

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During role play of the given scenario with a friend, I played Brian while my friend was Jon. The negotiation preparation process involved outlining the objectives of the negotiation, the best possible outcomes, and the concessions I was willing to make, as well as those that I would not. Therefore, I applied some of the key actions that Evan & Richardson (2010) present as pre-negotiation activities. Further, I analyzed and questioned my assumptions about Jon prior to the negotiation, which completed a part of the Negotiation Preparation Worksheet. During my preparation for the negotiation, the goal was to have a work space that was conducive for both of us. My BATNA was to involve a mediator because the issue needed to be resolved for us to meet our task objectives productively while working within the same space. The only concessions I was willing to make concerned my preference for an open door as opposed to Jon’s preference for a closed door, speaking to people passing by, and spreading items on the floor and leaving them there.

The conversation did not go well as expected because each of us was keen on pointing out the annoying behaviors of the other. Instead of finding solutions to make our workspace conducive for both of us, we reached an impasse and decided to involve a mediator. The inability to achieve mutually satisfying outcomes on our own was the result of the competitive stance that each of us took. More specifically, Jon was not as forthcoming about his position on the issue due to the perception that his behaviors were less annoying. “The competitive negotiator learns as much as possible about the other person’s position without giving away her or his own position” (Cahn & Abigail, 2014, p.231). From this, I learned that my conflict style of confronting was not applicable to all situations, particularly this situation. I needed to find a more effective conflict approach.

The conflict issue was caused by the identification of behaviors that each found annoying about the other. My most preferred conflict style is confronting or collaboration, followed by accommodating, and then avoiding. These conflict styles played a critical part in the role-play. I had initially adopted the confronting conflict style but the moment I learned that Jon was not forthcoming, I shifted to the avoiding conflict style and withdrew from the conflict, with an intention of seeking the help of a mediator. There was nothing new about my conflict style to this conflict because this is how I deal with conflict situations in the sense that I jump to another conflict style when one fails. On the other hand, my partner’s conflict style resembled that of competing. According to Cahn & Abigail (2014), a competitive conflict style is one where conflicting party view an argument as a competition. This was the case with Jon during the negotiation. This assessment can help me during the negotiation process by learning and implementing strategies that can turn the competition into collaboration.

If I had to do this again, I would consider different possible outcomes of the conflict situation during the pre-negotiation stage as opposed to limiting my focus on a certain outcome. A focus on one outcome led me to strategize my point on the issue to target one goal, which was to create a conducive workspace for Jon and I. As a result, I was not ready for the trajectory that the negotiation took. During the negotiation, I would improve my conflict communication, particularly listening skills. Communication is a core component of effective negotiation (Laureate Education (Producer), n.d). My poor listening skills significantly fueled Jon’s competitive conflict approach because my response sounded like attacks on Jon. Therefore, I would make changes to the communication strategies I used during the negotiation. Holistically, the activity led me to the realization that negotiations can be challenging if not approached strategically. This is a lesson that will shape any future negotiation processes I will find myself in.

Cahn, D. D., & Abigail, R. A. (2014). Managing conflict through communication (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Evans, C., & Richardson, M. (2010). How to negotiate effectively. British Journal of Administrative Management, 69, 32−33.

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Introduction to negotiation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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2nd Colleague – Donna Tizzano

Donna Tizzano 

RE: Discussion 2 – Week 6 Tizzano Initial Response

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To complete this role play, I asked a peer at work to assume the role of Brian in this scenario, while I portrayed Jon. The peer that I asked to complete this assignment is often in meetings with me and is familiar with my approach to conflict and my style of confrontation to manage conflict. My approach to conflict management demonstrates high cooperativeness and assertiveness while attempting a win-win resolution for both parties (Thomas et al., 2008) Maintaining relationships and reaching my goals are a are very important to me. Therefore, my priority is to prepare well for this discussion so Brian and I can work amicably together and to our full potential moving forward.

To prepare for this negotiation, I completed a negotiation worksheet by contemplating what I considered both acceptable and unacceptable outcomes in this situation. I made a list of what I would be willing to compromise on and what outcomes would be completely unacceptable to me (Evans & Richard, 2010).  I also attempted to put my self in the place of my office partner and thought about what his objectives might be and whether he would be willing to compromise or brainstorm new alternatives to achieve a mutually agreeable solution. Evans and Richardson (2010) emphasize preparation is an essential component to ensuring negotiation is successful. My goal was to develop a plan to work amicably together in the same work space respecting one another’s work style so we could be productive and maintain our professional relationship (Evans & Richard, 2010).  I had already considered my BATNA to be flexing my hours so that I would minimize the time Jon and I shared the same space but was hoping it would not come to this alternative. The only concession I was unwilling to make was Brian spreading his work all over the floor. The other issues; leaving the door open, talking to people as they walked by, and shifting tasks frequently, I was willing to concede on.

Since we were both willing to work on a solution and there are many options available to us, negotiation is the right approach to managing this conflict at this stage (Producer, n.d.).

Because we had been working in this culture for several months, our contrasting work habits resulted in poor communication, resentment toward one another, and frustration, which contributed to decreased productivity for each of us. Because we had taken so long to address this conflict and we were both frustrated, I knew it would be easy to enter this situation taking a competitive stance. I was determined not to let this happen since, based on my style of conflict management, I have a high priority to maintain relationships and I like to confront issues and not wait to address problems.

Up until this time, Brian’s approach to managing this conflict situation was avoidance which has resulted in a breakdown in communication and increased tension working with one another (Thomas et al., 2008).  By understanding Brian’s conflict style it helped me develop ways to negotiate successfully and understand what the best approach to managing the conflict was.  I realized that Bryan was not assertive or confrontational and he preferred to avoid conflict all together (Conerly & Tripathi, 2004). Because of the characteristics Brian demonstrated in conflict management, I found it necessary to take the lead on confronting the situation. I used constructive communication to pursue collaboration so Brian and I could explore creative ways to work together and be productive.

In my initial interaction with Brian, I focused on open body language, was upfront and honest, acknowledging the rough time we had been having acclimating to one another’s work style, and that I hoped we could talk things out so that we could find a way to reach an acceptable resolution. It appeared that Brian was not expecting this approach to managing our conflict and he seemed to relax, agreeing that we both had very different approaches to accomplishing our work, but he too hoped we could figure something out to help us successfully share space and be productive while maintaining our professional relationship. My initial approach diffused the situation and Brian, and I were able to enter the discussion with the intent to be cooperative and open to ideas on how to resolve our problem.

After this, Brian and I had an open discussion about the characteristics/work habits of each other that were prohibiting us from getting our work done.  We prioritized these habits from the most annoying to the least annoying. When we reviewed each other’s lists, we chuckled about what was annoying to one another. By the end of our meeting, it was determined that Brian would keep his work off the floor and use a flip chart to keep track of his work, the door of the office would be kept open until lunch and afterwards would be closed for the afternoon. The sticky notes that I used would be kept on my side of the office, and if Brian was going to use his phone for personal calls, he would temporarily leave the office space. Through cooperation, compromise and concessions, we were able to meet our objectives and work through the issues that were causing our conflict. The two of us also agreed that we would be open with our communication and receptive to constructive conversations so that we would not get to the degree of frustration that we had been prior to our negotiation.

By using confrontation, constructive communication, and active listening skills as my approach to conflict management, it has reinforced how important it is to leave emotion out of the discussion and focus on the situation. I have also learned that it is important to be open to the perspectives and ideas of others so that both parties can reach a mutually agreed upon resolution (Conerly & Tripathi, 2004). The strategies we used to negotiate our conflict situation resulted in a win-win outcome that will allow us to coexist in the same office while maintaining a professional relationship and ensuring we meet our productivity standards.

I would not change how I approached this negotiation session with my peer. The preparation that I took prior to the negotiation was critical to the success of our meeting. By considering potential outcomes, acceptable an unacceptable resolutions/concessions and by considering Jon’s objectives and perceptions I was able to be prepared for our discussion and ensure that I kept the focus on the situation, not allowing emotion to derail the negotiations (Cahn & Abigail, 2014). Because we did not allow emotions to influence our behaviors, we actually were able to see humor in our situation during our negotiation session. Both of us were able to empathize with one another and discuss options to resolve our problem. We kept the focus on our goals and were able to work cooperatively toward a successful outcome (Evans & Richardson, 2010). I also consider our post-negotiation successful since we agreed that we would openly communicate with one another and accept constructive conversations to avoid reaching the levels of frustration that we had observed in one another. I believe the most important step in making this negotiation a success was the preparation prior to the meeting.

In the future, I will continue to adapt my style of conflict management to the situation and those of the opposing team. I will always focus on maintaining relationships, and reaching a mutually agreeable resolution using constructive communication and actively listening to those at the table. Lastly, I will ensure that I have prepared for the meetings taking into consideration my objectives and those of the opposing team. 

Have a good week,

Donna

References:

Cahn, D. D., & Abigail, R. A. (2014). Managing conflict through communication (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Conerly, K., & Tripathi, A. (2004). What is your conflict style? Understanding and dealing with your conflict style. Journal for Quality & Participation, 27(2), 16–20.

Evans, C., & Richardson, M. (2010). How to negotiate effectively. British Journal of Administrative Management, 69, 32−33.

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Introduction to negotiation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Thomas, K. W., Thomas, G. F., & Schaubhut, N. (2008). Conflict styles of men and women at six organization levels. International Journal of Conflict Management, 19(2), 148–166.

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