Most people have an intuitive understanding of what a negotiation is. However, we will start from the establishing a scholar definition. A negotiation is an interaction between two or more parties, with the purpose of effecting an exchange that will leave both parties better off than if no negotiation had taken place. (Trask & DeGuire, 2013)
Almost all negotiations (if not all) involve a series of offers and responses. A single offer and response is not a negotiation, it is simply a bargain or an unsuccessful exchange. Hence, in a negotiation both sides are committed enough to the idea of an agreement to stick through a first round that does not immediately yield success.
The most common classification of the negotiations is the distribution for two-party and multiparty negotiations. The two-party negotiations have a more simple structure and include only two participants. As connecting intermediaries two-party negotiations can become multiparty. There are more than two actors involved in multiparty negotiations and they can be not only directly involved in the situation, but the mediators as well.
The two-party negotiations are conducted when concern relations between the two sides. In direct two-party negotiations only two partners are involved and they are passed face to face. Such negotiations occur during official visits or international forums. Virtually any official international visit or meeting does not occur without two-party negotiations. Nowadays very popular and effective forms of two-party negotiations are political consultations, which enable comprehensive and in-depth to discuss not only bilateral, but also international relations in general. Consultations are held in accordance with pre-established schedule or when it is necessary. They are held usually at the level of special working commissions, but more often at the level of official representatives of the two states, mainly Directors (or their deputies) of departments of the Foreign Ministry.
In some ways, the multiparty negotiation is no different from a two-party negotiation. Most of the tactics and strategies of two-party negotiations apply, and you may use many of them in your discussions with the various parties to a multiparty negotiation. As in any other negotiation, you need to think about your interests, do your homework, study the other parties, and use effective listening and communication skills. (Lewicki & Hiam, 2006) However, it is obvious that the organizational structure of multiparty negotiations is much more complicated than of two-party negotiations since it takes more meetings and discussions. Moreover, it is sometimes necessary to involve independent experts. Special attention to the development of rules and procedures is required while multilateral negotiations (especially at the international level): solutions of questions about the working language of the negotiations, the powers of the Chairman, the order of the words, participation in discussions, making suggestions, decision-making procedures, the public or private nature of the meetings etc.
It is worth noting that the negotiations as a way of thinking and the organization of life are not the case for all socio-economic, political and management models of companies. This activity is characterized by the fact that each of the participants in the negotiating process has its own goals, interests, intentions, which partly coincide and partly differ. It is the coincidence of interests makes negotiations possible, and the divergence of needs encourages parties to conduct them. The negotiations are necessary for collaborative decision making, that is, those that satisfy all participants in the negotiation process, and is regarded as the best in this situation. Nevertheless, negotiations can be used for other purposes, depending on their functional load.
References
Lewicki, R. & Hiam, A. (2006). Mastering business negotiation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, a John Wiley & Sons Imprint.
Trask, A. & DeGuire, A. (2013). Betting the company.
