Human relationships are largely dependent on one’s ability to negotiate. Negotiation is widely based on the transfer of value from one person or group to another. One’s negotiation proficiency, as a social and business skill, determines the levels of success that they experience (Hedges 1). According to Hedges, negotiation is both an art and science. As a result, it is widely governed by specific principles and rules, which increase the likelihood of success. Furthermore, it is also dependent on the personality, exposure, and competence of the negotiators. This report deals with a specific negotiation that I undertook to review and comprehend the mechanisms of negotiation as a skill. The negotiations involved me and a close friend, who develops software products. I wanted a software solution that would enable me to cross-reference several documents in my computer and was willing to engage the services of my friend who had the technical capacity to develop a similar solution.
Three factors informed by decision to negotiate for a software solution. Primarily, software solutions are a form of intellectual property. As a result, an individual can attach any amount of value to them depending on personal preferences. Ideally, software can be free and open source software, proprietary commercial software, and combinations of the two, based on their developers’ discretion. Secondly, software solutions offer a greater latitude for negotiation. For instance, it is possible to negotiate over specific features and functionalities. Individuals or organizations can scaled-up or down software solutions based on the outcome of the negotiation, unlike other items, such as books or cars, which cannot be broken down or compartmentalized. Lastly, I had background information on my friend; therefore, I could judge how his personality, habits, and mannerisms affected the negotiation process.
Specifically, I commenced the negotiation process by outlining my requirements and making an offer to my friend for the software solution. According to Hedges, an individual should offer information and begin the process by making a first offer (1). Therefore, we spent a substantial amount of time discussing the functionality and features of the software solution. However, as the process continued, it dawned on me that my friend was stalling since he was noncommittal on issues related to the price. Particularly, he was focusing on the technical aspect of the intended software solution and ignoring the business aspect of the deal. I pointed out this observation and stated that I was willing to agree on a price and timeline that he was comfortable with. I repeated my first offer and even though we built some consensus, I could tell that he was not pleased with it. As a negotiator, my primary objective was for us to reach a win-win agreement for both parties. I offered to add a bonus of 10% if he could develop the software within ten days. He readily agreed to this request and steered the discussion away from the deal to other technical matters.
Works Cited
Hedges, Kristi. Six surprising negotiation tactics that get you the best deal. December 5, 2013. Web. April 7, 2016.
