Question 1.
Distributive negotiation is a bargaining approach, which is used by parties that are attempting to divide something or distribute something. Distributive negotiation is opposite of integrative approach as both parties are trying to get more on one thing. In case of distributive negotiation, the goal is to assure that one party wins much more than the other party. This results in the other side losing their share for the other side and ending up with less than they expected (University of Colorado, n.d.). Distributive negotiation is also called “win-lose”, “zero-sum”, or “claiming value”. It is a competitive form of negotiation, which is used for deciding the way to distribute fixed resources such as company budget. The parties involved in negotiation assume that they have limited resources to divide between themselves, meaning one side would get, the greater portion of the resource (Spangler, 2003).
Effective Distributive Negotiation Tactics
Working as the digital marketing manager for a mobile manufacturing company, there is always a need to divide the marketing budget of the company between different media vehicles such as newspaper, internet, and television, etc. Every year the advertising budget is divided among different vehicles based on the previous year’s performance and every year the annual budget is negotiated in April and divided among the three selected media vehicles of internet, print, and television. The decision is taken by the marketing head about distributing the advertising budget. Some of the distributive negotiation tactics used by my team this year were:
Home Ground Advantage
One of the first tactics used for distributive negotiation by all parties involved in the distribution of marketing budget is called taking the home ground advantage. This tactic is used by anyone the internet, print or television marketing teams. We called other team heads to our office and explained the marketing head the need to assign greater amount of budget to their department. This year, our digital marketing team worked very hard and prepared presentations and explained to the marketing head the future prospects of digital marketing. We asked other teams to join the meeting too, and provided valuable information on our competitors increasing their investment in digital media. Ethics played an important in preparing the details of the presentations as information shared in the presentation was counter checked and confirmed from the original source.
Greater Numbers
Another distributive negotiating tactic used in the same budget allocation meeting was having a greater number of people from the digital marketing team. In the meeting we decided that having at least five times the number of people brought by another team to the meeting would be helpful to put our point across. This strategy also helped in ensuring that every counter point made by the members of other teams was aptly replied by experts in our team and further justification was given to explain the increasing importance of digital marketing for the mobile brand. We ethically informed in advance that several members of our team want to be part of the meeting as every member had to contribute essential input. This decision helped in ensuring that other teams did not complain as they had no idea that we wanted to overpower them and their claims in the meeting.
Ultimatums and Threats
Another tactic used in the distributive negotiation is the use of ultimatums and threats. We used ultimatums as a means to ensure the marketing head understood the importance of increasing the marketing budget for the digital team. We explained that our competitors are tapping into the potential of digital marketing, and we cannot afford to be left behind. The ultimatum came with the threat of either increasing the budget or losing out to the competition. The ultimatum tactic worked out in our favour as the marketing head agreed on our predicament and the changing dynamics of the industry. The tactics was used effectively as we presented the industry dynamic on media spending by our competitors, focusing on those who were outperforming. The tactic was used ethically as we fact checked all numbers and presented the industry reports on increasing digital media spending by mobile manufacturers.
Overpowering Opponents
Another strategy that can be used as a distributive negotiation tactic is overpowering opponents. This tactic can also be used by outsmarting the other parties and we successfully managed to outsmart other teams by having greater numbers in the meeting and having the meeting in our office. Throughout the meeting, we overpowered the other parties and ensured they did not get an opportunity to oppose our claims. The tactic was effectively used as from the outset of the meeting; we discussed the budget issue and focused on the importance of digital marketing. We barely gave any importance to the role of other media vehicles and diminished the role of other teams in making the brand grow. We ethically used the tactic as all information we shared in the meeting was fact checked and we wanted to ensure that our organization does not fall behind the competition.
Question 5.
Type of Power
The use of position power is highly common in the workplace and negotiation is one of the areas of management where position power can be effectively used. Several managers end up using position power while negotiating the salary, work responsibilities, etc. with their subordinates. When employers are stuck in a negotiation with their employees, the position comes in handy as an effective tool to achieve desired results. The situation pertains to a salary negotiation, where I held position power over my subordinate and had the power to negotiate his salary. The nature of negotiation was intense and time consuming and the end result was fruitful in the favour of the organisation. Overall, I was able to perform my assigned task and negotiate effectively using my power. This power will remain in my hands for future negotiations and I will work by best to use it to ensure my department remains within the budget assigned.
There are several powers that can influence the final outcome of a negotiation. Position power is determined by the superiority of an individual’s formal position over others (UTHSCSA, n.d.). As the digital marketing manager I was the head of my department and evaluating employee performances of my subordinates was part of my job duty. In my case, I experienced position power when I was negotiating the salary of a subordinate. I used my position power to ensure that the salary we offered to my subordinate was less than the organization had budgeted. I effectively used position power as it was my duty to ensure that the employee was not paid over our budget. But, through the use of position power I was able to restrict the salary to a lower number that the company wanted to pay.
Effective Ways to Increase Negotiating Power
Master Way of Thinking
Prioritizing goals and asking the right questions during the negotiation process is an essential aspect of of achieving desired goals. By setting the goals and giving priority to each of them helps in understanding the main focus area and essential goals that need to be achieved through the process. Asking the right questions is also very critical as understanding the need of the other party and presenting your side of the story helps in shortening the process. Also, by asking the right questions, it becomes easier to sell your ideas to the other party by following their lead and offering them opportunities that they desire (Walch, n.d.).
Master Socialization
Many modern negotiators understand the importance of developing social capital by building relationships and trust. When negotiators have the ability to reach out to other parties and make them feel comfortable during the negotiation process, it becomes easier to perform and achieve negotiation’s goals. By adding value to one’s reputation an individual can increase their negotiating power. By investing time in relationships, a negotiator can ensure that people they face in negotiation process trust them and feel they are being fair during the process. Having a positive image ensures that each interaction coherent and the other party involved in the negotiation process have a better probability of making a sacrifice (Walch, n.d.).
Master Your Leverage
Having leverage in the negotiation process is helpful in ensuring that an individual is able to use coercive power to achieve desired goals. Understanding and developing leverage is possible by engaging untapped mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual resources. Many negotiators overlook these important resources while they prepare for a negotiation. To increase negotiation power it is important to develop leverage over the other party by taking advantage of information collected about them. Having leverage is essential for achieving sustainable and satisfactory solutions during the negotiation process. Therefore, mastering negotiation not only develops negotiating power, but it also boosts the chances of achieving desired results (Walch, n.d.).
Mastering the Want
Power of Pessimism
Another important way for developing negotiation power is by thinking negatively about the outcomes. By thinking this way, a negotiator can identify other or best alternatives available in the situation and understand that the other options are good too. This concept can be applied while communicating with the other party and making them understand the importance of other options. By making the other party feel that the option on offer is already one of the best they can get, it improves the chances of getting negotiation settled earlier. Therefore, pessimism can be an effective tool for ensuring that negotiation powers are increased and swift solution is realized for every negotiation situation (Pittampalli, 2015).
References
Pittampalli., A. (2015, January). How to Instantly Increase your Bargaining Power in any Negotiation. Retrieved 12 July 2016 from, http://modernmeetingstandard.com/2015/01/how-to-instantly-increase-your-bargaining-power-in-any-negotiation/
Spangler., B. (2003, June). Distributive Bargaining. Retrieved 11 July 2016 from, http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/distributive-bargaining
UTHSCSA. (n.d.). Ten Types of Power. Retrieved 11 July 2016 from, http://uthscsa.edu/gme/documents/TenTypesofPower.pdf
Walch., K. (n.d.). Nine Secrets of Negotiation Power. Retrieved 11 July 2016 from, http://www.thunderbird.edu/article/nine-secrets-negotiation-power
