DISCUSS THE VARIOUS NEGOTIATION STYLES, INDICATING HOW PERCEPTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAPS MAY INFLUENCE THE CHOICE OF AND PROCESS WITHIN RESPECTIVE NEGOTIATION STYLES.
Clients come to lawyers for all sorts of reasons. Civil cases dockets have become more backlogged. As all types of civil suits have become more complex and expensive to prepare for trial, through extensive motion practice and use of experts, interest in alternative forms of dispute resolution have increased. These alternative have long been in existence. Negotiation is one of the salient features of alternative dispute resolution. It is a fact of life. Like Moliere’s Monsieur Jourdain, who was delighted to learn that he had been speaking prose all his life, people negotiate even when they don’t think themselves doing so. It is a basic means of getting what you want from others. It is a back and forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other side have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed. Negotiation is an interpersonal decision making process necessary whenever we cannot achieve our objectives single -handedly. It is critical to remember that negotiation is not a competitive sport. When you compete, your objectives are to beat the other party, to gain a better result, to succeed when they fail. People negotiate in order to add value to the result they would have reached if they were to attempt to reach an objective without the co-operation of the party negotiating with. If you can achieve your ends without the co-operation of the other parties, there’s effectively no reason to negotiate
Negotiation requires a tremendous amount of creativity, flexibility, analysis and planning. Each situation is different and so each negotiation may be resolved in its own unique way. Some of the basic elements of negotiation involves:
* Process * Behaviour * Substance
Process refers to how the parties
References: 2. Roger Fisher, International Conflict for Begginers, 1969.