The essence of effective negotiation can be summarised in the following six rec- ommendations: research you opponent; begin with a positive overture; address prob- lems, not personalities; pay little attention to initial offers; emphasize win-win solu- tions; and be open to accepting third party solutions.
1. READING FOR COMPREHENSION Answer the below given questions.
1. Why are effective interpersonal skills so important to manager’s success? 2. The increased use of empowerment is being driven by two forces. Identify and
explain them.
3. De ne delegation and identify behaviours related to effective delegating. 4. What is con ict?
5. Describe the steps in analysing and resolving con icts. 6. Explain why a manager might stimulate a con ict? 7. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining. 8. How do you develop effective negotiation skills?
2. MATCHING EXERCISES
(a) Match the terms referring to contingency factors in delegation on the left- hand side with their explanations on the right-hand side.
1. The size of the organisation (a) If management has con dence and trust in employees,
the culture will support a greater degree of delegation. However, if top management does not have con dence in the abilities of lower-level managers, it will delegate au- thority only when absolutely necessary.
2. The importance of the duty (b) The more complex the task, the more dif cult it is for top
management to possess current and suf cient technical in- formation to make decisions. Such tasks should be delegat- ed to people who have the necessary technical knowledge.
3. Task complexity (c) Delegation requires employees with skills, abilities, and motivation to accept authority and act on it.
4. Organisational culture (d) The more important a duty or decision, the less likely it is to be delegated. For instance, a department head may be delegated authority to make expenditures up to $7,500 and division heads and vice presidents up to $50,000 and $125,000, respectively.
5. Qualities of employees (e) The larger the organisation, the more dependent top man- agers are on the lower-level managers. Therefore, manag- ers in large organisations resort to increased delegation.
(b) Match the strategies used in con ict management on the left-hand side with the situations in which and when they work best on the right-hand side.
1. Avoidance (a) The issue under dispute is not that important to you (as to others) or when you want to build up credits for later issues.
2. Accommodation (b) Con icting parties are about equal in power, when it is desirable to
achieve a temporary solution to a complex issue, or when time pres- sures demand an expedient solution.
3. Forcing (c) Time pressures are minimal, when all parties seriously want a win-win solution, and when the issue is too important to be compromised.
4. Compromise (d) Con ict is trivial, when emotions are running high and time is needed to cool them down.
5. Collaboration (e) You need a quick resolution on important issues that require unpopular actions to be taken and when commitment by others to your solution is not critical.
3. ARTICLES
Fill in the blank with the appropriate article or leave it blank to indicate that no article is necessary in How do we delegate effectively?
Assuming that delegation is in order, how do you delegate? First of all you have to clarify …… assignments by determining what is to be delegated and to whom. You need to identify …… person who is most capable of doing …… task and then deter- mine whether he or she has …… time and motivation to do …… job.
Second, you have to specify …… employee’s range of discretion. In other words, you are delegating …… authority to act but not unlimited authority. You are delegating …… authority to act on certain issues within certain parameters.
Third, one of …… best ways to decide how much authority will be necessary is to allow …… employees who will be held accountable for …… tasks to participate in that decision. However, allowing such people too much participation in deciding what tasks they should take on and how much authority they must have to complete those tasks can undermine …… effectiveness of …… delegation process.
Fourth, delegation should not take place in …… vacuum. It means that not only …… people outside …… organisation, but also the people inside …… organisation need to know that what has been delegated and how much authority has been granted. …… failure to inform others makes con ict likely and decreases …… chances that your employees will be able to accomplish …… delegated act ef ciently.
And, fth, there is always …… possibility that …… employees misuse …… discretion they have been given if …… feedback channels are absent.
4. PREPOSITIONS
Supply the missing prepositions to complete the passage Three views of con ict.
……… the years, three differing views have evolved ……… con ict ……… or- ganisations. The early approach assumed that con ict was bad and would always have a negative impact ……… an organisation. Con ict became synonymous ……… vio- lence, destruction and irrationality. Management had a responsibility to rid the organi- sation ……… con ict. The human relations position argued that con ict was a natural and inevitable occurrence ……… any organisation. It need not be evil, but, rather, has the potential to be a positive force ……… contributing ……… an organisation’s per- formance. The third and most recent perspective proposes encourages con ict ……… the grounds that a harmonious, peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative organisation is prone to become static, apathetic, and non-responsive ……… change and innovation.
5. BUSINESS SKILLS: - Are you a good negotiator?
Complete the below given questionnaire, then discuss the scores with your part- ner and suggest areas for improvement.
1 = strongly disagree 10 = strongly agree
1. I can stay cool when I am in the middle of a con ict. 2. I am willing to compromise when I have to.
3. I realise that others have needs. 4. I am very patient.
5. I can identify the most important issues very quickly.
6. If necessary, I can remain calm when I am being personally attacked. 7. I am willing to research and analyse issues carefully.
8. I believe in and work towards situations where both sides can win.
9. I can deal with stressful situations. 10. I am a good listener.
TOTAL
If your total score was 80 or above, you are aware of most of the important issues in negotiation and have the makings of a good negotiator. If you scored between 60 and 79, you will make a good negotiator but there are some areas that you need to improve. If your score was below 60, you may want to rethink some of your attitudes about negotiation and get some additional training.
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Being a successful manager depends in part on knowing how to negotiate. For our purposes let us consider George Cohon who had to negotiate to bring his company into a new area. George Cohon, a Canadian, made history when he opened the rst McDonald’s restaurant near Moscow’s Red Square in the former Soviet Union, but it took him nearly 14 years to pull off his achievement. After reading through the text, try to answer the below given questions.
1. Getting the McDonald’s operating took many years of battling red tape and cul- tural as well as economic obstacles. Discussions with individuals at several lev- els of the Soviet government at times appeared to be going in circles. When an agreement nally appeared within reach, the negotiations became even more intense. The Soviet delegates, for instance, atly demanded his consent on such issues as rents for land and the percentage for sales that were to be paid Cohon’s Canadian company. Although Cohon found negotiations in a foreign language to be dif cult, it was nothing compared to dealing with a totalitarian government as a prospective partner. As Cohon state, “this was a communication challenge straight from hell.”
2. Once the agreement had been reached, a new set of obstacles had to be overcome. Suppliers had to be found, and, at the time, the agricultural industry in the former Soviet Union was dismal, marred by constant crop failures and poor manage- ment. Moreover, staff had to be hired, trained, introduced to Mc Donald’s unique corporate culture focusing on quality, cleanliness, and consistency.
3. Could this culture be adapted to Russian workers? As Cohon stated, “When we began our training, most of our crew and our Soviet managers had never actu- ally tasted a hamburger, much less made or served one.” So to help facilitate this training, Soviet managers were own to Toronto and schooled at the Canadian Institute of Hamburgerology. Taking the information they learned in Toronto, the Soviet managers began training employees on site.
4. On the rst day of operation, Moscow Mc Donald’s served over 30,000 people. Since then, the chain has expanded throughout Russia. It was a major accom- plishment that George Cohon pulled off. He managed to create a reliable system of suppliers, overcome government bureaucracy, and train employees to function at the high level demanded by McDonald’s. And he did all of this in a country that was going through one of its greatest periods of upheaval. This was a major vic- tory for Cohon and demonstrated that effective communication is fundamentally linked to successful performance.
Questions
1. George Cohon pulled off his achievement through his effective negotiation skills. What is Cohon’s trick? Explain.
2. How do you develop effective negotiation skills?
3. Assume that you have found an apartment that you wanted to rent and the ad had said: “$750/month, negotiable.” What could you do to improve the likelihood that you would negotiate the lowest possible price?
4. Give your opinion on the following statement: “Here’s the rule for bargains: ‘Do other men, for they would do you.’ That’s the true business precept.”