http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com 75On the basis of the information above, what
would each individual’s position be? Obviously the
chief marketing officer and the chief operating
officer would be in favour of the investment, while
the chief financial officer and the human resources
director would not be in favour. The chief exec-
utive officer has a neutral position and would
probably take one side or the other only after more
detailed analysis.
If we draw an affinity map about who supports
or opposes the facility, the following emerges (See
Figure 2).
As you can see, we can easily identify who is likely
to form an alliance with whom. The example given
here is rather crude but explains the concept of an
affinity map very well. Let’s think about the even-
tual meeting of these five leaders. While the CEO is
taking stock of the situation, both the CFO and the
HR director will try to convince the CEO about the
disadvantages of the investment, while the CMO
and the COO will try to persuade the CEO to go
ahead with it.
With a tool such as an affinity map, the CFO will
realise that she or he has to create an alliance with
the HR director, and then collectively, they can put
forward strong arguments against the expansion.
The CFO also has to make sure that the HR director
continues to back that position. Finally, because
the other executives are probably more inclined to
favour the expansion, the CFO has to make sure
somehow that their alliance does not persist.
Listening to Others and Showing You Listen
In a multiparty scenario, in order to understand
what people really need, it is very important to
listen to them. To listen well, it is important to
make sure that the negotiators at the table get
enough space and time to express their needs. The
best way to ensure that this happens is by taking
the initiative in asking questions.
Making Suggestions About the Process
It is important to have control over the negotia-
tion process. One way to achieve that is to come
up with a recommendation regarding the process. If
other negotiators have not really thought about the
negotiation process, then everyone will likely agree
to your recommendation. That will give you better
control over the negotiation process.
Reaching an Agreement and Making Alliances
Reaching an agreement in a multiparty negotiation
is not only complex but also vulnerable to biases
and difficulties. Let’s look at an example.Cunning Dad and the Marquis de Condorcet
A particular household has three members: the
father, the mother, and a teenage daughter. As winter
begins, they decide to spend a weekend at a ski resort.
They arrive at the resort on a Friday evening and
the father is the first one to switch on the TV. To
his dismay, he finds that there are only three chan-
nels. One channel is showing a movie that he loves,
another is showing a live tennis match, and the last
one is broadcasting news. The father wants to watch
the movie, with his second choice being the tennis
match. He is in no mood to watch the news right
now. The father knows that his daughter would love
to watch the tennis match as she is a very good player.
If she cannot watch the match, she would prefer the
news. However, she would never watch the movie
being shown, as it is a typical romantic comedy, a
genre that she hates. The mother does not like tennis.
Although she might like the movie that is on, her first
choice definitely would be to watch the news.
The father wants to ensure that his choice will even-
tually win out, but he still wants everyone’s opinion.
What should he do? Well, this cunning dad does
something unethical. He says to his wife and daughter:
“Sweethearts, there is a movie or a tennis match on
TV. Which should we watch?” The daughter says:
“Tennis!” The wife says: “No! I don’t want to watch
tennis at all. I’d prefer something else.” The father tells
his daughter: “Well, dear, I’d also prefer the movie to
the tennis. And your mom agrees. So why don’t we
watch the movie?” They all watch the movie.
If they all knew about all the options from the
very beginning, there would be no solution because
the father would want to watch the movie, the
mother would prefer the news, and the daughter
would prefer the tennis. This is known as a CondorcetFather Mother Daughter
FirstchoiceThirdchoiceSecondchoiceMovie
TennisNewsNews
MovieTennisTennis
NewsMovieFIGURE 3 - A SAMPLE OF CONDORCET CYCLEIt is important to
have control over
the negotiation
process. One way
to achieve that is
to come up with a
recommendation
regarding the
process.