How to negotiate
Negotiation is the process of coming to terms and, in so doing,
getting the best deal possible for your firm, your union or your-
self.
Negotiations involve a conflict of interest. Sellers prefer a high
price to a low one and buyers prefer a low price to a high one.
Unions want the highest settlement they can get, management
wants the lowest. It can be a zero-sum game – what one side
gains the other loses. No one likes to lose, so there is conflict,
which has to be managed if an amicable agreement is to be
achieved. And negotiators do, or should, try to end up on
friendly terms, whatever differences of opinion have occurred on
the way. After all, they may well meet again.
Another important feature of negotiations is that they take
place in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Neither side necessarily
knows what the other wants or will give.
There are two main types of negotiation – business and trade
union.
38