The human being, due to his condition of a social being, is constantly immersed in negotiation as an intrinsic activity, as an example we can cite that when deciding which dish he will taste at lunch with his partner, he establishes a simple negotiation, another clear example occurs when establishes house rules with children and assigns roles to each member of the household; It is here where strategies are played that will allow in the future to lead a healthy coexistence. Much more evident is the negotiation in the labor field, since they depend to a great extent on how it is planned, anticipated and agreements are established to improve professionally, economically and laboriously; at the company level, negotiation should be considered a tool that allows maintaining a fluid work environment,where conflicts are minimized and resolved in a timely manner, leading to income growth through new clients, assertive negotiations with suppliers, adequate organizational climate, effective processes, among other benefits, which contribute to the growth and consolidation of the company..
Currently, the struggle to be competitive in the workplace requires that every professional must have the skills of a good negotiator. But, what does this word "negotiator" contain? Could it be that we will always be doing business? This premise arises for the clear reason that negotiating is not always related to sales or purchases, on the contrary, it will be evident that the negotiating role is a skill that allows identifying possible conflicts, which are the result of poor communication, differences in interests or values, divergent opinions, among others.
The conflict and its elements
A conflict is a disagreement between two parties, which, depending on the differences, increases and hinders the achievement of certain achievements1. Its origin can be given by various circumstances: misunderstandings, lack of communication, opposing opinions, among others; The important thing here is to recognize the conflict in a timely manner, to determine what type of conflict it is and thus be able to channel it and seek its resolution through an adequate negotiation process. In this sense, "conflicts can become an element of change and evolution" (Escapa Garrachón & Martínez Ten), that is, if it is handled in a positive way, it becomes an element that will strengthen the relations between the parties. and, it will show the possible inconveniences that an attitude, decision making, an activity generates.
Generally, the lack of feedback in most of the activities within the company causes senior managers to cause conflicts with their subordinates, since ignorance of the information generates discomfort among those involved (Escapa Garrachón & Martínez Ten, p. 151), which eventually converge in a conflict. When the disagreement or divergence has been presented, the elements of the conflict must be clearly identified: the people who are involved and how this situation affects their relationship so that it does not transfer to the personal field so that, in the development and resolution of conflict there are no susceptibilities wounds.
Another element that must be established is the process that is going to be followed, where the style of the conflict must undoubtedly be identified in order to make its solution viable; These styles are: a) avoid conflict, b) fight to achieve one's goal, c) give in to the demands of the other, d) compromise, renounce part of one's own goals, d) collaborate and create new solutions. Once the style of the conflict has been established, it must be determined at what stage it is; obstruction, analysis of the situation, behavior, or at the same time (Guillen, 2007, pp. 4-6). With all this information, the negotiating person or the negotiating team should take into consideration communication and coalitions for the resolution of the conflict.
Finally, the last element is the problem itself, its identification could make negotiation strategies viable; Problems may arise due to poor communication (unnecessary conflict) or due to differences in aspects such as procedures, interests, values or needs between the parties, known as essential conflict (Escapa Garrachón & Martínez Ten, p. 153).
Negotiation, a tool to solve the conflict
Once the conflict has been identified, establishing the people, the process and the problem, work must be done on the negotiation, whose definition is “the process, whose objective is to achieve a personal, labor, economic and commercial agreement that is satisfactory for the parties that intervene ”(Bonifaz Villar, 2012, p. 88). In this sense, the directors of a company must develop this ability, in order to solve the possible problems that may arise at the managerial level; but this does not imply that each individual as a competitive professional should also increase this ability, so that they can effectively solve any conflict that may arise in their workplace. This ability is developed when working on three tools such as: self-knowledge or self-knowledge,promoting and bringing out the negotiating personality that each individual carries within, thus supporting the leadership capacity of a successful or successful professional, as the case may be.
Another important tool is learning to recognize the conflict, discerning its style and the stage it is in, in order to brainstorm possible strategies that can be succumbed in a successful negotiation.
The final tool is to learn to positively resolve the conflict, in such a way that through assertive strategies, the conflict becomes a factor of change and growth of the parties. With these tools you already have a base to work on the negotiation and on its possible results: a) win - win; b) win - lose; c) lose - win and d) lose - lose (Bonifaz Villar, 2012); Based on these results, strategic alliances can be established between the parties, which allow generating alternative solutions that are always to their benefit.
According to the conflict that arises, the corresponding option will be chosen, the first (win - win) is the ideal of a negotiation, the second (win - lose) is generally used in the short term, from the point of view of the company winner, but in the long run it is not in the other party's interest, as no one works at a loss. Losing to win is a tactic that will be used in a down payment negotiation (to achieve market insertion) or in a second negotiation, after having yielded in the initial negotiation. For example, if a company carries out cargo freight in refrigeration, negotiates with a meat food company, the way to hook it will be by giving it a discount percentage on the first shipment to get the customer hooked; that is, show how good they are at doing their job,Another negotiation could be established where it allows win - win.
The result of losing - losing is very common, since "both parties settle for less than they want, because they believe that it is the best they can get" (Material provided by the teacher, p. 1), to avoid a negotiation If we have this type of results, we must establish the points on which the negotiation will be discussed, our position, the adversary position, the limits of how much to give up and what is going to be achieved with the negotiation. These aspects will direct the sense of negotiation in any area.
Stages of a negotiation
Once the result of a negotiation has been identified, it is imperative that its stages be determined, in order to establish strategies in each one of them.
- The first stage is known as presentation and allows; the frontal exposition of each one of the parts, the power to listen to the other part and to formulate assertive questions, to provide feedback and point out the opposite position, to provide clear and concrete information. The second stage is the proposal, where the topics in the field of coincidence are identified and the position is quantified with respect to the treated topic; that is, at this point the level of agreement of the proposals is measured and according to this percentage it will be possible to speak of a win-win negotiation. In the case of no coincidences, the proposals must be reviewed, verifying how far it can be compromised in the negotiation, in order to make another proposal and reach a consensus.The third stage is the discussion, a direct consequence of the proposal, where the greatest number of options are generated to be approved by blocks or as a whole, focusing on what the parties would like to have as concessions. In this part, guidelines must be taken that allow: to identify the objectives, priorities and concessions of the opposite, as well as the concessions on our part, without losing sight of those issues on which an agreement has not been reached. The closing and agreement is the fourth stageof the negotiation which begins with the closing of the negotiation, where the agreements that led to the acceptance of both parties are revealed; closing can be given by: concession, summary, postponement and alternative. At this point, it should be considered that the purpose of the closure is to reach an agreement (Bonifaz Villar, 2012, pp. 16-17).
Negotiation strategy
The planning of the strategies that will guide the negotiation process represents the success or failure of the negotiation, therefore for its elaboration the global strategic objectives in the short and long term that the negotiation will entail will be considered. In addition, we must analyze in detail the concessions that we can offer, the advantages and disadvantages of our negotiating power and that of the other, as well as the profile of the negotiator or negotiating group that will represent us in the negotiation process.
The negotiating group must establish the tasks for planning the negotiation, master the subject, seek information that allows to strengthen the proposal and define roles, it must know in detail all the aspects that involve its participation, cohesion, coherence and integrity at the time of carrying out negotiation 2. The information that is handled in this group will come from an information system of the organization, which allows interaction with external and internal sources of the company, in order to then be able to evaluate and analyze it; in such a way that it is disseminated to the negotiating group and others involved (Egas C., 2003, p. 3).
With effective information on the negotiation, it will be possible to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the negotiation, identifying the object of the negotiation, to plan, foresee and follow up on the negotiation.
The ability to negotiate should be cultivated as a natural characteristic of any professional, since it enables the form of communication and allows our interests to be assertively expressed; Identifying the elements that are part of the conflict, the process to be followed, the strategies to negotiate and give concessions, should guide towards a positive solution, which will enhance in the individual the ability to generate strategies to face negotiation processes of a creatively, generating favorable results in any field: win - win.
If, on the contrary, a professional in any field does NOT develop negotiating skills, he becomes the generator of conflicts, which by not being able to negotiate his position, ideas or interests, will be the focus of labor friction, delay in processes, will stop be an idea generator and it will become a burden, increasingly heavy for the organization.
Conclusions
In conclusion, in a competitive world like the one we face, incorporating negotiation as a managerial skill in any professional allows us to open doors within the workplace, since day by day we face conflicts that can represent an element of positive change for the company or it will be the trigger that prevents its normal advance.
The lack of feedback in the information between the members of a company and its managerial level, generally ends in frictions that if not detected in time, can turn into conflicts that hinder the normal institutional development.
In a negotiation, a key success factor is identifying the people involved in the conflict, the process that will be taken based on assertive communication and the alliances that are established, and finally recognizing whether the problem is based on an unnecessary conflict or an essential conflict.
Bibliography
- Development Foundation of the towns of Andalusia. (03 of 05 of 2003). Negotiation techniques. Retrieved on 02/25/2014, from the Andalusian Towns Development Foundation Bonifaz Villar, C. d. (2012). Development of management skills. Red Tercer Milenio SCEgas C., FR (01 of 04 of 2003). How to prepare a negotiation step by step. How to prepare a negotiation step by step. Escape Garrachón, R., & Martínez Ten, L. (nd). Leadership strategies for female managers. Catalonia: Generalitat de Catalunya-Departament de Treball. Guillen, JM (1 of 1, 2007). Business School (eoi). HR AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS MODULE: Conflict and negotiation. EOI. Material provided by the teacher, MS (nd). How to negotiate? the new standard.
