Negotiation Strategies and Styles

Overview

The dilemma of the negotiator is a phenomenon that is derived from the tension that arises when, in the light of a specific situation, the optimum negotiation strategy must be discerned. The term was made popular by Professors David Lax and James Sebenius, of the Harvard Business School, to exemplify the dilemma between cooperating and competing in a negotiation. In this course, we first analyze the structure of the Dual Matrix that brings forth the five negotiation strategies, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each, and the situations in which they work out best. We study the behaviours that lead to each strategy in order to reflect about our negotiation profile, which has historically driven us to use a preferential strategy, but which is not necessarily yielding the results expected. The participant will develop competences for strategic decision making, which will enable him to achieve the greatest benefit from a negotiation, in terms of creation of value and satisfaction between the parties involved.

Syllabus

Topic 1. Dual Strategy

Welcome to Topic 1 of the course Negotiation Strategies and Styles: Dual Strategy: Negotiation Styles. In this section, you’ll learn about the dual matrix structure, which has two relevant variables for every negotiation: the results of the agreement and the relationships between the negotiating parties. This has the purpose of identifying different negotiation styles or profiles and their inherent behaviors.

Topic 2. The Implementation Strategy

Welcome to the topic of The Implementation Strategy. In this section, you’ll learn about the importance of preparation for negotiation and the need to go beyond the agreement and into implementation. At the end of this topic, you’ll be able to conceive of a plan and develop a negotiation agenda, while you learn the necessary principles for changing your mentality by seeing the agreement as a means not an end. Then, what follows is to adopt the discipline of implementation for the agreements you have reached.

Topic 3. The Internationalization Strategy

Welcome to the third topic of the course on Negotiation Strategies and Styles: The Internationalization Strategy. In this section, we’ll study the relevance of culture in international negotiations. We will return to the importance of preparation from the perspective of cultural diversity and the recognition of differences as an element of dialogue. We will try to overcome the ostracism of stereotypes to incorporate the advances in social anthropology as related to cultural prototypes.

Topic 4. The Strategy of Context

Congratulations for having arrived here! I can assure you that you won’t regret it; we’ve prepared a closing that is going to leave a pleasing taste of learning and you’re going to want to put this knowledge into your professional practice from now on. The key word in this section is “context,” which is why we’ve called this the Strategy of Context. Context is understood as “the situation within which something exists or happens, and that can help explain it.” (Cambridge Dictionary). From the perspective of negotiation, this refers to the negotiation types according to their content.