Negotiation Strategy - A New Approach

Negotiations are highly unstructured and complex. Therefore, it is important that a proper perspective be developed considering a number of 'presumed' perspectives from the various stakeholders . These perspectives can easily be developed using an approach called the soft system methodology originally proposed by Peter Checkland.

In order to develop an effective negotiation strategy, one must understand the reasons why negotiations can fail between management and union. Below listed are the top 10 reasons why negotiations may fail [ref: 1]:

1. A clash of values
2. Poor communication skills
3. The lack of trust and integrity
4. Unable to empathize and relate with each other
5. Refusal to endorse the virtues of compromise or give-and-take
6. Believe only in win-lose results as the outcome of negotiations
7. People are out to reap the other party apart
8. Far too many complex issues to be sorted out
9. Not knowing the next step of the plan
10. Close mindedness

Many of the above reasons can easily be seen as a cause of failure for negotiations. One can easily use soft system methodology to eliminate some of these causes. Ts1wehese causes of failure occur due to improper understanding of the negotiation dynamics and propounding of hard-core rational concepts which aggravate the problem further.