SESSION 6

Course: COMM 4BC3

Professor: Sean O’Brady
To be addressed in this session

1. Defining strategy, tactics, and the factors underlying their formulation

2. Common bargaining tactics to all negotiations

3. Distributive bargaining in action

4. Integrative bargaining in action
5. Guest lecture: Jonathan Elston, BA, BCL, LLB, MSc, Workplace Mediator

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Defining strategy, tactics, and the factors underlying
their formulation

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Strategies and Tactics Defined

§ Strategy
§ An overall plan for achieving an objective (e.g. partnership)
§ Big picture in scope
§ Involves focusing long-term outcomes

§ Tactics
§ Specific actions geared towards achieving the strategy (e.g. making a compromise)
§ Narrow in scope
§ Involves focusing on short-term outcomes

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Weighing Alternatives

§ At its root, negotiation strategies are weighed against alternatives.

§ These reflect parties’ BATNA and WATNA

§ Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)

§ Negotiators must consider the best case alternative to an agreement

§ Worst Alterative to a Negotiated Agreement (WATNA)

§ Negotiators must consider the worst case alternative to an agreement

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Weighing Alternatives

§ Information matters

§ Power matters

§ Time matters
§ Pareto’s law – 80/20 rule

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Common bargaining tactics in all situations

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Common Bargaining Tactics

§ Face saving
§ Negotiators need to paint concessions in best light
§ Unions = typically vocal about gains
§ Management = typically silent, to give union credibility

§ Throwaway items
§ The inclusion of low-priority items, to exchange for high priority items

§ Packaging
§ Putting items together for negotiations
§ Makes negotiating more efficient
§ Mitigates conflict

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Common Bargaining Tactics

§ Caucusing
§ Separate intra-party meetings on proposals
§ To maintain committee’s poker face
§ Promotes intra-party solidary

§ Flexibility and compromise are also relevant

Effective posturing early on in negotiations influences the effectiveness of these

tactics
§ Sets the pattern for negotiations (e.g. expressing willingness to negotiation, identify
basic positions, setting the tone).

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

Opening offers
§ Anchoring
§ An opening offer that influence’s a counter-
party’s zone of agreement
§ Three types:
§ Facts
§ Extreme Offers
§ Precedents

§ Bracketing
§ Moving towards a middle point, as constructed
by the opening offers (brackets)

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

Norms matter (social beliefs or attitudes)

§ Relational
§ Desire to maintain relationships

§ Fairness
§ Equality
§ Equity
§ Need
§ Status quo

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

Norms matter (social beliefs or attitudes)

§ Reciprocity
§ Matching proposals

§ Good faith
§ Maintaining integrity of negotiations

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

Framing matters
§ Relates to how issues are presented to the other side
§ Slanted?
§ Non-judgmental?

§ Reframing is useful
§ Asking questions is more effective than arguing positions
§ Why?
§ Why not?
§ What if?
§ Advice?

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Distributive Bargaining in Action

Reaching Agreement in Distributive Bargaining

§ Framing and norms both interact over the conclusion of a final agreement
§ Framing affects interpretation of norms
§ Norms affect framing

§ They demonstrate that distributive bargaining is a social process

§ Not merely an expression of force

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Integrative Bargaining in Action

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Integrative Bargaining in Action

§ How does one strategize for integrative bargaining?

§ Principled negotiations (i.e. interest-based bargaining) has been suggested as a best

practice (exists along other alternatives)
§ Developed by Fisher and Ury in the 1980s

§ Suggests an alternative to distributive bargaining

§ Argues that mutual gains are possible through cooperation

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Integrative Bargaining in Action

Principled Negotiations: Outlining the Method

1. Focus on interests, not positions
§ E.g. Avoid “my position is that we introduce a 2% raise”, instead “my interest is in improving the
quality of working life for employees”

2. Separate people from issues

§ Avoid “Larry is greedy, always trying to cut costs for a promotion”, instead “cost-cutting is the issue”
and not Larry’s personality

3. Focus on objective criteria

§ Concrete evidence: performance criteria (e.g. profits, sales), employee satisfaction surveys, etc.

4. Develop mutual gains options

§ E.g. Union’s goal is greater quality of life for members, employer’s goal is greater productivity and
profits – there are ways to achieve both (e.g. health and safety programs, improvements to training,
higher wages to reduce turnover)

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Integrative Bargaining in Action

Another form of integrative bargaining: Categorization Method

§ Encourages integrative bargaining by relegating distributive practices to the end

§ Different steps are taken during most of the negotiation

§ Except for the final phases

§ Similar to interest-based bargaining, by emphasizing high-road negotiation practices

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Integrative Bargaining in Action

The Steps in the Categorization Method

1. Exchange Information

2. Develop a common list of all issues

1. Common issues
2. Exchange issues
3. Distributive issue

3. Reach agreement on common issues

§ Which are then removed from the list

4. Trade issues of equal value

5. Distributive bargaining ensues on final issues

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Final Note on This Session’s Reading

§ Read pages 162 – 163 before negotiating

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 Guest Lecture
Jonathan Elston, BA, BCL, LLB, MSc, Workplace Mediator

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