Collective bargaining

and Negotiation

1
Several of your friends have requested and urged
upon you to contest an election for a prestigious
position. The entire group strongly feels that you
are the most suited candidate for the post. There is
only one more candidate contesting the election
who is considered to be a very week candidate.
Reluctantly you have accepted the request and
filed your nomination.
You hate going to your own colleagues asking
them to vote for you.

2
Concepts in
Negotiation

3
First thing first –
Principle of
asking

4
5

Why do people not ask?

6

How to ask?
Preparing for Negotiation

7
Failure to prepare is
preparation to fail

8
Persuasion = Pre-suasion

9
 Power of Why
Moving from what to why gives you more
grist for the collaborative mill. Don’t just ask
what they want; ask why they want it.
Weiss

10
Compliment

Compliment is the
infantry of
negotiation. - Lord
Chandos

11
Rs 500 to be
divided between
2 of you

12
Multi-party Negotiations
The same? Different?

13
Suppose a software company is about to
negotiate a new contract with an important
customer. It has constituted a negotiation
team comprising of general manager
(leader of the team), product manager,
business manager, and salesperson.
As leader of the team spell out your
strategy?

14
Process before substance
With that in mind:
In multi party negotiation, what
one thing may be very crucial to
determine the fate of the
negotiation?

15
A good place to start is drawing a matrix that
sets out each member’s priorities. Then it
becomes easy to see which conflicts will have
to be resolved before the team comes to the
bargaining table.
Here, for example, the salesperson and
product manager want to keep prices low to
increase commissions and market share; the
general manager wants to boost profits; and
the business manager is far more interested
than anyone else in the terms of the
maintenance agreement.

16
 General Product Salesperson Business
Manager Manager Manager
Goal 1: Priority not sure #2 #1 #3
Software units
installed: Preferenc increase units increase units increase units increase units
5000 to 10000 e installed installed installed installed
Interests profits market share commission more
maintenance-work

Goal 2: Priority not sure #1 #2 #4

Software price:
$250 to $400 Preferenc increase price decrease maintain or no opinion
e price decrease price
Interests profits market share commission on no opinion
volume
Goal 3: Priority not sure #4 #3 #1
Maintenance
hours: 40 to Preferenc increase no change no opinion increase
160 per week e maintenance maintenance
Interests profits market share not a more
commission item maintenance- work
Goal 4: Priority not sure #3 #4 #2
Maintenance
price: $70 to Preferenc increase price decrease no opinion
$180 per 10 e price
units installed Interests profits market share not a margins
commission
item 17
 Inmulti party negotiation the
biggest challenge lies on your
side of the table

18
 The Prenegotiation Stage
• Establish participants
• Form coalitions
• Define group member roles
• Understand the costs and consequences of
no agreement
• Learn the issues and construct an agenda
 The Prenegotiation Stage
Agendas as effective decision aids:
• Establish the issues that will be discussed
• Define how each issue is discussed
• Set the order in which issues are discussed
• Introduce process issues (decision rules,
discussion norms, member roles, discussion
dynamics), and substantive issues
• Assign time limits to various items
Multi party negotiation

 More parties translate to more issues and

definitely more interests
 Conflicts of interests
 Logistics and planning become more difficult
 Agenda setting more difficult but more
necessary
The Nature of Multiparty
Negotiations
Differences between two-party and
multiparty negotiations:
 Number of parties
 Informational and computational complexity
 Social complexity
 Procedural complexity
 Strategic complexity
 Major power issues in CBA
• Identify your staying power
• Assess your opponent’s staying power
• Carefully identify stakeholders and the role
they will play
• Enhance your circle of influence – form
coalition
• Agency problem
• Group dynamics
• Know when to say quit – with some face
saving