A Four Stage Process

The pre-negotiation process may be reviewed as a complex stage.

Defining the Problem. The first stage is defining the problem. How people define the problem begins to determine what they will do about it. Trying to negotiate without recognizing that the negotiation will be impossible until the parties share some common definition at the problem leads to failure. The point to that efforts to deal constructively with the problem must begin with efforts to establish a common enough definition of the problem to assure that parties to a negotiation would at least be addressing the same issues.

Commitment to negotiate. The second phase in the process is producing a commitment to a negotiated settlement. Before leaders will negotiate they first have to come to the judgment that the present situation no longer serves their interests. This judgment can be complicated by the introduction of a time factor for instance. In addition to judging that the status qui is unacceptable, each party must judge that the substance of a fair settlement is available. They also need to believe there is no possibility of overcoming suspicion and achieving a secure and peaceful relationship with their adversaries. A third factor contributing to a commitment to a negotiated settlement is a judgment that the balance of forces will permit such a settlement We need to understand a lot more about how to analyze the balance of forces in a pre-negotiating situation and how they can be charged.

Arranging the Negotiation. The third phase is arranging a negotiation. Whereas the commitment to negotiate is a real decision the effort to arrange a specific negotiation tends to focus on more detailed terms of reference for the negotiation. This phase, along with the fourth, has received far more attention in the literature on negotiation and requires less attention. The central aim in this phase is to reach agreement on the objectives and procedures for the negotiation. One can leave in this phase for months and even years.

Negotiation Itself. The final stage of the process is negotiation itself. Negotiation lies only as the forth phase in a prolonged process where the pre-negotiating phase may take much more time and effort than the negotiation.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20