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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation

Introduction

Power is frequently defined as the ability to influence the behavior of people with or
without resistance. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is
accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. The use of power has evolved from
centuries. Gaining prestige, honor and reputation is one of the central motives of gaining
power in human nature. Power also relates with empathy gap because it limits the
interpersonal relationship and compares the power differences. Having power and not
having power can affect a number of psychological consequences.

Seeking power in negotiation arises from one of two perceptions:
- The negotiator believes he or she currently has less power than the other party.
- The negotiator believes he or she needs more power than the other party.

Definition of Negotiation:
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties where each party
involved in negotiating tries to gain an advantage for themselves by the end of the
process. Negotiation is intended to aim at compromise.

Negotiation Power
Negotiation power can be defined as "the ability of the negotiator to influence the
behavior of another. Commentators have observed a variety of aspects and qualities of
negotiation power. It is important for the mediator to take note of these various aspects
and qualities of negotiating power as a means of assisting each negotiating party to be at
his or her best in representing his or her interests in mediation. Here are a number of
aspects and qualities of negotiating power that have been identified:
Negotiating power is relative between the parties;
Negotiating power changes over time;
Negotiating power is always limited;
Negotiating power can be either real or apparent;
The exercise of negotiation power has both benefits and costs;
Negotiating power relates to the ability to punish or benefit;
Negotiating power is enhanced by legal support, personal knowledge, skill,
resources and hard work;
Negotiating power is increased by the ability to endure uncertainty and by
commitment



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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation
Types of negotiation Power

Expert Power
Any individual person who has an expertise that is highly valued possesses expert power.
Experts have power even though their status might be regarded as being low. An person
may have expert knowledge about technical, administrative, or personal matters. The
harder it becomes to replace an expert; the higher becomes the degree of expert power
that they possess. Expert power is occasionally called information power and is
frequently a personal trait of the individual.
A personal assistant for example, who has lower status in the organisation may also
possess a degree of high expert power because they have extensive knowledge of how the
business operates such as knowing where everything is located or are able to deal with
difficult situations.


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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation
Coercive Power
Coercive power is the opposite of reward power. It is the ability of the power holder to
remove something from a person or to punish them for not conforming with a request.
For example:Coercive power could take the form of a threatened strike action by a
labour union; the threat of preventing promotion or transfer of a subordinate for poor
performance; it could be a threat of litigation; it could be at threat of non-payment; it
could be the threat to go public; and it could even be a threat of physical injury.
All of these practices have one vital element in common - the element of fear. The fear
that these threats will be used is called coercive power.
Legitimate Power
Legitimate power comes from the ability to influence because of position. People at
higher levels have power over the people below. However, each person with legitimate
power applies their own individual style.
Subordinates have a primary function in the use of legitimate power. When subordinates
accept the power as legitimate, they comply.
Occasionally, one party will use legitimate power as a tactic against another party by:
1. Introducing someone who can influence important decisions, and who has
credibility with the other party, or by
2. Assigning a lot of legitimate power to an individual(s) in opposing parties to use
the need for power and status that exists in all individuals to get major
concessions from them. This is occasionally called 'ingratiation' or stroking.
Reward power
Reward Power can be gained from one's capacity to reward compliance. Reward power
is used to support legitimate power. When someone is rewarded or might receive a
potential reward such as through recognition, a good job assignment, a pay rise, or
additional resources to complete a job, the employee may respond in kind by carrying
through with orders, requests and directions, Rewards often comprises financial
remuneration. They can also be intangible as well. Studies have revealed that verbal
approval, encouragement and praise can very often be very positive substitutes in place of
tangible rewards.


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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation
It is common that the use of reward power seems to be very effective, particularly in the
longer term. Reward power is occasionally combined with coercive power, although the
two different forms of power can be subject to semantic confusion.
Referent Power
Referent power is occasionally called personal power. It is premised on the target's
attraction to the power holder - liking, perceived similarity, admiration, desire to be close
to or friendly with the power holder. This attraction may due to physical attractiveness,
dress, mannerisms, lifestyle or position, but can also include friendliness, congeniality,
honesty, integrity and so on.

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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation
O Information sources of Power:

Information Power:

- Derived from the negotiators ability to assemble and organize facts to supports
his or her positions argument and outcomes.
- The exchange of information is the heart of the concession making process.

Expertise Power:
Its a special form of information power.
A lot of people have information but expert power is accorded to those who are seen as
having achieved some levels and mastery of budy of information.

O Personal-Based source of power:
Individual have different psychological to special situations.

Cognative Oriantation:
There are three types of idiological Frames-
1) The unitary
2) The radical
3) The pluralist
Motivation Orientation:
Focus on differnt individuals motivation.
Differnces rooted moor in needs and energizing element of the
personality.
Dispositions and Skills:

1. Skills such as high expertise, self confidence, and high tolerence of conflict
2. Emphasizing skills such as sensivity to others, flexibility and ability to consider
and incorporate the views of the other agreements.

Moral Orientation:
- There is a significant positive relationship between peoples inplicit idea
regarding egalitiarianism.

O Relationship based source of power:
Goal Interdependence:
How the parties view their goals and how much achievement of their goals
depends on the behaviour of the other party has a strong impact on how likely
parties will be to constructively use power.


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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation

Refent Power:
As defined earlier, referent power is derived from the respect or admiration one
commend because of attributes like personality, intigrity.
Referent power is often besed on an appeal to common experiences, common fate
or membership in the same group.

3-Networks:
- Understanding power in this way is derived from conceptualizing organization
and their functioning not as a hierarchy but as a net work of interrelationship.

Network structure:
Refers to the overall set of relationships within a social system.

Aspects of network structure:
1) Centrality: Determine by the amount of information or total number of
transaction that passes through a node or by the degree to which the node is
central to managing infornation flow.
2) Centrality and relevence: people who depends highly on other can become
critical to the degree thet they are charged with assenbling information from many
locations.
3) Flaxibility: the degree to which the key individual can exercise discretion in how
certain decisions are made.
4) Visibility: Nodes differ in their degree of visibility.
5) Coalitions: Often act togather to represent a point of view or promote action or
change.

O Positional based source of power

Legtimate power:
-






Resource control:


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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation
-


O Contextual Sources of Power:

Batna:
-


Culture:

- Determine by the social environments
National cultures differs in degree of power over, power with orientations are
supported or encourage.

Agents Constitutions and External Audiences:
-


Dealing with Others Who Have More Power?

Never do an all-or-nothing deal
Make the other party smaller
Make yourself bigger
Build momentum through doing deals in sequence
Use the power of competition to leverage power
Constrain yourself
Good information is always a source of power
Do what you can to manage the process





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Assignment on: Power in Negotiation


Conclusion

There are people who are born negotiators. Everyone knows how to negotiate. You cant
go through life without it because everyone deals with conflicts in every aspect of their
lives. And power in Negotiation is the ability to influence people or situations.Power is
neither good nor bad. It is the abuse of power that is bad. Power is of no value unless you
take advantage of it, and the more you understand the various types of power the greater
your influence over the other party and the outcome of the negotiation. You may find out
you have more power than you think! Power in negotiation is intangible and variable, but
it is not mystical.