Communication and Personality in Negotiation Paper RaLonda Blacklock August 23, 2010 MGT/445 – Organizational Negotiation – Jerry Tuttle This paper is about my negotiation skills and personality of time management. I will analyze the roles of communication, my personality in negotiation, and the contribution and detraction from the negotiation process. Negotiation is a process between two or more parties in hopes of arriving to a mutual agreement.
Negotiation requires a common goal and in most cases includes: communication, a relationship, commitment, interest, alternatives, options, and legitimacy, which are also known as the elements of negotiation. Peter Starks says “negotiation is not an event, it is a process” (n. d. ). Negotiation is a choice where two parties battles to the end to reach an agreement of the desired choice. The negotiation process in itself requires time, therefore to negotiate an issue against an issue is redundant, but it happens. The question to ask is how do you negotiate with time?
I find myself negotiating time on several occasions, which is primarily because of poor time management. In most cases my schedule if filled with a variety of tasks to complete, because of many jobs and responsibilities that I have. So my negotiation process begins with prioritizing. Prioritizing is an aspect of time management that helps to determine the most important task to the least important task. Prioritizing also helps determine the amount of time needed to complete each task. In my negotiation process with prioritizing in most cases are under the rule of irrational escalation of commitment.
According to Lewicki-Saunders-Barry, escalation of commitment is partly individual perception and judgment (2006). My commitment to the various tasks I face daily or perhaps weekly causes me to negotiate the time of when to complete each task and how to do it effectively under the time straint I am under. The problem is when I am not allowing for incidentals. My time management schedule only includes job duties and functions that can and will be completed without the presence of incidental. When using the elements of negotiation, one is communication. How does one communicate with time in negotiating?
In my case, I rations within myself to determine when will be the best time to begin and end a task. The majority of the time the task begins and ends in the eleventh hour, which is also an element of poor time management. To negotiate with time through communication requires writing down each task, thinking it through thoroughly and learning to say no. These elements of time management are to benefit the process when used properly. The negative of this process would be to implement them and not make proper use of them. Which indicates the negotiation process of failed.
Simply because I am not taking the control of time, but allowing time to control me. According to Peter Stark time spent negotiating plays a critical role and will conclude in the final 20% of time allowed (n. d. ). This is saying that on 20% of the time negotiated will be used. Therefore, I must have patience to achieve what I set out to do. So in my negotiation process with time, I must allow for time to take its course. If you were to evaluate my negotiation behavior with time, it would be more on the style of avoiding and compromising, which may conflict with my personality factors of conscientiousness.
Organization and avoidance is not a good negotiation mix. If a person is organized and responsible, there should be no reason to avoid an issue, but more the reason to take it on full force. Preparation is a part of the process of negotiation and facing the process early makes it easier to reach the common goal; completing the task on time. I chose this subject matter for my negotiation paper because I find myself constantly negotiating when to begin and complete a task. Although I spend a large amount of time organizing my calendar to accommodate the many tasks I have to complete, I still negotiate with time on getting them done.
I wrestle with working eight hours on a regular job, devoting two to four hours per week to working and attending my church, allowing two to four hours for online school and study, saving time to spend with my sons, and oh my me time (can’t forget that…yeah right). Now it is a given that in most cases time will win due to the fact I am negotiation with basically 24 hours a day. When you take away time to sleep (approx six to eight hours) which only leave me with 16 hours a day to accomplish a daily task. So then you ask, why negotiate? Organize the calendar, prioritize the task, perform the duty and task is done.
NO! You left off my negotiation period. The time when I sit and ponder over will I really have the time to complete the task at hand? The time when I convince myself that I will not get this all done today and may have to do some of this tomorrow. And what do you mean incidentals? Those are not on my schedule and when will I have time for them, I mean goodness, I just shifted a task today to tomorrow to free up time today, and the process starts all over again. This is what I call negotiating with time for time, when there really is no more time than what is given. The negotiation process in itself is a task.
To consider a negotiation with two or more people may be more time consuming and a bit difficult to accomplish, especially when you give in account the differences of opinions, the possibility of confusion, and the conflicts of interest. But, to negotiate with time is basically negotiating with self, which leave no room for an opposing opinion only confusion within self and conflict of decision. Bottom-line, who actually negotiates with time? And what is the final outcome? No one may answer this most challenging question, but time is negotiated, perhaps not with just one individual, but many at that same time and on the same subject matter.
Time management is not about getting everything done, but getting it done efficiently. The negotiation process is to improve my time management to achieve better results of my time than to redirect my time and achieve nothing. References: Lewicki, R. J. , Saunders, D. M. , & Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation (5th ed. ). Boston: McGraw Hill. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from University of Phoenix online e-text material. Stark, Peter. (n. d. ) Negotiation: Putting Time and Information on Your Side. Retrieved August 23, 2010 from http://www. perterstark. com/files
