There are various conditions that can affect the success or the failure of negotiating a business. The following conditions bring about success in businesses and organizations.
1. Identifiable parties who are willing to participate
The people or groups who have a stake in the outcome must be identifiable and willing to sit down at the bargaining table if productive negotiations are to occur.
If a crucial party is either absent or is not willing to commit to good faith, then potentials for agreement will decline.
2. Interdependence
For productive negotiations to occur, the participants must be dependent upon each other to have their needs met or interests satisfied.
The participants need each other’s assistance or restraint from negative action for their interests to be satisfied.
If one party can get his/her needs met without the cooperation of the other, there will be little impetus to negotiate.
3. Readiness to negotiate
People must be ready to negotiate for dialogue to begin. When participants are not psychologically prepared to talk with other parties,
When adequate information is not available or when a negotiation strategy has not been prepared, people may be reluctant to begin the process.
4. Means of influence or leverage
For people to reach an agreement over issues about which they disagree, they must have some means to influence the attitudes and/or behaviour of other negotiators.
Often, influence is seen as the power to threaten or inflict pain or undesirable costs but this is only one way to encourage another to change.
Asking thought-provoking questions, providing needed information, seeking the advice of experts, appealing to influential associates of a party, exercising legitimate authority or providing reward are all means of exerting influence in negotiations.
5. Agreement on some issues and interests
People must be able to agree upon some common issues and interests for progress to be made in negotiations. Generally, participants will have some issues and only one party.
The number and importance of the common issues and interests influence whether negotiations will occur or terminate in an agreement.
Parties must have enough issues and interests in common to commit themselves to a joint decision-making process.
6. Be settled
For negotiations to succeed, participants have to want to settle. If continuing conflict is more important than settlement, then negotiations are doomed to failure.
Often parties want to keep conflicts going to preserve a relationship thinking of a negative one may be better than no relationship thinking of a negative one may be better than no relationship at all.
To mobilize public opinion or support in their favour or simply because the conflict relationship gives meaning to their life, these factors promote continued division and work against settlement.
The negative consequences of not settling must be more significant and greater than those of settling for an agreement to be reached.
7. Unpredictability of outcome
People negotiate because the outcome of not negotiating is unpredictable.
For example, if by going to court, a person has a 50/50 chance of winning, he/she may decide to negotiate rather than to take the risk of losing as a result of a judicial decision.
Negotiation is more predictable than court because if negotiation is successful, the party will at least win something.
Chances for a decisive and one-sided victory need to be unpredictable for parties to enter into negotiations
8. A sense of urgency and deadline
Negotiations generally occur when there is pressure or it is urgent to reach a decision. Urgency may be imposed by either external or internal time constraints or by potential negative/positive consequences to negotiation outcome.
External constraints include: court dates, imminent executive or administrative decisions or predictable changes in the environment.
Internal constraints may be artificial deadlines selected by a negotiator to enhance the motivation of another to settle.
For negotiations to be successful, the participants must jointly feel a sense of urgency and be aware that they are vulnerable to adverse action or loss of benefits if a timely decision is not reached.
If procrastination is advantageous to one side, negotiations are less likely to occur and if they do, there is less impetus to settle.
9. Willing to compromise
Not all negotiations require compromise. On occasion, an agreement can be reached which meets all the participants’ needs and does not require a sacrifice in any party’s part.
However, in other disputes, compromise, the willingness to have less than 100 percent of needs or interests satisfied, may be necessary for the parties to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
The physical division of assets, strong values or principles precluded compromise, negotiations is not possible.
10. The agreement must be reasonable and implementable
Some settlements may be substantively acceptable but may be impossible to implement.
Participants in negotiations must be able to establish a realistic and workable plan to carry out their agreement if the final settlement is to be acceptable and it holds over time.
11. External factors favourable to settlement
Often, factors external to negotiations inhibit or encourage settlement. Few of associates or friends, the political climate of public opinion or economic conditions may foster agreement or continued turmoil.
Some external conditions can be managed by negotiations while others cannot. Favourable external conditions for settlement should be developed whenever possible.
12. Resources to negotiate
Participants in negotiations must have the international skills necessary for bargaining and where appropriate, the money and time will engage fully in dialogue procedures.
Inadequate or unequal resources that may block the initiation of negotiations hinder settlement.
13. Selected by a negotiator to enhance the motivation of another to settle
For negotiations to be successful, the participants must jointly feel a sense of urgency and be aware that they are vulnerable to adverse action or loss of benefits if a timely decision is not reached.
If procrastination is advantageous to one side, negotiations are less likely to occur and if they do so, there is less impetus to settle.
14. No major psychological barriers to settlement
Strongly expressed or unexpressed feelings about another party can sharply affect a person’s psychological readiness to bargain. Psychological barriers to settlement must be lowered if successful negotiations are to occur.
15. Issue must be negotiable
For successful negotiation to occur, negotiators must believe that there are acceptable settlement options that are possible as a result of participation in the process.
If it appears that negotiations will have only win/lose settlement possibilities and that the needs of one party will not be met as a result of participation, parties will be reluctant to enter into dialogue.
16. The people must have the authority to decide
For a successful outcome, participants must have the authority to make a decision.
If they do not have a legitimate and recognizable right to decide or if a clear ratification process has not been established, negotiations will be limited to an information exchange between the parties.
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