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This first edition of Communication and Negotiation, edited by Linda L. Putnam and Michael E. Roloff, provides a much needed discussion of the links between communication and negotiation … In fact, this text would be an excellent resource guide for psychologists, social psychologists, psychotherapists, and marriage counselors, as well as all other parties interested in managing conflict through negotiation.” –Contemporary Psychology “References to contributors … for whom applied issues in industrial relations have been to the fore–are fairly frequent. This is testimony to the sheer thoroughness of the organization of the book, and to the conscientious approach of the authors commissioned to write the relevant separate chapters…. This book is a useful pointer to the knowledge we have to hand.” –The Occupational Psychologist “This publication is a profound review of the state of the art of that speciality of communication research which deals with human negotiation or bargaining activities…. [The book] provides an interesting and well-structured entry to the understanding of the variety of factors involved in the communication processes that constitute a two-party negotiation. To LIS researchers, in particular in the fields of information management and information (seeking) behavior, this publication may offer important insights and methodologies as well as novel ideas with respect to investigating particular phenomena occurring prior to, during, or preceding the use of information (retrieval) systems…. Communication and Negotiation is a useful companion to researchers who wish to dig deeper into empirical and theoretical investigations of the aspects of the negotiation processes…. Communication and Negotiation brings forth many ideas relevant to LIS research, and within its firm communication approach the publication serves well as a profound review of research in a historical context of the negotiation and bargaining phenomena.” –The Library Quarterly “Communication and Negotiation is volume 20 in Sage's Annual Reviews of Communication Research series, and offers the professional presentation and excellent quality one would expect from a work that is part of such a long tradition…. This volume offers quite a valuable summary of the state of the art in communication theory as it applies to negotiation. Researchers in other primary disciplines need to be aware of this work as it overlaps heavily with other disciplinary viewpoints….” –The Alternative Newsletter In recent years, a number of universities have established formal centers for studying conflict and dispute resolution. Scholars, too, have created new journals to focus exclusively on the study of conflict processes. Communication and Negotiation provides a synthesis of the research in this area by consolidating alternative perspectives on communication and negotiation, reviewing the work of noted communication scholars, and suggesting directions for future research. Contributors explore three major aspects of negotiation communication: a) strategies, tactics, and negotiation processes; b) interpretive processes and language analysis; and c) negotiation situation and context. In addition, these studies examine bargaining planning, frames and reframing, and relational communication with opponents, constituents, and audiences. A showcase for communication scholars as well as an extremely useful reference book for negotiation theorists, Communication and Negotiation is one of those rare books with wide interdisciplinary appeal. Scholars and students in political science, psychology, economics, management and organizational behavior, sociology, law, and industrial relations as well as the communications fields will especially profit from this remarkable new collection.

Communication Media and Negotiation Processes

Communication Media and Negotiation Processes

Communication media and negotiation processes
MarshallScottPoole, DaleL.Shannon, and GerardineDeSanctis

McCLUHAN'S DOCTRINE is that the medium is the message. Even if we do not agree, it is hard to overlook the importance of communication media in negotiations. Negotiations are inherently multi-media, offering a rich mix of written texts, face-to-face confrontations, hallway conversations, telephone consultations, and use of newspapers and television to send indirect messages. It is no surprise that researchers have devoted considerable attention to the impact of various media on negotiation. The possibility of substituting telephone or audio-only channels for face-to-face negotiations has been explored in the classic studies of Morley and Stephenson (1977) and Short, Williams, and Christie (1976). Weeks and Chapanis (1976) add written communication via teletype to the equation. These studies explore the belief that different media have different strengths and weaknesses and could be used selectively, depending on the contingencies of the negotiation.

The possibility of computer-mediated negotiation has also been investigated. Computer models aid in the definition and resolution of negotiation problems in a number of instances, such as the Law of the Sea Treaty (Nyhart & Dauer, 1986; Sebenius, 1981). Research on software to aid negotiation and conflict management has been conducted by Jarke, Jelassi, and Shakun (1987), Jones and Jelassi (1988), and Nyhart and Samarasan (1989). Some studies envision complex systems similar to Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) (DeSanctis & Gallupe, 1987), which combine communication features, computer technology, and decision process technologies to support face-to-face meetings or computer conferences (Bui, 1987; Nyhart & Samarasan, 1989; Poole, Zappa, DeSanctis, Shannon, & Dickson, 1990). Given these options, what media should negotiators use?

The most common criterion for media choice is “information richness,” the amount of information that can be conveyed through the medium (Rice et al., 1984; Trevino, Lengel, & Daft, 1987). The richness of a medium is a function of its ability to handle multiple information cues simultaneously, to facilitate rapid feedback, or to enable the communicator to establish personal presence. On this definition, face-to-face interaction is a very rich medium whereas an impersonal written memo is low in richness. The most common theoretical claim is that for complex, personally involving tasks such as negotiation, richer media will be most effective (Trevino et al., 1987). This claim is consistent with lay views as well: people generally prefer conducting their negotiations face-to-face (Johansen, Vallee, & Vian, 1979). However, the situation is more complex than this generalization implies. The various communication media have many different impacts. As a result, many unanswered questions regarding media effects focus on which media are best under which circumstances.

Other aspects of media can also be discerned. Media may be viewed as a continuous part of the process of communication. Such a view combines the channel of communication with the type of communication support that media provide (e.g., procedures and codes). Media also serve as linking pins for communication networks that vary in the proximity of the parties involved. Such a view of media, for example, distinguishes between local area networks (LAN), which are close, and wide area networks (WAN), which are distant. Use of a medium also carries a symbolic message in itself. For example, using electronic mail may symbolize progressiveness while using handwritten notes may symbolize personal concern and warmth.

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