Negotiation is not formulaic. How we negotiate is determined largely by the context in which the negotiation process takes place. Negotiation: Communication for Diverse Settings provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the negotiation process as it applies to a wide variety of contexts. Skillfully weaving practitioner interviews and real world examples throughout the book, Michael Spangle and Myra Warren Isenhart emphasize the day-to-day relevance of negotiation skill. The authors provide knowledge vital to successful negotiation in a variety of situations, including interpersonal relations, the workplace, shopping and other consumer settings, community relations, and international affairs. Discussions of the moral and ethical dilemmas of negotiation-as well as the detail provided in various sections, such as international negotiations will undoubtedly prove useful to novice and seasoned negotiators alike.

Features of this text

Takes a communication perspective, analyzing the negotiation process and how different settings and elements affect negotiation strategies and techniques; Discusses the cultural context of conflict in U.S. society throughout; Introduces basic theoretical principles and practical steps in the negotiating process; Moves on a continuum from micro (interpersonal) to macro (international) levels of negotiation; Addresses the interpersonal skills necessary for effective negotiation, factors that cause negotiations to break down, and what to do when that happens; Includes “Professional Profiles” interviews with professional negotiators from a variety of backgrounds; Brings concepts to life for students through the use of boxed negotiation examples from a variety of contexts.

Recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in conflict management and negotiation. Also useful for students in applied programs, such as training and adult education courses in management development, conflict management, and negotiation.

Negotiation Processes

Negotiation processes

In addition to diagnosing these structural, strategic, psychological, and cultural processes, they [good negotiators] are able to craft strategies to overcome them by, for example, reframing the issues, building productive working relationships, setting up confidence building mechanisms, and achieving greater cultural understanding.

— Watkins, 1999, p. 253

For some people, negotiation involves opening with statements asking for more than they think they can get, providing as little information as possible, making concessions grudgingly, and eventually settling for the best deal that they can get. The process will include statements such as “I just have to have this much or I don't think I can make a deal,” “This is my position and I don't have any intention of changing it,” or “If you don't ...

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