The triple contingency model in negotiations states a negotiator must be effective in 1) mastering the substance (planning), 2) building relationships and trust, and 3) managing the negotiation process. Further, this model is dynamic and takes place in the context of time. “The implication of the triple contingency model is that negotiators have to use their multiple intelligences to operate effectively and simultaneously in the three areas” (Benoliel & Cashdan).
Negotiations have been on my mind lately since I’m taking Negotiations as my final class at NIU and since the district I work for and the union have been in negotiations for last 10+ months. Dr. Burton sent us this good NPR program and the process of negotiation in relation to a really complex negotiation – Israel and Palestine.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/19/174753337/the-art-of-negotiating-intractable-conflicts
Second Tuesday in a row that we had a snowstorm hit. While I had to go to work last week and had class cancelled at night, school was completely closed today. After drinking a LOT of coffee while playing with the new coffee grinder and some different techniques of the French press, I did some grading and got to working on the SteepleWeb marketing plan, particularly focusing on the social media aspect. We’ve neglected that a bit lately, so it’s my job to outline a strategy and set up a calendar. Now that the Hawks are on, I am going to write a proposal for Cracked.com about negotiating.
Just as I make my students reflect on their readings, I am going to do the same for my MBA readings. Today I read about several mistakes that negotiators frequently make.
Viewing Negotiating as a Fixed Pie – Many people head into negotiations thinking that it is purely distributive in nature (win-lose), but this is not always the case. It is important to look for opportunities which are mutually beneficial. In order to accomplish this, both sides need to share some information, especially about their priorities.
Anchoring – This is definitely not the first class I’ve heard about anchoring bias, and I actually teach it to my students. Anchoring bias occurs when a participant focuses on the first offer made. Consequently, the person who makes the first offer typically has the more favorable deal. As a means to prevent this, it is important to know what your counter-offer will be, stick to it, and quickly present it.
Escalating Commitment – Sometimes people focus on the past and there is a strong tendency to “justify prior decisions and behaviors, both to themselves and others.” This is particularly dangerous when a person has employed a losing strategy and refuses to switch. The solution is to ignore the sunk costs and quit heading toward a losing deal.
Feeling Too Confident – “Overestimating the chances that your counterpart will meet your demands is a common and potentially devastating error.” It’s important to think like (or get) an outsider for an objective stance.
Focusing Too Narrowly – This is especially critical during integrative negotiations (just like the peach case done in class last week). It is important think broadly and not get too wrapped up in the minute details.
Framing Bias – This was actually in a different section, but was another bias that affects negotiations. The way a negotiation or problem is framed can have a significant impact on the outcome of the negotiation. Negotiators need to identify the appropriate frame, establish a referent point that leads to a positive frame. It is important to emphasize the inherent risk and opportunity for gain. Also, negotiators can create anchors or referents that lead to a positive frame and make the fact that the next offer may be rejected be as salient as possible.
When I was little, I remember reading some magazine, possibly Nickelodeon’s, and there being a small article about product placement. I don’t know how I remember it, but there was a screen shot for a Butterfinger in the Dennis the Menace movie. Since then, I’ve been trying to pick out any instances of product placement – it bugs the crap out of Amanda.
My favorite lesson I teach each year to my seniors is about the role of product placement in pop culture. Amanda and I were watching the third Transformers last week and since I knew Michael Bay is notorious for selling his movies, I tried to pick up as many I could.
Smeg refrigerator – Opening scene with people. I wasn’t sure what Smeg was so I had to look it up. It’s a brand. Unfortunately I just bought a new refrigerator.
Chevy Camaro – Bumblebee. How does he never get dirty? My Chevy definitely gets dirty.
Corvette – Another GM car.
Cadillac – Even more GM. I heard GM paid $1.5MM for the first movie.
Snap On – The logo is extra large on the toolbox in the hanger.
Lenovo monitor – They are everywhere. Except at my workplace. And Amanda’s.
Apple iPad – Very quick and subtle in the office.
Mercedes – I think it was on the bad guy’s chest. Is Mercedes evil? Depends who you ask.
Cisco – I have nothing to say about Cisco.
Canon – The printer turned into something that threw the guy from the Hangover from out a window.
Bud Light – Even Amanda picked this one up.
Firestone – Apparently this is the old advertisement/billboard/store in the city of Chicago. The city must have done something since I’ve been there last.
Waste Management – This was the cleanest dumpster I have ever seen.
GMC – Another one Amanda got.
Chevy Impala –
Ferrari – Because I saw it in the movie, I want to go buy a Ferrari. Now to take a second mortgage on the house.
Target – on hood that turned into a robot
Gillett – There’s a Gillett razor in my shower, but the only reason it was purchased was because it a Chicago Bear’s logo.
Macy’s – I think I’m going there tomorrow to buy a suit. Only if Men’s Warehouse had some product placement. .
USA Today – Incredibly quick and subtle. I wasn’t sure if I really saw it. I think I might have convinced myself that it existed.
Fox News and O’Reilly Show – I don’t watch either and probably never will.
I’m sure I missed a few, but if I was actively seeking them out, how effective were the ads? The overwhelming majority of these Amanda missed. This is something that interests me and I’m going to research more between grading and reading about negotiations.
In my first class in the MBA program, operations, our instructor was talking about Poka Yokes or fail safes. The idea is part of lean manufacturing and it’s a device that prevents something from happening thus eliminating confusion and extra waste (sometimes time). A good example is the 3.5″ floppy disk and how the one corner was partially cut away so that the disk would only go in one way.
The idea of a Poka Yoke has been on my mind lately because of SteepleWeb. We’ve been having teams register for meets, and while the registration process works, coaches are having difficulties logging back into the site or the wrong one. The end result is that coaches are signing up for multiple accounts or can’t login at all. We started to implement some Poka Yokes through emails and basic notifications.
The last few years of SteepleWeb have been fun, and now that we are a product, it is a stressful excitement. We are learning a lot and still trying to get all our processes streamlined for us and our clients. I’m glad I can apply what I’ve learned and get things working.
I purchased my textbook online and when I got it, I started reading it and annotating it right away. I started to realize something was amiss because the readings weren’t quite lining up. Since Amanda was going to be home a little later than usual, I left for class early and compared my book (I decided to buy the international version to save $100) with a classmates. Sure enough, I had the wrong book; I had the 6th edition of the textbook as opposed to the 6th edition of the cases, readings, and exercises. I already ordered the correct book and hope I can sell back the other one albeit for a loss.
After a little snowy run with Derks, I had another coffee-induced workload of SteepleWeb ahead of me. I was working on getting a meet set up for Lockport Boy’s since they are going to be using their site for meet registration. Also, because they are using their site for both girls and boys, Nate coded up a feature to have separate schedules, and then I had to the girl’s schedule. I also had to take care of Romeoville boy’s schedule. De La Salle is also hosting a meet tomorrow and they are using the redesigned meet registration, so we’ve been paying close attention to that. My next goal is to get Olivet to sign up for the gold package.
Alright, time to do some grading and read a few chapters of Negotiation.