NEGOTIATION.

Negotiation can simply be defined as an exchange of dialogue between two or more individuals, parties or organizations to reach a desired outcome regarding one or more conflicting interest. The aim of negotiation is come to an agreement between two entities to gain mutual interest or understanding and also to establish a joint union or friendship with benefits.

The goal of Negotiation is to resolve differences and to gain advantage to craft outcomes to satisfy organization or personal needs. In the process of Negotiation compromise is made to avoid argument and dispute. And in any disagreement organizations and individuals aim to try and achieve the best possible outcome to maintain a relationship after the outcome.

There are different forms of negotiations, and they are applied in different situations.

• International Affairs 

• The legal system

• Family or Domestic affairs

• Industrial or organizational affairs 

• The Educational system etc.

In order to settle or negotiate any case there is a process and stages in which we must follow to achieve a desired or a better resolution

Planning and Preparation: Before any negotiation takes place, a meeting must be arranged by the two or more respective parties. During this the location, the participants, the time and also some rules might need to be put in place to achieve the negotiation to avoid unnecessarily wasting peoples productive time.

Discussion: in this stage the individuals or representative of each party are allowed to put forward the conflict or understanding to which there is a problem, in this stage questions are asked, the two parties listen carefully to understand further and clarity has been made and each party has an idea as to why actions and misunderstanding took place.

Justification and Clarity: in this stage the goals, interest and stands of both sides are outlined and the conflict of interest is pinned and now listed by the two parties.

Bargaining or Negotiation: this stage focuses on the outcome of the meeting, the both parties discuss extensively on a positive win- win outcome and each party compromise and each parties views taken into consideration and suggestions of alternative strategies and compromises considered to achieve a greater benefit 

Agreement and Implementation; agreement is achieved once the both parties understands their differences and how interest for better understanding is considered, at this point everyone now has an open mind about the conflict and have accepted a solution, the agreement is now made perfectly clear to each party or individuals through legal terms and handshakes and rules can also be put in place in case the agreement is broken.

An Effective Negotiator has to have some form of skills he/she has developed and puts it in during the process of Negotiation ,

• Active listening

• Direct questions 

• Good communication skills 

• Emotional Intelligence 

• Decision making ability.

• Interpersonal skills

• Best alternative to a negotiated agreement 

• Problem solving 

• Ethics and collaboration skills 

• Strategic thinking

Conclusion.

Negotiation skill is one of the most important skills, it is through effective negotiation that most organizations, countries and individuals eliminate differences and arrive on a common agreements  or understanding.  Negotiation is an art the one can master only with time and experience.