Communication and Negotiation Problems

Communication/Negotiations Problems Today' communities present the individual with a multitude of choices and more emphasis is placed on the freedom of choice. Within the business community, this force is most often revealed through the growing role of the customer, which now represents the core of corporate operations. Client satisfaction is the key to organizational revenues and in order to attract it, manufacturers and service deliverers implement a wide series of strategies. Most of the times, the ultimate customer decision is made based on the arguments and information received.

And these data are often delivered through the process of communication. Communication has grown in relevance throughout the recent years mostly due to the rapid technological advancements. In the relations that are established between economic agents however, communication is not sufficient to achieving organizational goals. And since more and more agents choose to collaborate in order to strengthen their positions, their values, goals and resources become unified through the process of negotiation.

"In simplest terms, negotiation is a discussion between two or more disputants who are trying to work out a solution to their problem" (Maiese, 2003). The Case To best understand the concept, one should look at a real life example and identify how the players in a particular situation implement the processes of communication and negotiation.

The article is not a clear cut material on the matters one could encounter when communicating or negotiating with actual or potential partners, but presents the situation of mGAMES and the problems faced by its CEO, Jeffrey Lopez.

These issues are only suggested to the reader and they could revolve around the following instances: rumors in the market and/or industry and the impossibility to accurately verify their correctness speed of the negotiated / communicated act - a potential collaboration in the case of mGAMES the objectives followed by each party - including both short- and long-term goals the previous expertise of the parties implied in the negotiation / communication process the benefits presented to each party in case of a materialization of the discussed event the strategic approach implemented and/or desired by each of the involved parties, as well as the financial considerations of these strategies the functionality and complementarities of the products / services delivered by the parties the competition in the market / industry Rumors are always a matter of uncertainty as they offer unverifiable information, which could generate an impact upon the negotiated event.

In the case of mGAMES, "specifics could not be provided, but rumors were circulating throughout the bank that a large and well-respected personal digital assistant PDA manufacturer was in the process of arranging financing to make a play for mGAMES" (Hill, 2002). The decision on whether to act on rumors or not belongs to each entrepreneur and is given by the risk aversion of each party. The speed of the negotiation process is yet another matter of concern and it is also determined by the personal characteristics of each party involved.

The specialized literature reveals a tendency of increasing the speed of the negotiation process; still, this may not be always in the best interest of the participants. "Knowing this, some negotiating opponents set arbitrary deadlines and speed up negotiations to gain an advantage. They even manipulate speech patterns to that end, talking quickly and employing short, abrupt sentences" (Volkema, 1999). The most fruitful results are derived however from an efficient, rather than speedy negotiation. Another important problem raised throughout a negotiation process is that of the interests of each partner.

In this order of ideas, it is generally desirable, for a negotiation to be successful, that the involved parties share similar goals - both short- and long-term objectives. Not only do these goals have to be similar, but they have to SMART, in the meaning that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time framed. "Clear goals, consistent with our selected roles, are crucial to charting and navigating the tumultuous seas of our professional, community, and personal life" (Walesh, 2003).

A negotiation process must also address the benefits the parties would receive if an agreement was reached - this is often considered as the most vital point on a negotiation agenda. In the clear example in the article, the Scandinavian telecommunications company would benefit from undivided attention, expertise and the dedication of a committed team of experts. mGAMES would benefit from sure and reliable contracts, help in adapting to the new requirements and additional research funds.

The benefits adherent to a process of negotiation are sometimes considered synonyms with the goals of a negotiation process. However a distinction must be made in that the goals refer to the future, or the expected benefits, whereas the actual benefits are more realistic and secure. A mutual benefit would be that of generating a combined ability to strengthen the market position. This would ultimately result in a superior position relative to the competition. "Competition in the emerging handled device industry was fierce.

Essentially well established PC manufacturers, every telecom manufacturer, most electronics manufacturers and many other sought to become players in this multi-billion dollar segment. New technologies and new models were constantly being released. Color capability, communication capabilities, screen, size, processor speed, RAM capacity, overall size of the unit and total functionality were all key criteria in the consumer's purchase decision" (Hill, 2002). By joining forces and reaching common grounds through the negotiation process, the two companies could easily get increased access to required resources and strengthen their competitive position.

The parties to a negotiation must also consider the functionality of their products and/or services and their ability to complement each other. This ability is obvious in the case of mGAMES and the Scandinavian telecommunications company, who possess complementary technologies. The technological standpoint in this scenario is of vital importance moreover given the rapid pace of the technological advancements. In the contemporaneous society, technological advancements play an exponentially increasing role within the process of negotiation.

For instance, long distance communications are now possible and more efficient due to the emergence of teleconference possibilities. Other gadgets have also increased the speed and efficiency of the process. "Technology is not only changing the way we do business - it's changing the way we think about doing business.

The most important effects of a new technology may be, not to let people do old things more efficiently, but rather to do new things that simply were not possible or feasible with the old technology" (School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois). Conclusions Clear and efficient communications lay at the basis of each fruitful human relation, including personal, educational or professional. But communicating one's ideas may not always be enough to achieving the desired status.

In this order of ideas then, the individual will have to commence the process of negotiation. This basically revolves around ongoing.