Negotiation in Difficult Situations Tactics Treating Negotiations as a Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Negotiation stands out as an integral component of my day-to-day social interactions. In most cases, I find myself at the center of controversy or in a difficult situation where negotiation is the only option out of it. Nonetheless, my experience has rarely been awesome on a table of discourse that arouses emotions. There are those moments when in the middle of a conversation I simply marched away as I could not put up with the 'crap' from the other party. In addition, despite my strong opposition to the other person's point-of-view, I chose to hang on a little longer and entertain their thought patterns in some cases (Gelfand, & Brett, 2004). Lastly, there are instances, though very few, where I decided to engage the conflicting pattern with the utmost sobriety until we arrive at an amicable solution. All these responses show how I have acted disorderly when confronted with situations that require negotiations. Nonetheless, this challenge could be outdated following a course work I have undertaken on negotiation in difficult situations, tactics, and treating the concept cross-culturally. I review the impact of this course work on my personality relative to negotiation.

Various styles have been presented in this course work relating to the manner I approach my negotiations. For example, I would not deny that there are instances where I have used competing, accommodating, avoiding, and compromising styles (Lum, 2011). I have opted to be fairly consistent and almost competitive while I seek to have my irrespective of the situation or the matters at hand. However, this perception has somehow faded thanks to the concepts from my current class. In my interactions, my level of consciousness to the other party has been heightened (Doeden, 2012). I not only thing about myself, but also try to fit on the other person's point-of-view and reason out logically. In other words, I find myself gradually shifting to accommodating style.

Prior to this course work, handling difficult tactics often gave me hard times. For example, situations arose where I felt I have been pushed unfairly thus triggering a violent outburst from my side. These are those moments when I could through my hands up in the air and resolve to hold on to my position to the bitter end. However, this course work has played a great deal in altering the way I deal with such a situation. Essentially, it is impossible to exist in a social setting yet avoid conflicts. This reality points to the fact that conflicts are part of me: efforts to resolve them amicably should be pursued (Hendon, Hendon, & Herbig, 2007). An analysis of my personality reveals that I am egoistic in nature. This is not a good quality in negotiations since one always wants to win even if they are wrong. As such, this knowledge has affected my negotiations as in the midst of conflicts I often try to find out whether I am simply acting from an egoistic point-of-view or logically.

In addition, while there are several ways of dealing with difficult tactics (such as discussing it, dealing with the issue later, or simply leaving), I find myself inclined towards discussing it. For instance, in more than two recent occasions, I could hardly believe how difficult situations were transformed into a forum for further discussion (Gelfand, & Brett, 2004). After a prolonged argument with one of my friends, I simply pointed out my frustration at our divergent views and sought to comprehend why she found my point-of-view offensive or disagreeable. The move toned her attitude and pointed out some of the positions I had held which were products of my ego and not logical reasoning. In light of this, I submit that the course has positively affected the way I deal with difficult tactics (Hendon, Hendon, & Herbig, 2007).

Lastly, the coursework has affected the manner in which I appreciate the diversity of cultural backgrounds or rather environments in negotiation tables. We are all brought up in families and cultures that instill into us a variety of values. Many people may not understand the role that their background plays in a negotiation environment unless they attend a class like this. I always thought that the reasoning of all individuals is almost similar and is simply a contrary opinion that triggered conflicts (Gelfand, & Brett, 2004). However, this course work has taught me a somewhat different lesson. First, and most important, is that the manner in which I perceive issues depends on the cultural lens in which I consider the issue. Therefore, it is noble to seek first to understand the culture of the other party to minimize cases of miscommunication or misrepresentation of ideas while negotiating (Doeden, 2012).