Negotiating for Your Life (New Success Strategies

¶ … Negotiating for your life (New Success Strategies for a Woman)" is authored by Nichole Schapiro (1993) who has the credible credentials of industrial psychologist. The fact that she founded her own training and consulting firm in 1972 indicates her breadth of experience and training in the field . The jacket also describes her as a speaker, consultant and trainer to thousands of women and men around the country and abroad on negotiating skills, diversity, and on gender collaboration in and out of the workforce, as well as on building effective teams. This mass and length of experience gives her the skills to write the book and makes her a reputable voice.

Premise and relevance - The main premise/point of the book including the issue/problem involved and the book's relevance and relationship to the course

The theme of the book is how to effectively negotiate both in and out of real work situations. Through practical strategies and a breadth of examples, Shapiro shows us how to effectively negotiait in both business and in real-life concerns regardless of our specific gender (although Shapiro focuses on women).

Course principles - Principles in the course and the course text that were discussed in the book and how they were used

Evidence - most significant evidence (i.e., facts, statistics, studies, etc.) used in the book and whether the evidence proved the book's point or premise and if so and if not why not.

Shapiro mostly leads through examples rather than through studies. The studies that she quotes regarding difference between communication style of men and women do lead her argument along and reinforce it as well as supporting her conclusions.

Shapiro, for instance tells us that females generally accentuate and prefer social communication that moves toward community and away from competitiveness and indeed an abundance of studies have shown as much. The female traits, as Shapiro remarks, are emotionality, compassion or empathy, and cooperation, whilst males are more aggressive and seek to win. They veer away from personal feelings and social collaboration is seen as a means to an end rather than as an end to itself. These are but one of the arguments that Shapiro reinforces with studies and examples; it is her prime argument that establishes the theme and premise of the book and she presents us with stratagems showing females how to effectively deal with their particular characteristics despite the challenges it may afford them in the male-orientated business world in general and with negotiation in particular.

Conclusion - Whether the conclusion(s) reached is valid and if so why and if not why not.

Shapiro's conclusion is that women -- using certain strategies can negotiate as effectively as males both in and out of the business world. I agree with Shapiro based on real-life examples that show that females routinely negotiate well and hold their ground sometimes doing even better than males. They may have more to overcome, but certain techniques and the right attitude as well as courage can help them do so.

Author's affect - Whether the author's background, time, place and/or biases place affect the book's conclusion and if so how.

I think that the author's gender, background, and perhaps socio-historical experiences shaped the book's conclusion. Shapiro, after all, started her consulting firm in the 1970s -- a time when women was coming into her own as evidenced by great female leaders such as Margaret thatcher. She write the book in 1993 giving her plenty of time (more than 2 decades) to experiment with and create her observations and strategies). Her western upbringing too made her biased. Had she, for instance, lived in certain parts of the Middle east, she may have observed differently. The fact, however, that she was born and lived when she did slanted her perspective and conclusion.

Book's impact - on reader including any previous ideas, biases and thoughts reader had on this subject that were changed, abandoned or reinforced and if so how and why.

I found the exercises practical and refreshing in that some of them were different from the mundane platitudes brought down in so many manuals on negotiation.

Shapiro, also has a positive attitude that I found inspirational and that made me feel that, regardless of my skills and past history with negotiation, - I could do it.

Reader's View and Conflicts - objections and contrary views and if so why and did book conflict with other books, courses taken or readers previous assumptions on the subject and if so how.