Comment reading : Four Key Concepts

              Comment about the reading :                                       25/09/17    

 Four Key Concepts 

To have a successful negotiation 3 steps must be followed. It is necessary to have alternative to negotiation, a threshold for the negotiated deal and some flexibility. For this, 3 concepts were developed: Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), a reservation price and a Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA).

First of all, the BATNA a is concept created by Roger Fisher and William Ury to refer to what happened in the absence of deals. BATNA determines the point at which one of the party can say no to a proposal he judges unfavourable for him. If its strong, the negotiation can continue to reach more favourable terms. A weak BATNA put the party in a weak bargaining position with a very little power to negotiate. To strengthen a weak BATNA, 3 alternatives are possible: improve the BATNA, identify the ones of the other party and try to make it weak. For this you can make some research on the company by contacting sources within the industry or check business publications or former reports. Many of the business situations involve external factors, incomparable and unqualifiable, and personal factors which influence the value of the BATNA. This is why it is very important to be as objective as possible in negotiation.

Then, the reservation price is the least acceptable point at which one party accept a deal, it is derived and approximately equal to the BATNA.

Moreover, the ZOPA is the zone of possible agreement in which the deal can satisfies both parties. Each party is trying to find a compromise related with its BATNA.

Finally, the value creation through trades. Negotiation parties can improve their positions by trading the values at their disposal in the context of integrated negotiations. This is possible when a party try to sell something that she values less than the other one.