Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. A New Approach to Designing Work case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Nelson P. Repenning, Don Kieffer, James Repenning. The A New Approach to Designing Work (referred as “Design Serial” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Organizational Development. It also touches upon business topics such as - negotiation strategy, negotiation framework, Organizational structure.
Negotiation strategy solution for case study A New Approach to Designing Work ” provides a comprehensive framework to analyse all issues at hand and reach a unambiguous negotiated agreement. At Oak Spring University, we provide comprehensive negotiation strategies that have proven their worth both in the academic sphere and corporate world.
What’s my BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) – my walkaway option if the deal fails?
What are my most important interests, in ranked order?
What is the other side’s BATNA, and what are his interests?
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. The goal of this article, according to the authors, is to help managers understand several key work design principles that undergird not only agile practices in software but also Toyota Motor Corp.'s well-known production system. Understanding these underlying work design principles -through a framework the authors call dynamic work design -enables managers to create work processes in their own organizations that are both more flexible and more efficient. Traditionally, an academic theory known as contingency theory has suggested that if work consists of well-defined tasks (for example, assembling components), then it is best to organize it serially, like a factory assembly line. Conversely, if work is highly ambiguous and requires ongoing interaction (for example, designing new products), then it is best organized collaboratively. The authors argue that this approach to work design is not entirely satisfying for two reasons. First, it describes an unpalatable trade-off: Work done using a serial factory design isn't very flexible, making it hard to adapt to changes in external conditions, and work done using the collaborative approach often isn't very efficient. Second, few types of work perfectly fit the archetype of well-defined or ambiguous work. The authors instead advocate a dynamic approach to process and organizational design that transcends the serial versus collaborative work framework by creating mechanisms for moving between the two basic ways of organizing work at appropriate intervals. By identifying mechanisms to cycle back and forth between well-defined factory-style tasks and collaborative modes when appropriate, managers can considerably reduce the trade-off between efficiency and adaptability. For example, work on Toyota assembly lines is the epitome of the serial, mechanistic work design, and tasks are precisely specified. But sometimes things go awry. In the Toyota scheme, a worker noticing such an issue is supposed to pull the Andon cord (or push a button) to stop the production line and fix the problem, which temporarily changes the work design to a collaborative problem-solving mode. Once the problem is resolved, the operator returns to the serial work design. The authors argue that movement between the two work modes is also the key to understanding the success of agile software development methods.
By interests, we do not mean the preconceived demands or positions that you or the other party may have, but rather the underlying needs, aims, fears, and concerns that shape what you want. Negotiation is more than getting what you want. It is not winning at all cost. Number of times Win-Win is better option that outright winning or getting what you want.
Options are the solutions you generate that could meet your and your counterpart’s interests . Often people come to negotiations with very fixed ideas and things they want to achieve. This strategy leaves unexplored options which might be even better than the one that one party wanted to achieve. So always try to provide as many options as possible during the negotiation process. The best outcome should be out of many options rather than few options.
When soft bargainers meet hard bargainers there is always the danger of soft bargainers ceding more than what is necessary. To avoid this scenario you should always focus on legitimate standards or expectations. Standards are often external and objective measures to assess the fairness such as rules and regulations, financial values & resources , market prices etc. If the negotiated agreement is going beyond the industry norms or established standards of fairness then it is prudent to get out of the negotiation.
Every negotiators going into the negotiations should always work out the “what if” scenario. The negotiating parties in the “A New Approach to Designing Work” has three to four plausible scenarios. The negotiating protagonist needs to have clear idea of – what will happen if the negotiations fail. To put it in the negotiating literature – BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. If the negotiated agreement is not better than BATNA then there is no point in accepting the negotiated solution.
One of the biggest problems in implementing the negotiated agreements in corporate world is – the ambiguity in the negotiated agreement. Sometimes the negotiated agreements are not realistic or various parties interpret the outcomes based on their understanding of the situation. It is critical to do negotiations as water tight as possible so that there is less scope for ambiguity.
Many negotiators make the mistake of focusing only on the substance of the negotiation (interests, options, standards, and so on). How you communicate about that substance, however, can make all the difference. The language you use and the way that you build understanding, jointly solve problems, and together determine the process of the negotiation with your counterpart make your negotiation more efficient, yield clear agreements that each party understands, and help you build better relationships.
Another critical factor in the success of your negotiation is how you manage your relationship with your counterpart. According to “Nelson P. Repenning, Don Kieffer, James Repenning”, the protagonist may want to establish a new connection or repair a damaged one; in any case, you want to build a strong working relationship built on mutual respect, well-established trust, and a side-by-side problem- solving approach.
According to
Harvard Business Review
, there are three types of negotiators – Hard Bargainers, Soft Bargainers, and Principled Bargainers.
Hard Bargainers – These people see negotiations as an activity that they need to win. They are less focused less on the real objectives of the negotiations but more on winning. In the “A New Approach to Designing Work ”, do you think a hard bargaining strategy will deliver desired results? Hard bargainers are easy to negotiate with as they often have a very
predictable strategy
Soft Bargainers – These people are focused on relationship rather than hard outcomes of the negotiations. It doesn’t mean they are pushovers. These negotiators often scribe to long term relationship rather than immediate bargain.
Principled Bargainers – As explained in the seven elemental tools of negotiations above, these negotiators are more concern about the standards and norms of fairness. They often have inclusive approach to negotiations and like to work on numerous solutions that can improve the BATNA of both parties.
Open lines of communication between parties in the case study “A New Approach to Designing Work” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Nelson P. Repenning, Don Kieffer, James Repenning (2018), "A New Approach to Designing Work Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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