SCM340 DB

Theodore Hickman

Instructor: Johnny Maddox

Unit 3 IP

SCM340 1703A-01

16 July 2017

Power and leverage

Sources of power

What leverage or power can people apply to achieve their goals?

The buyer of the plastics has power considering that it’s the company that is need of the materials. In other words, the fact that the business can decide to buy or not proves that it has the power to make its choices. Therefore, it has the power to bargain with the use of its financial capability. Moreover, the company has the authority to purchase the goods from another firm based on the fact that it is not mandatory to buy from the same firm that it has entered into the negotiation process. Also, the supplier has power considering that it is in possession of the goods that are required for the manufacturing process. Therefore, if it decides not to sell the goods, the buyer will face difficulties when it comes to where to acquire the goods. Also, the supplier’s power can be earned through the provision of high-quality raw materials that are in a position to attain the production of products that are of the highest quality possible.

Power and influence Define power and influence in the negotiation process.

Power refers to the ability to influence parties in the bargaining process to do according to your will (Zartman, & Rubin, 2000). In other words, power is the activity by which one party can make use of its knowledge and bargaining skills to influence the other parties to do what it wants. For instance, where the supplier decides to convince the buyer that the goods are of good quality and assure the buyer that the goods are going to him best so as to end up purchasing the goods. The word influence in the negotiation process refers to the situation by which people are not forced to do something. It is the use of the available information and knowledge to convince the one party to do something at their own will without having to use force.

Describe at least two sources of power and influence in negotiations.

Some of the sources of power include the position at which the organization is placed. For instance, the supplier can be holding the top position in the industry that allows the other firms to believe that they products are of better quality than any other organization in the same industry. Also, knowledge is another source of influence and power that arises with the initiation of the same knowledge to win over something. People gain knowledge that can be used to act as power during the negotiation processes by researching and going through a wide variety of data so as to acquire the statistics and facts that are related to a particular situation.

Walk-away alternative

Best alternative to negotiated agreement (BATNA)

BATNA suggests that the organizations should go for the choice that provides the highest level of benefits when agreement becomes a problem (Winkler, 2006). It is required that the parties should adopt the best choice that they will agree. During negotiations, it is necessary that the parties have to come up with different suggestions and ideas that can be used to perform the task in hand. Alternatives come from the two parties. In other words, no specific party has the mandate of selecting the best option that should be adopted. It results in a situation where the parties involved have to intimately understand their options and take the time to analyze them. It is because different options contribute to different results. Therefore, it is required that the parties should take the time to research the options based on their outcomes once adopted. Once the choices have been investigated, it becomes the responsibility of the parties to rank the choices according to their outcomes beginning with the one that has the highest results possible. Therefore, the company is expected to select the prices that when adopted will allow the two companies to benefit and continually appreciate their relationship.

Discuss options and alternatives to agreements.

Some of the options that are available when conducting negotiations include the acceptance of the different choices and suggestions that are raised. In other words, the parties can decide to accept what they have discussed together considering that the choice is of great value to them. Also, the parties have the mandate of rejecting the offers and decisions that are raised during the negotiation process. Rejection is a walk away alternative that suggests that the party that does not feel to appreciate the decision can walk away by rejecting the offer. Negotiation processes do not force any of the parties to accept all the offers that are raised. All the parties have the right to forget about the offer and search for other better choices.

Discuss 2–3 tough or hardball negotiation tactics.

Some of the hardball negotiation tactics include the commitment tactics that arise when opponents tend to provide extreme demands that are known to do away with one's expectations (Gelfand, & Brett, 2004). It is required that one should be ready to support his claims and do not all the other opponent to use his aggressiveness to win over him. The other tactic is the take-it-or-leave-it offers which are meant to prove that negotiations are limited. Therefore, it is necessary that one takes the time view the constituents of the offer and not the demand.

References

Gelfand, M. & Brett, J. (2004). The handbook of negotiation and culture. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Business Books.

Winkler, K. (2006). Negotiations with Asymmetrical Distribution of Power: Conclusions from Dispute Resolution in Network Industries. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag.

Zartman, I. & Rubin, J. (2000). Power and Negotiation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.