Integrative Negotiation

Etymology

The word "negotiation" originated in the early 15th century from the Old French and Latin expressions “negociacion” and “negotiationem.” These terms mean “business, trade and traffic.” By the late 1590s negotiation had the definition, "to communicate in search of mutual agreement." With this new introduction and this meaning, it showed a shift in “doing business” to “bargaining about” business.

Types of Negotiation.

Negotiation can take a wide variety of forms, from a trained negotiator acting on behalf of a particular organization or position in a formal setting, to an informal negotiation between friends. Negotiation can be contrasted with mediation, where a neutral third party listens to each side's arguments and attempts to help craft an agreement between the parties. It can also be compared with arbitration, which resembles a legal proceeding. In arbitration, both sides make an argument as to the merits of their case and the arbitrator decides the outcome. This negotiation is also sometimes called positional or hard-bargaining negotiation.

Negotiation theorists generally distinguish between two types of negotiation: distributive and intergrative.

Distributive Negotiation

Distributive negotiation is also sometimes called positional or hard-bargaining negotiation. It tends to approach negotiation on the model of haggling in a market. In a distributive negotiation, each side often adopts an extreme position, knowing that it will not be accepted, and then employs a combination of guile, bluffing, and brinkmanship in order to cede as little as possible before reaching a deal. Distributive bargainers view negotiation as a process of distributing a fixed amount of value.

The term distributive implies that there is a finite amount of the thing being distributed or divided among the people involved. Sometimes this type of negotiation is referred to as the distribution of a "fixed pie." Distributive negotiation is also sometimes called win-lose because of the assumption that one person's gain results in another person's loss. A distributive negotiation often involves people who have never had a previous interactive relationship, nor are they likely to do so again in the near future. Simple everyday examples would be buying a car or a house.

Integrative Negotiation

Integrative negotiation is also sometimes called interest-based or principled negotiation. It is a set of techniques that attempts to improve the quality and likelihood of negotiated agreement by providing an alternative to traditional distributive negotiation techniques. While distributive negotiation assumes there is a fixed amount of value (a "fixed pie") to be divided between the parties, integrative negotiation often attempts to create value in the course of the negotiation ("expand the pie"). It focuses on the underlying interests of the parties, approaches negotiation as a shared problem rather than a personalized battle.

Integrative negotiation often involves a higher degree of trust and the establishing a relationship to achieve mutual gains. It is also sometimes called win-win negotiation.

In the book Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Roger Fisher and William L. Ury developed the method of principled negotiation and five principles it is based on. Their process of principled negotiation can be used effectively in almost any type of dispute. Their five principles are:

· "Separate the people from the problem"

· "Focus on interests, not positions"

· "Invent options for mutual gain"

· "Insist on using objective criteria"

· "Know your BATNA (Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement)"

Source: Roger Fisher and William L. Ury, Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Penguin Group (1981)