I think that the discussion in class yesterday taught something very important about negotiating. It is a good idea that when you negotiate you use the integrative negotiation approach rather than distributive negotiation. There are two key reasons why this approach is better than distributive negotiation. The first is that rather than one party winning and the other losing out, both parties are more likely to walk away satisfied. By accomplishing this, it makes both parties involved feel that they got a better deal than if one person was trying to beat out the other. Also by using this approach you create value of the resources used in the negotiation. This is a plus because rather than one person possibly getting something out of the deal they have no need for, these resources can be given to the person that is actually going to want/need it. Another good reason for using integrative negotiation is that even if one party is not necessarily getting more of a benefit from the deal as the other party, they may still feel as if they got the “winning” end of the deal. This is good because rather than leaving with negative feelings towards the opposing party, they will probably have a positive attitude regarding the deal and their negotiating partner. This is a positive aspect because it may allow for continuing business between the parties rather than one or the other leaving and feeling distraught and not wanting to continue business with the other. This is a crucial aspect to consider when entering into negotiation. The example we discussed in class regarding Israel and Egypt is a good example of why this is so important. I think that when negotiating it is important to consider the other party’s interests and make an attempt to accommodate them.
I like were your going with this and I agree. I would like to point out however that distributive negotiation can also help you get the MOST out of a given situation. You may not always be able to generate the value that you want from integrative negotiation and therefore should always try to get something out of it. Compromise can help a relationship and maintain it but it does no good for you if you are coming out on the bottom all the time. Granted this is most likely not the majority of cases and what I'm saying may be a rare occurrence but it is still something to keep in mind.
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