Personal Learning Paper – 2 (Session 5-8)
Session 5 (Interpersonal Negotiation)
The reading as part of the session on “merely” effective negotiation skills was insightful and did make me realize some common errors that I have been doing again and again. To start with I absolutely never gave a thought on the other person’s point of view and what could be her expectations. At work, I so often had to negotiate on timelines with my manager. At the beginning of every project we used to have a detailed discussion assigning each major task a certain time to be completed in. Since I was involved in a part of the project, I had a narrow vision of things compared to my manager who had to ensure that the entire project got delivered on time. I always argued on the timelines keeping only my work in perspective and not having any idea as to how the entire project was dependent on my piece of work. What I realized later was that there are certain critical pieces of work that I handle which have to be done by a certain date and the rest of the work could be extended. If I could have been calm enough to understand the other person’s needs from my project and deliver the same I could have managed my time effectively and delivered more efficiently.
The reading also puts more light on the current negotiations between Anna Hazare and the Government where effectively each party is allowing their positions to drive their interests. Anna is adamant that the Bill has to be passed as he has put it without any modifications and the Government has its own stand on issues, and procedures that are to be followed. What this inefficient conversation results in is one of the most brutal blackmails on the part of Anna and his followers and a helpless government which has given in to the demands (to a certain extent).
The class exercise gave an understanding of how things are going to be in the corporate world. When I approached the negotiation I had already decided in my mind that I had to...