The dialogue between individuals to come to a common conclusion benefiting all is called as negotiation. Negotiation refers to the discussions among individuals evaluating the pros and cons of a situation and coming to an alternative best suited to all. In negotiation, individuals try their level best to come to a conclusion which would satisfy all. In simpler words, it is also called as Bargaining.

Negotiation takes place in various ways in corporates for increased output and better relations among employees.

Let us go through the various types of negotiation in detail:

• Day to Day Negotiation at work place- Every day we negotiate something or the other at the workplace either with our superiors or with our fellow workers for the smooth flow of work. These are called day to day negotiations.

• Negotiation between employee and superior- At the work place, an employee has to negotiate with his superiors so that he is assigned the responsibilities as per his interests and specialization. Don’t accept anything you are not comfortable with. Sit with your boss and discuss things with him.

  Let’s suppose your boss wants you to prepare a report on branding and marketing strategies of the organization and marketing was never your specialization. Do not accept it just because your boss has told you to do so. Negotiate with him, probably you can cover some other subject and somebody else can be asked to prepare the report on marketing and branding. It is better to negotiate at the first place to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings later.

  An individual before accepting any offer should negotiate his salary with the concerned person to avoid tensions later. If you are not getting what you deserve, you will never enjoy your work. Don’t just accept any offer just because you need a job, its always advisable to negotiate well before joining any organization.

• Negotiation between colleagues- Negotiation is essential among team members to reduce the chances of disputes and conflicts. Any particular team member should not be over burdened while the other member is relaxing. One should negotiate with his fellow workers and accept only those responsibilities he feels he is best capable of doing. The responsibility of achieving the targets should not rest on only one shoulder, but equally divided among all.

  Negotiate with your team members and accept the responsibilities willingly. If you want to go for a leave for some days, negotiate with your team member to take care of your work in your absence. When he takes a leave, you can help him in the same way.

  Negotiation helps to increase the output of the team and eventually the productivity of the organization. People achieve what they expect and hence misunderstandings and conflicts are reduced to a large extent and the office becomes a better place to work.

• Commercial negotiations- Commercial negotiations are generally done in the form of contract. Two parties sit face to face across the table, discuss issues between them and come to conditions acceptable to both the parties. In such cases; everything should be in black and white. A contract is signed by both the parties and they both have to adhere to its terms and conditions.

  Cherry was representing the administration department of a reputed organization. He was assigned the responsibility of buying bulk laptops for the office employees from a vendor. He asked the vendor to quote a price for him.

  Cherry found the price was beyond the company’s budget and thus sat with the vendor, negotiated the price with him and finally both of them agreed to a price suitable to both. A contract was signed between Cherry and the vendor mentioning the payment details, mode of payment, date of delivery, warranty details and other important terms and conditions.

  Commercial negotiation generally involves an external party and thus a contract is essential so that no party backs out later.

• Legal Negotiation- Legal negotiation takes place between individual and the law where the individual has to abide by the rules and regulations laid by the legal system and the legal system also takes into account the needs and interest of the individual.

Negotiations are essential at workplace so that everyone is satisfied and no body feels left out or neglected. It also reduces conflicts and misunderstandings among fellow workers.

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