1. Chapter 11, 12 & 13 Agents, Constituencies, Audiences Coalitions
Multiple Parties and Teams
By: Ms. Adina Malik (ALK)
By: Ms. Adina Malik (ALK)

2. Learning Objectives
Principal, Agent and Constituent; & Bystanders in Negotiation
Audiences and Third Parties; their characteristics and how they influence negotiation
When to use an Agent vs. When to negotiate for yourself
What is Coalition
What is Multiparty negotiation?-Their characteristics and the nature of such negotiation

3. Principal in Negotiation
A party can act as a Principal –representing his or her own interests.

4. Agent and Constituent
An Agent is a negotiator who not necessarily presents their own issues and interests, but represent the views of others who may or may not be at the table.
A Constituent is one or more parties who have designated someone else (the agent) to represent their positions and interests in a negotiation. Constituents usually do not participate in the negotiation, although they may be present.

5. Agent and Constituent
E.g.: An attorney (an agent) and a client (a constituent)
E.g.: A salesperson (an agent) and his boss or manager (a constituent)

6. Bystanders
Bystanders are those who may have some stake in negotiation and who care about the substantive issues or the process by which a resolution is reached, but are not formally represented at the table. They frequently follow the negotiation, express public or private views to the negotiators, and in some way are affected by what happens.
They frequently follow the negotiation, express public or private views to the negotiators about the potential outcome or the process.

7. THIRD PARTIES
Third parties can be described as bystanders who may be drawn in the negotiation specifically for the purpose of helping to resolve it.

8. Audiences
An Audience is any individual or group of people who are not directly involved in or affected by a negotiation, but who have a chance to observe and react to the ongoing events and who may at times offer input, advice, or criticism to the negotiators.
Bystanders and Constituents can also serve as audiences. So are members of the negotiating teams who are not actively engaged in dialogue with the other party.

9. Characteristics of Audiences
Audiences vary according to whether they are physically present at or absent from the negotiation.
Audiences who are outcome-dependent derive their payoffs as a direct result of the negotiator’s behavior and effectiveness. A non- dependent audience will not be affected by the result.
Audiences affect negotiation by the degree of their involvement in the process.
Indirect involvement via communication of idea, not directly influencing the course of an ongoing negotiation.
1. Some observers (like team members) may be present during negotiations and directly witness the events that occur. Others may be physically removed and learn about what happens only through reports and accounts.
2. Example: Rock Concert-negotiation between the singer and the media company. Other musicians are outcome-oriented, while members of the general public will ne non-dependent.
3. The complexity of the interaction increases depending on who the audience is, what is at stake, how much power the audience has, and the kind of role the audience chooses to play. E.g. In international affairs, the US has often become involved in another country’s or region’s local disputes.
4. The US makes its views known on how other countries should conduct their affairs but does not directly influence those actions. Consumers are often encouraged to boycott a store or product to support a labor union or its demands.

10. How Audiences Influence Negotiation
Audiences make negotiators “try harder”
Negotiators seek a positive reaction from an audience
Pressures from audiences can push negotiators into “irrational” behavior
Audiences hold the negotiator accountable
Research has shown that the presence of an audience increases negotiator aspirations-that is negotiators ‘try harder’ when they know that they are being watched. Negotiators may act tough if they realize that they are under surveillance.
Negotiators try to impress the audience to receive a positive or beneficial evaluation, and to avoid a negative one.
The presence of a salient audience (whose opinions and supportive comments are valued) affects a negotiator more dramatically. It affects the negotiator’s subsequent behavior.
Audiences maintain control over negotiators by holding them accountable for their performance and by administering rewards or punishments based on that performance.

11. When to Use an Agent
When the agent has distinct or unique knowledge or skills in the issues
When the agent has better negotiation skills
When the agent has special friends, relationships or connections
When you are very emotionally involved in an issue or problem
Better skill in the negotiation context that are essential in achieving an agreement. For e.g. lawyer, accountant
Relative competence
Connection that he or she can use to contact the right people to access critical decision makers to get the deal done.
You have chances of getting emotionally sidetracked by the discussion. An agent will be less likely.
Distributive negotiation
An agent will be tougher

12. When to Use an Agent
When you want the flexibility to use negotiation tactics that require several parties
When your natural conflict management style is to compromise, accommodate or avoid
When higher stakes to gain if you do well; while higher costs to incur if you do poorly

13. When to Negotiate for Yourself
When you want to develop or reestablish a strong personal relationship with the other negotiator
When you need to repair a damaged relationship
When you want to learn a lot about them before you craft an agreement
When your negotiation skills are better than those of any available agent
Trust is best built and cultivated one-to-one, without the agents
Explanations and apologies for past behavior; promises for future performances are better delivered personally than through an agent.
Informal meeting, dialogue, conversation, etc.
7. Attorneys may become so caught up in legal technicalities and the like that they are unable to have a productive conversation on the specific aspects of the deal.

14. When to Negotiate for Yourself
When hiring an agent may be too costly
When the “image” of being represented by an agent may make the other side suspicious
When the agent is too emotionally involved, defensive and caught up in game playing

15. What is a Coalition?
A coalition is an alliance among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self- interest, joining forces together for a common cause.
E.g. Achieving a common corporate goal, lowering insurance rates, regulating an industry action, or strategic planning

16. Multiple Parties
Multiple parties are negotiating with one another and attempting to achieve a collective or group consensus.
Multiple individuals are present on each “side” of the negotiation
The parties to a negotiation are teams against teams
A multiparty negotiation is one where more than two parties are working together to achieve a collective objective.
For e.g. a student is selling a stereo system and puts up notices in the campus. Assume that there is not one seller, but four roommates who jointly own the stereo system. A year ago, each has contributed $200 to buy the system, but now they have different preferences about what they should do with it.
‘A’ wants to sell it and split up the money because he wants to buy a new bike. ‘B’ wants to sell it a buy an inexpensive stereo system. ‘C’ wants to sell it and buy a super-high-quality system that will require each of them to chip in extra money; while, ‘D’ does not want to sell it at all, thinking that it’s a dumb idea.
Each party has its own preferences and priorities. They must now collectively decide what to do as a group if and when the system is sold. When the parties agree to hold a meeting and make a collective decision, this is multiparty negotiation.

17. A Multiparty Negotiation, Each Representing a Constituency.

18. The Nature of Multiparty Negotiations
Differences between two-party and multiparty negotiations:
Number of parties
Informational and computational complexity
Social complexity
Procedural complexity
Strategic complexity
Number of Parties: they have more negotiators, thus negotiation simply becomes bigger. This creates challenges for managing several different perspectives and ensuring that each party has adequate time to speak and be heard. Parties may also have different social roles outside the negotiation (president, vise president, director, board chairman, etc.). This may lead to either equal or unequal levels of power and status in negotiation. If the parties in negotiation are all equal, then the exchange will be more open.
Informational and computational complexity: As the size increases, there are more issues, more perspective on each issues, more total information (data, facts, figures, viewpoints, arguments, documentary support, etc.), more values, interests and perception are required to be integrated and accommodated. As a result, the negotiation situation tend to become less clear/understandable, and, in some respect, more complex.
Social complexity: the social environment changes from one-to-one dialogue to a small group discussion. Research have found that if the parties have cooperative motivational orientation, then that will lead towards higher quality outcome, less arguments and more trusting environment than individualist motivational orientation. Social pressure may develop as members pressurize each other to adopt a common perspective.
Procedural complexity: In one-to-one negotiation, the parties present their issues and challenges their perspective. Here, the process is more complex. The procedural rules become much less clear. E.g. whose turn is it to do what? How do the parties coordinate where they are in the negotiation (opening statement, presentation of viewpoint, or moving towards an agreement). Negotiations may take longer, so time must be allowed.
Strategic complexity: In one-to-one negotiation, the negotiator needs only to attend the other party’s behavior, objectives, actions, strategy and tactics. Here, the negotiator have to consider the strategies of all involved and decide whether to deal with them (individually) or in a group. However, they will be subject to surveillance, other audience perspectives

19. Managing Multiparty Negotiations
The pre-negotiation stage
Characterized by many informal contacts among the parties
The formal negotiation stage
Structures a group discussion to achieve an effective and endorsed result
The agreement phase
Parties select among the alternatives on the table

20. The Pre-negotiation Stage
Establish participants
Form coalitions
Define group member roles
Understand the costs and consequences of no agreement
Learn the issues and construct an agenda
The parties must agree on who is going to be invited to the talks. Who must be included if the deal is to be reached? Who could spoil the deal if they were excluded? Whose status will be enhanced simply by being at the table? Whose presence is likely to help other parties achieve their objectives?
Coalitions will form either to promote or block a particular agenda.
Some may want to lead, participate actively or promote a particular agenda; others may want to be silent and invisible. Roles should be decided beforehand-leader, mediator, record-keeper.
What will happen if they fail to agree on what to do? Who will step in to decide for them?
Spend a great deal of time familiarizing themselves with the issue, absorbing information, and trying to understand one another’s interests. Spend time constructing an agenda. Establish the issues that will be discussed, Define how each issue is discussed, Set the order in which issues are discussed, Introduce process issues (decision rules, discussion norms, member roles, discussion dynamics), and substantive issues, Assign time limits to various items.

21. The Formal Negotiation Stage
Appoint an appropriate chair
Use and restructure the agenda
Ensure diversity of information and perspectives
Ensure consideration of all available information
Manage conflict effectively
Review and manage the decision rules
Strive for a first agreement
Manage problem team members
The chairperson acts as a third party who has no stake in any particular outcome, but does have a strong interest in ensuring that the group works toward achieving the best possible outcome.
An agenda adds a high degree of structure, organization and coordination to the discussion.
A way to facilitate a negotiation is to ensure that the group receives a wide variety of different perspectives about the tasks and different sources of information.
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They should not allow conflict to disrupt the information flow or create animosity.
Manage the way the group will decide what to do.
If the objective is consensus or best quality solution, negotiators should not strive to achieve it all at once. Rather, they should strive for ‘first agreement’, that can be revised, upgraded and improved.
Describe problem as team problem (“we vs. you”)

22. The Formal Negotiation Stage
Ensure consideration of all available information
The Delphi technique
An initial questionnaire, sent to all parties, asking for input
Brainstorming
Define a problem and generate as many solutions as possible without criticizing any of them
Nominal group technique
Brainstormed list of solutions ranked, rated, or evaluated

23. The Agreement Phase Select the best solution Develop an action plan
Implement the action plan
Evaluate outcomes and the process
2. This increases the likelihood that the solution will be implemented completely, effectively and on time.
4. To highlight specific concerns about faulty process or incomplete outcomes.