3 - power

• Power is only the capacity to influence and anything can be a source of power if it gives the negotiator a temporary advantage over the other party
• People acquire power in 4 ways:​

  1. Informational sources of power​
  2. Power based on position in an organization​
  3. Relationship-based sources of power​
  4. Contextual sources of power​
• Information is the most common source of power​:

  • Derived from the negotiator’s ability to assemble and organize data to support his or her position, arguments, or desired outcomes​
  • Power derived from expertise is a special form of information power​
• A negotiator who would like to take advantage of their expertise needs to show that expertise:​

  1. Actually exists​
  2. is relevant to the issues under discussion​
• Two major sources of power in an organization​

  1. Legitimate power, grounded in the title, duties, and responsibilities of a job description and “level” within an organization hierarchy​
  2. Power based on the control of resources associated with that position​
• The effect of legitimate power is when people respond to directions from another because they feel it is proper for the other to direct them. ​
• People can acquire legitimate power in several ways:​

  1. At birth​
  2. Election to a designated office​
  3. By appointment or promotion to some organizational position​
  4. An individual who has a generalized respectful position (e.g. priest)​
• Effectiveness of formal authority is derived from the willingness of followers to acknowledge the legitimacy of the organizational structure and the system of rules and regulations that empowers its leaders.
• Legitimacy doesn’t only speak about authority:​

  1. Legitimacy power of reciprocity (if someone does a good thing, a good thing needs to be done back)​
  2. Legitimacy power of equity (fairness)​
  3. Legitimacy power of responsibility of dependence (obligation to help others who cannot help themselves)​
• • People who control resources have the capacity to give them to someone who will do what they want, and withhold them (or take them away) from someone who doesn't do what they want.​
• Some of the most important resources:​

  • Money​
  • Supplies​
  • Human capital​
  • Time ​
  • Equipment​
  • Critical services​
  • Interpersonal support​
• • Power also comes from location in an organizational structure, but not necessarily a hierarchical structure​
• In this case, power is derived from whatever flows through that particular location in the structure (usually information and resources, such as money)
• • Leverage comes from the ability to control and manage what flows through that position (without a formal position)​
• Power is based in the context, situation or environment in which negotiations take place
• • BATNAs Offer a negotiator significant power because they now have a choice between accepting the other party’s proposal or an attractive alternative deal​
• 4 contextual sources of power:

  1. context, situation, or environment
  2. BATNAs
  3. Culture
  4. Agents, constituencies and external audiences
• Tips for dealing with others who have more power:

  • Never do an all-or-nothing deal​
  • Make the other party smaller​
  • Make yourself bigger​
  • Build momentum through doing deals in sequence​
  • Use the power of competition to leverage power​
  • Constrain yourself​
  • Good information is always a source of power​
  • Do what you can to manage the process​
• • It is important to keep in mind that you do not need power to be persuasive​
  • There are numerous techniques negotiators can use to change their counterparts’ attitude and behaviour​
• 2 routes to persuasion:

  1. central route
  2. peripheral route
• • Central route​ --> a type of influence using direct behaviours and statements that quite literally convince the other side that your arguments are valid and worthy of consideration​
• • Peripheral route --> a type of influence relying on indirect behaviours and manipulation of subtle cues that lead the other party to change his or her behaviour or attitude almost subconsciously​
• There are three major issues to consider when constructing a message:

  1. The content of the message (Facts and topics that should be covered)​
  2. The structure of the message​ (Arrangement and organization of the topics and facts)
  3. The delivery style ​(How the message should be presented​)
  4. using vivid language and metaphors

  ​
• Message Content​

  • Make the offer attractive to the other party​
  • Frame the message so the other party will say “yes”​
  • Make the message normative – by following a course of action he will be acting in accordance with both his values and some higher code of conduct (e.g. “save a tree”)​
  • Suggest an “agreement in principle”​
• Message Structure​:

  • One-sided messages: ignore arguments and opinions that might support the other party’s position​
  • Two-sided messages: mention and describe the opposing point of view and show how and why it is less desirable​
  • Message components ​
  • Negotiators can help the other party understand and accept their arguments by breaking them into smaller, more understandable pieces​
• Use vivid language and metaphors:

  • Have major effect on persuasiveness​
  • People under stress are more receptive to low intensity language and more inclined to reject those using high-intensity language ​
  • Excessive use of metaphors or overly vivid descriptions may lead the other party to believe you are filled with “filled with hot air”​
• peripheral route to persuasion:

  • The receiver attends less to the substance of persuasive arguments and is instead susceptible to more “automatic” influence through subtle cues​
  • Usually occurs when the target of influence is either unmotivated or unable to attend carefully to the substance contained within a persuasive message
• 2 aspects of messages that foster peripheral influence:

  1. Message order
  2. Distractions
• Message order ​

  • When topics are familiar, interesting, or controversial to the receiver, the important points should be made early, exposing the receiver to the primacy effect ​
  • When the topic is uninteresting, unfamiliar, or not very important to the receiver, the most critical point should be placed at the end of the message to take advantage of the recency effect ​
• 3 source characteristics that foster peripheral influence:

  1. source credibility
  2. personal attractiveness
  3. authority
• • Source credibility --> Qualifications, Trustworthiness, Self-Presentation​
  • Personal attractiveness​ --> Friendliness and likeability and Perceived similarity​
• People with authority have more influence than those without authority​. Questions to test authority:​

  • Is this authority truly an expert?​
  • How truthful can you expect this expert to be?​
• 5 aspects of context that foster peripheral influence:

  1. Reciprocity
  2. Commitment to a position
  3. Social proof
  4. Principle of Scarcity
  5. Use of reward and punishment
• • Social Proof​ --> People often behave in certain ways because everyone else is doing so​
• Principle of Scarcity​ --> When things are less available, they will have more influence
• Receivers have two roles:

  1. Exploring or ignoring the other’s position​

  • Selectively paraphrase​
  • Reinforce points you like in the other party’s proposals

  2. Resisting the other's influence

  • Have a BATNA and know how to use it​
  • Make a public commitment​
  • Inoculate yourself against the other party’s arguments