Strengths and Weaknesses of Negotiation

Negotiation occurs between parties to resolve conflicts and find applicable solutions. Two types of talks are distributive and integrative (“PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School”, 2022). Distributive involves one party hiding information and positional discussion, meaning they negotiate according to what they want to go away with and one party going away with a bigger price (Johnson, n.d.). It is viewed as a win-lose situation. On the other hand, integrative negotiation involves parties sharing information openly, solving problems fairly, improving their relationship, and being open to alternatives. Both parties have common interests and goals and normally leave with equal results or a win-win situation.

Negotiation types have weaknesses and strengths. Distributive negotiation has flaws, one of them being parties opposing each other since each party wants to walk away with a higher reward (Johnson, n.d.). It is highly competitive and challenging; it risks one party suffering a loss. Advantages of this negotiation include that the parties are less likely to do business in the future; therefore, there is no risk of ruining the relationship. A suitable situation for this negotiation is purchasing items with a non-fixed price. For instance, when buying a car in a car yard, the seller will try to sell the vehicle at a high price, and the buyer will negotiate a lower cost to save money.

Consistently, integrative negotiation’s weakness is that parties have to consider each other as parties are likely to work together again (“Sites at Penn State | powered by CampusPress,” 2022). It is time-consuming as a lot of time is invested while negotiating. Its strengths involve maintaining a good relationship with your opponent. A suitable situation is when both parties have shared interests. An example is when an egg supplier for a restaurant sells each tray for $4, but the restaurant convinces the vendor to sell at $3, and both parties negotiate by giving up original prices to have a fair outcome. Negotiation is needed in everyday life, and distributive and integrative negotiations are advantageous depending on a selected situation.