L5M15 Advanced Negotiation Questions and Answers

Framinginvolves guiding attention toward specific consequences or perspectives. By emphasising the outcome of no agreement, Dominic reframes the discussion around the implications of failure, potentially prompting reconsideration.

STEEPLE analysis(Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical) helps identify external factors that could create risks or opportunities in procurement. It broadens situational awareness beyond immediate operational issues.

Effective negotiators adapt betweenpush and pull stylesdepending on context. While push techniques (assertion, logic) can help when cost pressure is key,pull techniques(consulting, inspiring) strengthen relationships and trust—vital for long-term supplier collaboration.

Pull tactics engage, involve, and motivate others (e.g., inspiring with vision, inviting joint problem-solving, exploring interests). Push tactics rely on directing, arguing, or asserting with facts and logic. Thus “inspiring” and “negotiating” are pull; “rationalising” and “asserting” are push.

Soft skills are interpersonal and behavioural capabilities that enable effective collaboration and impact, such as communication, influencing, and managing change. Technical/market knowledge and numerical skills are valuable but are classed as hard/technical skills rather than soft skills.

While alliances can deliver benefits (e.g., shared resources, economies of scale), they also poserisks, notablyconfidentiality issues(data sharing vulnerability) andpotential disputesover governance, profit sharing, or objectives.

Acold(detached) andtough(adversarial) style discourages collaboration and may escalate conflict. CIPS categorises influencing behaviour across two dimensions—warm vs cold and tough vs soft—with “cold and tough” seen as destructive.

Developing negotiation strategy requires stakeholder consultation to align the negotiation with organisational objectives. Strategy defines direction; tactics are the methods used to achieve it. Planning strategy first ensures tactics serve long-term goals effectively.

When stakeholders holdhigh poweror influence, communication should bedirect and engaging, ensuring clarity and accountability.

Face-to-faceteam meetingsallow discussion and immediate feedback, whileemailsprovide documented communication. Noticeboards and website articles are better suited for lower-power or external audiences.

Videoconferencing offers benefits such asscreen sharing,speed and convenience, and the ability to observefacial expressions. However, it limits full body-language assessment and may reduce personal connection compared to face-to-face interactions.

Underexploitative authoritativemanagement (Rensis Likert model), leaders rely onfear and punishmentto control subordinates. Communication is top-down and trust is minimal—contrasting with participative or consultative styles.

Constructionprojects often use pain/gain share mechanisms to align contractor performance with client objectives. They balance risk and reward—sharing savings or overruns based on project outcomes.

“Apprising” means spelling out how a proposal benefits the other party (e.g., efficiencies, cost savings, risk reduction). It’s a classic soft, pull-style tactic that aims to increase willingness by linking options to the counterpart’s interests.

Deceptive conduct candamage relationshipsand may expose the agreement torescission for misrepresentation(fraudulent/neglectful untrue statements of fact), potentially rendering the contract voidable. We cannot infer she achieved all objectives or gained respect.

Astrategic partnershipis a formal, high-involvement relationship with shared resources and joint governance—appropriate where risk/value is high and close collaboration is essential. Strategic alliances can be looser and not always resource-sharing.

Ahidden agendainvolves unspoken motives or objectives influencing negotiation behaviour. Transparency and open communication help avoid mistrust and unfair advantage.

Positional bargainingstarts from fixed stances and tends toward adversarial exchanges and concession trading, often impeding creative, interest-based outcomes.

The “Hawthorne effect” suggests performance can improve simply because people know they are being studied/observed—attention and interest from management can boost engagement.

Assertive, decisive negotiation styles align withhigh-value, low-risksituations, typically requiring competitive behaviour to maximise value without the complexity of shared risk.

“Skunkworks” refers to a small, independent unit within an organisation that focuses on innovation and experimental projects. It operates with autonomy and minimal bureaucracy, often outside the main corporate structure, to accelerate development.

Physiologicalneeds (air, water, food, rest) sit at the base of Maslow’s pyramid. Higher-order needs (safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualisation) become salient once lower levels are reasonably satisfied.

Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) profiles personality preferences (e.g., introversion/extraversion). It is not a measure of intelligence or job competence.

“Principled negotiation” (sometimes called the Harvard method) is built on four pillars: (1) separate people from the problem; (2) focus on interests, not positions; (3) generate options for mutual gain; and (4) use objective criteria. Bob’s focus on creating options for mutual gain signals the principled approach.