Unit 5 Negotiations - The Culturally Sensitive Servant Leader

Overview

In the last unit we walked through an accountability model that we can use in our personal and work life. The model ended with negotiating the follow up needed to ensure ongoing accountability. This unit will cover negotiating with principles instead of from a fixed position. We will also look the role culture.

Topics

This unit is divided into the following topics:

  • Principles of Negotiations and the BATNA
  • Understanding Cultural Differences in Conflict
  • The Servant Leader in Conflict
  • Conflict Management from a Christian perspective.

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

  • Recognize and respond to cultural differences in negotiation and bargaining strategies
  • Understand the difference between principled and positional bargaining.
  • Understand the use of ‘BATNA’
  • Understand the role that cultural differences have in the negotiation process
  • Compare cultural differences in conflict management.
  • Consider the Christian perspective in approaching conflict

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

Learning Activities

  • Read the article “Better to overestimate than to underestimate others’ feelings: Asymmetric cost of errors in affective perspective-taking” by Nadev Klein and reflect on certain scenarios.
  • Watch the video “Negotiation Principles: GETTING TO YES by Roger Fisher and William Ury | Core Message” and create a table comparing positional and principled bargaining.
  • Watch the video “What is a BATNA” and provide an example of what your BATNA would be in different situations.
  • Watch the video “Racist Glasses (Part 1)” and reflect upon your own cultural background.
  • Read the article “Face Negotiation Theory: Everything You Need to Know” by Jeff Cochrane, answer the question Does this theory resonate with your own experience with conflict?
  • Read the article “Cultural Issues in Mediation: Individualist and Collectivist Paradigms” by Walter A. Wright (2000) and categorize the traits provided into collectivist or individualistic categories.
  • Watch the video “Cultural Differences in Negotiations and Conflicts” and read a set of articles which will be good to consider for your Professional Resource Manual assignment.
  • Read 5 articles about healthy and unhealthy conflict and consider the 10 characteristics of the servant leader. These articles will provide you with the content to consider as you complete Assignment #6: Professional Resource Manual.

Note that the learning activities in this course are ungraded, unless specified. They are designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them

  • Discussion Forum 3 and 4 (5% each)
  • Professional Resource Manual (30%)
  • Final Presentation (20%)

Resources

Here are the resources you will need to complete this unit

  • Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in by Fisher and Ury (2011)
  • Other online resources will be provided in the unit

5.1 Principles of Negotiation and the BATNA

We engage in negotiations every day but maybe not as successfully as we would like. “Negotiation is a back-and-forth communication designed to reach an agreement when you and the other side have some interests that are shared and others that are opposed” (Fisher & Ury, 2011, p. xxvii). Stated simply, negotiating is decision-making with two or more people with a specific outcome in mind. In order to make that decision, those involved need to be able to consider the perspectives of all sides. This means having empathy. Empathy in negotiations is “about recognizing what others need in that moment, and having both the wisdom and courage to bring it” (Fisher & Ury, 2011, p. 56).

Activity: Read and Answer the Questions

Read the article, “Better to overestimate than to underestimate others’ feelings: Asymmetric cost of errors in affective perspective-taking” by Nadev Klein (2019).

Questions to Consider

  • What is the question they are trying to answer?
  • What is perspective taking?
  • What does it have to do with negotiations?
  • What did they discover?

Now look at these photos:

  • What are some typical bargaining situations?
  • How would you negotiate the price for items at the local market?

or

  • A car?
  • A house?
  • Salary for a job?

Fisher and Ury argue that whatever negotiating situation you find yourself in, your approach should:

  1. Be efficient.

  2. Produce a wise agreement.“A wise agreement is defined as one that meets the legitimate interests of each side to the extent possible, resolves conflicting interests fairly, is durable, and takes community interests into account” (p. 4).

  3. Improve the relationship, at the very least, not damage it.

In typical bargaining, each group takes sides and argues from their positions, making concessions until a workable compromise is reached or everyone walks away from the table, no one wins but everyone is frustrated.

This is called positional bargaining.

In positional bargaining, there are two choices; you can take a soft approach or a hard approach.

Soft Hard
Friends Adversaries
The goal is agreement The goal is victory (compete)
Make concessions for the friendship Demand concessions as a condition of the relationship
Soft on people and the problem Hard on problem and people
Trust others Distrust others
Change your positions easily Dig into your position
Make offers (compromise) Make threats
Disclose your bottom line Mislead your bottom line
Accept one-sided losses to reach an agreement Demand one-sided gains as the price of agreement
Search for a single, acceptable answer Single acceptable answer
Try to avoid contest of wills Try to win the contest of wills
Yield to pressure Apply pressure

There is another option: Principled Bargaining.

Activity: Watch and Create

Watch the following video on Negotiation Principles: GETTING TO YES by Roger Fisher and William Ury that illustrates these concepts related to negotiating. Note the differences between positional and principled bargaining.

Then, create a table that outlines the principles and give examples of each.

  • Separate the People from the Problem
  • Focus on Interests, Not Positions
  • Invent Options for Mutual Gain
  • Insist on Using Objective Criteria

Positional bargaining is when, “each side takes a position, argues for it and makes concessions to reach a compromise” (Fischer & Ury, 2011, p. 3).

Principled bargaining is being able to separate the people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent options for mutual gain; insist on using objective criteria.

This table pulls it all together.

Problem: Positional Bargaining. Which game will you play? Solution: Change the game.Negotiate on merits
Soft Hard Principled
Participants are friends.The goal is agreement.
 Participants are adversaries.The goal is victory. Participants are problem-solvers. The goal is a wise outcome reached efficiently and amicably.
Make concessions to cultivate the relationship.Be soft on the people AND the problem.Trust others.
 Demand concessions as a condition of the relationship. Be hard on the problem AND the people. Distrust others. Separate the problem from the people. Be soft on the people and hard on the problem. Proceed independent of trust.
Change your position easily. Make offers. Disclose your bottom line.
 Dig into your position.Make threats. Mislead as to your bottom line. Focus on interests, not positions.Explore interests. Avoid having a bottom line.
Participants are friends.The goal is agreement.
 Participants are adversaries.The goal is victory. Participants are problem-solvers. The goal is a wise outcome reached efficiently and amicably
Make concessions to cultivate the relationship.Be soft on the people AND the problem.Trust others.
 Demand concessions as a condition of the relationship.Be hard on the problem AND the people.Distrust others Separate the problem from the people.Be soft on the people and hard on the problem. Proceed independent of trust.

Activity: Watch and Apply

Another concept introduced by Fisher and Ury (2011) is the idea of the BATNA. Watch the following video ““What is a BATNA” and take note of what BATNA stands for.

After watching the video, give an example of what your BATNA would be in negotiating a raise with your boss. Or purchasing a bike? A car?

5.2 Understanding Cultural Difference in Conflict

Remember, these are different types of conflict:

  • Interpersonal: Between two people

  • Intergroup: Two cultural or social groups perceive disagreements over resources, power, or territory. It could also be two departments in an organization in conflict.

  • Interorganizational: Between two organizations

  • International: Between two countries.

Our world is more connected now than it ever has been. In our day to day lives, we see and interact with people from all over the world. In our places of employment, we may be on a virtual team with people from many different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. These relationships all have the potential for conflict because of perceived or actual incompatibility in goals, interests, resources, values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more people from different cultures (Liu et. al. 2015, p. 252).

Think about the first time you met someone from a different culture.

  • What do you remember?
  • Count how many different cultures have you experienced.
  • Do you have friends that are not from your culture?
  • Do you work with people from different cultures?
  • What differences have you observed in these relationships?

Defining Terms

Culture : - Click here to expand is defined as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people (Northouse, 2019, p. 434).

Culture is also: A way of life, customs, and script of a group of people

Ethnocentrism : - Click here to expand “The tendency for individuals to place their own group at the centre of their observations of others in the world” (Northouse, 2019, p. 432). Is like a pair of glasses that determine how your view the world and the lens is your culture of origin.

Prejudice : - Click here to expand is fixed attitude or belief, or emotion held by one individual about another individual or group based on faulty information.

Stereotypes : - Click here to expand are often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.

Racism : - Click here to expand is the belief that one racial group is superior and that other racial groups are necessarily inferior (Liu et. al. 2015, p. 330). The American Psychological Association defines it as a form of prejudice that assumes that the members of racial categories have distinctive characteristics and that these differences result in some racial groups being inferior to others. Racism generally includes negative emotional reactions to members of the group, acceptance of negative stereotypes, and racial discrimination against individuals; in some cases, it leads to violence. (American Psychological Association).

Activity: Watch and Reflect

Watch the video “Racist Glasses (Part 1)” and reflect upon your own cultural background.

What are the stereotypes for your culture? If you don’t know, do a google search to see what some of the common misconceptions are.

Activity: Read and Reflect

Cultural differences in conflict management have been studied by many but the most well-known is Stella Ting-Tomey’s Face Negotiation Theory(2005).

Read the article Face Negotiation Theory: Everything You Need To Know by Jeff Cochrane.

Does this theory resonate with your own experience with conflict?

Activity: Read and Categorize

Read the article “Cultural Issues in Mediation: Individualist and Collectivist Paradigms” by Walter A. Wright (2000).

After, categorize the following traits into collectivist or individualistic categories.

Activity: Pair and Share

The following resources are good to consider for your Professional Resource Manual assignment.

Watch the video “Cultural Differences in Negotiations and Conflicts”.

Next, read the following articles:

Questions to Consider

  1. What is the circle process?
  2. When is it a valuable tool?
  3. Do you think it would work in intercultural conflict?

Also, read Culture and Conflict | Beyond Intractability (Michelle LeBaron, 2003)

  1. How does this article define culture?

  2. What do they suggest is an appropriate response to conflict through the lens of culture?

After reading these three articles, address the following questions within your learning pods:

  1. What practical ways, suggestion did you learn that would help you address culture related conflict in the workplace.

5.3 Cultural Empathy and Servant Leadership

One concept that has surfaced throughout this course is empathy. We learned about empathy as a component of emotional intelligence. It is also a key in trauma informed conflict management, crucial accountability conversations and earlier in this unit when we read about the value of empathy through perspective taking. Now we see it again from the perspective of having cultural empathy. You could argue that empathy is a leader’s super-power that can be used to effectively manage and hopefully resolve conflict.

Cultural empathy is “the learned ability of the participants to understand accurately the self-experiences of others from diverse cultures and, concurrently, the ability to convey their understanding responsively and effectively to reach the ‘cultural ears’ of the culturally different others in the conflict situation” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2005, p. 282).

Cultural empathy is built by:

  1. Checking yourself for possible cultural biases and hidden prejudices in the conflict episode.
  2. Suspending your rigidly held intergroup stereotypes.
  3. Not pretending to understand but instead asking for clarification.
  4. Using reflective time and appropriate silence to gauge your own understanding of the others’ conflict perspective.
  5. Seeking to capture the core conflict emotions, metaphor, meaning…. echo it back with your own words with carefully phrased words and gestures.

(Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2005, p. 283).

Empathy is a superpower of the servant leader.

Activity: Read and Discuss

As you read these articles, define the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict.

Consider the 10 characteristics of the servant leader and apply them to healthy conflict management, as we have learned in this course. These articles will provide you with the content to consider as you complete Assignment #6: Professional Resource Manual.

Pair and Share

Activity: Discussion Question 3 (Graded)

Cultural differences in conflict and negotiations.

After reading this week posted articles, respond to the following questions

  • Do you align with collectivism or individualism and why? Give a personal example that demonstrates your thinking. Share one idea from the readings that is new to you.

  • Based on your perspective (collectivist or individualist), what is one strategy you would use to develop cultural empathy?

To participate in this Discussion Forum, please proceed to the “Assessment” tab. There, you will find all the relevant information, including instructions and rubrics for the Forum.

5.4 Conflict Management from a Christian Perspective.

Trinity Western University is a Christian university as reflected in the vision and mission of the university.

God created us and knows our human nature is to seek our own way in every situation. Therefore, He has given us guidelines and examples of how to and how not to manage our inter-human relationships, including conflict. As you read the slides, reflect on each principle and your Discussion forum question will ask you to provide your response.

Trinity Western University’s Vision for you when you graduate

To eqip you to think truthfully, To act justly, To love faithfully. Why? To do good in the World and the glory of God.

Principle #1: Peace

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”. (Romans 12:18)

Peace is the end goal but tat doesn’t mean there isn’t disagreement before we get there.

Principle #2 : Seek to Understand

Matthew 7:3-5, jesus says, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?…First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Before Jumping to conclusions, find a way to see it from anothers perspective> Listen carefully to the other person.

Principle #3: Truth and Love

“Speak the trith in love.” (Ephesians 4:15).

In any conflict, speak truthfully abd honestly but with love. Empathy.

Principle # 4: Forgiveness

For if you forgive others their worngs, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their wrongs, neither will your Father forgive your wrongs.” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Holding on to wrongs that others have done will only bring harm to you, not onnly them.

Principle #5: Reconciliation

“If your brother sins aganist you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15)

The ultimate goal of conflict resolution is reconciliation and the restoration of relationship(s).

Activity: Discussion Question 4 (Graded)

The five principles of conflict management from a Christian perspective are:

  1. Peace
  2. Seek to understand
  3. Truth and Love
  4. Forgiveness
  5. Reconciliation

Question 1: Which of these do personally think is the hardest to achieve and why?

Question 2: Connect at least one of these principles to the conflict management principles we have looked at in this course so far.

To participate in this Discussion Forum, please proceed to the “Assessment” tab. There, you will find all the relevant information, including instructions and rubrics for the Forum.

Unit 5 Summary

In this unit, you learned about principled negotiations and the value of having a BATNA when you enter those negotiations. You explored the role culture plays in negotiations and conflict management, including how Face Negotiation Theory can inform different cultural responses in those situations. You also reviewed the characteristics of servant leadership and how empathy can be the superpower in conflict management. Finally, you were introduced to the Christian perspective of conflict resolution as outlined in the Bible.

Assessment

Please locale under the “Assessment” tab all information, including instructions, rubrics, and dropboxes for the following assignments.

Discussion Forum 4 and 5

After completing this unit, including the learning activities, you are asked to participate in two discussion forums. Please find them at the end of Topic 3 and 4.

Presentation

In teams of two or three, you will present orally (or pre-recorded) summarizing the course content by choosing a real-life conflict issue (personally or professionally) to examine, explore, research and to share the results of the outcome. You must show evidence of meeting the CLO’s in your presentation.

Professional Resource Manual

You will work in teams of two to three to create a Professional Resource Manual. You will prepare a thorough and well laid out professional looking document that reflects you have met all seven course learning outcomes. It is an opportunity to use creativity in design and presentation.

Checking your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:

The final assignment for this course is the Professional Resource Manual.

  • Recognize and respond to cultural differences in negotiation and bargaining strategies
  • Understand the difference between principled and positional bargaining.
  • Understand the use of ‘BATNA’
  • Understand the role that cultural differences have in the negotiation process
  • Compare cultural differences in conflict management.
  • Consider the Christian perspective in approaching conflict

References

American Psychological Association (March, 2023). Racism, Bias and Discrimination. https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination

Cochrane, J. (June 2, 2023).Face Negotiations Theory: Everything you need to know. Shapiro Negotiations.
https://www.shapironegotiations.com/face-negotiation-theory-everything-you-need-to-know/

Fisher, R. & Ury, W (2011).Getting to Yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in.Penguin Books.

Klein, N, (2019). Better to overestimate than to underestimate others’ feelings:Asymmetric cost of errors in affective perspective-taking.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.151.
1-15.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597817302145?via%3Dihub

Liu, S., Volčič, Z., & Gallois, C. (2015). Introducing Intercultural Communication: Global Cultures and Contexts.Sage Publishing.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice.8th Ed. Sage.

Ting-Toomey, S. & Chung, L. C. (2005).Understanding Intercultural Communication.Oxford University Press.