Negotiations - Knowledge, Research and Skills

Negotiation Skills

Negotiation skills are becoming increasingly recognized as important to effective management and personal success.

Research at one time identified some common mistakes being made in negotiations.

1. Negotiating persons tend to be overly affected by the frame, or form of presentation, of information in a negotiation.
2. Even when a course of action is no longer the most reasonable alternative, negotiators tend to nonrationally escalate commitment to a previously selected or advocated course of action.
3. Negotiators tend to assume that their gain must come at the expense of the other party and thereby miss opportunities for mutually beneficial trade-offs  between the parties.
4. Negotiators judgments tend to be anchored on irrelevant information, such as initial offer.
5. Negotiators tend to rely on readily available information.
6. Negotiators tend to fail to consider information that is available by focusing on the opponent's perspective.
7. Negotiators tend to be overconfident concerning the likelihood of attaining outcomes that favor the individual(s) involved.

 Traditionally, negotiators have depended on distributed and positional bargaining. Distributed bargaining assumes a "fixed pie" and focuses on how to get the biggest share, or "slice of the pie" for the benefit of the negotiating party. Positional bargaining approach involved successively taking and then giving up, a sequence of positions. A position involves telling the other side what you want.

Strategies called soft and hard are used in traditional ways of negotiating.  Characteristics of the "hard strategy" include the following: the goal is victory, distrust others, dig into your position, make threats, try to win contest of will, apply pressure.

Soft strategy includes characteristics: The goal is agreement, trust others, change your position easily,  make offers,  try to avoid a contest of will, and yield to pressure.


The traditional approach is now being challenged by more effective alternative negotiation skills.

Whetten and Cameron suggest an approach that takes an "expanding the pie" perspective and advocates finding win-win outcomes. The approach recommends:
1. Establishing superordinate goals.
2. Separating people from the problem
3. Focusing on interests, not positions
4. Inventing options for mutual gain.
5. Using objective criteria.

In terms of negotiation techniques or manoevres the following are identified as in use by negotiators.

 Practical low-risk strategies include flattery, addressing the easy points first, silence, inflated opening position, and "oh, poor me."

High-risk strategies include unexpected temper losses, high-balling, Boulwarism, and waiting until the last moment.

Harvard Negotiation Project came up with principled negotiation approach or negotiation on the merits approach. This is an  integrative approach, which uses a problem-solving, collaborative strategy, and the principled, or negotiation on the merits approach, which emphasizes people, interests, options, and criteria. These negotiation skills  change the game, leading to a win-win, wise agreement.

Along with social, emotional, behavioral, leadership, team, and communication skills, negotiation skills are becoming increasingly recognized as important to effective management.

Principled Negotiation Approach

Positional style of negotiation,

With the positional style of negotiation, each party starts with an extreme (may be unjustified) position. The basis for this approach is the belief that the ultimate solution will be favorable only if the initial offer is extreme and concessions are done. But it is zero-sum game. One party will win and one will lose and in many case of street buying situations, seller comes down drastically.

But deals and settlements in positional negotiations come with a steep non- monetary price. Trust becomes the victim and in the next negotiation also both parties bargain heavily. Thus, the process creates (or perpetuates) an adversarial relationship between the two parties.

Principled negotiation seeks to establish a foundation and climate where parties can be creative in searching for mutually beneficial solutions to a shared problem. This approach preserves, and may even enhance, ongoing relationships.

Four basic elements of principled negotiation were put forth by Fisher and Ury (1991) in their book Getting to Yes (1981).

FOUR PRINCIPLES -  PRINCIPLED NEGOTIATION

People -- Separate the people from the problem.
Interests -- Focus on interests, not positions.
Options -- Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do.
Criteria -- Insist that the result be based on some objective standard.


Four Negotiation Skills For Regular People
https://www.thehedgescompany.com/four-negotiation-skills-regular-people/


Principled versus Positional Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals
79th Annual International ISM Conference Proceedings - 1994 - Atlanta, GA
 https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/pubs/Proceedings/confproceedingsdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5205&SSO=1

Recent Articles on Negotiations - Quotes

Negotiation Is Changing
Noam Ebner
Journal of Dispute Resolution, Vol. 2017 (1), 99-143.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2915204

Abandon zero-sum games in transactions and deals  

Claim up to 42% more value.
(quote created by NRao)

At MarketWatch Centre for Negotiation, we’ve found that negotiators can claim up to 42% more value in a deal by abandoning zero-sum games and creating a relationship based on trust and collaboration.
Why Negotiators Still Aren't 'Getting To Yes'
Keld Jensen, FEB 5, 2013
https://www.forbes.com/sites/keldjensen/2013/02/05/why-negotiators-still-arent-getting-to-yes/#1b6c1a9f2640


More References on Negotiation

IVY EXEC - Articles on Negotiation
https://www.ivyexec.com/executive-insights/category/advancing/negotiation-skills/


Books on Negotiation Skills


Negotiating at Work: Turn Small Wins Into Big Gains

Deborah M. Kolb, Jessica L. Porter
John Wiley & Sons, 27-Jan-2015 - Business & Economics - 288 pages


Understand the context of negotiations to achieve better results

Negotiation has always been at the heart of solving problems at work.  What has been missed in much of the literature of the past 30 years is that negotiations in organizations always take place within a context—of organizational culture, of prior negotiations, of power relationships—that dictates which issues are negotiable and by whom. When we negotiate for new opportunities or increased flexibility, we never do it in a vacuum. We challenge the status quo and we build out the path for others to negotiate those issues after us. In this way, negotiating for ourselves at work can create small wins that can grow into something bigger, for ourselves and our organizations.

Negotiating at Work offers practical advice for managing your own workplace negotiations: how to get opportunities, promotions, flexibility, buy-in, support, and credit for your work. It does so within the context of organizational dynamics, recognizing that to negotiate with someone who has more power adds a level of complexity.

 Negotiating at Work is rooted in real-life cases of professionals from a wide range of industries and organizations, both national and international.

Strategies to get the other person to the table and engage in creative problem solving, even when they are reluctant to do so
Tips on how to recognize opportunities to negotiate, bolster your confidence prior to the negotiation, turn 'asks' into a negotiation, and advance negotiations that get "stuck"
A rich examination of research on negotiation, conflict management, and gender
By using these strategies, you can negotiate successfully for your job and your career; in a larger field, you can also alter organizational practices and policies that impact others.
Preview
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=F7FYBQAAQBAJ






Training Materials

Advanced Labor Negotiations
US Army, 1985
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030450211;view=1up;seq=1


Updated 8 December 2017, 5 December 2017

Manufacturing Sector - Business and Management Issues and Trends

September 2017

The McKinsey Global Institute finds that the United States could boost annual manufacturing value added by up to $530 billion (20 percent) over current trends by 2025.

By 2025, consumption in emerging markets will hit $30 trillion.

Industry 4.0, is driven by developments in data aquisition, storage and analytics,  machine learning, new forms of human–machine interaction (such as touch interfaces and augmented-reality systems), and the ability to transmit digital instructions to the physical world. In combination, the technologies can run smart, cost-efficient, and automated plants that produce large volumes—or, conversely, plants that turn out highly customized products.

https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/americas/making-it-in-america-revitalizing-us-manufacturing

Business Model Innovation

Managerial Opportunity Recognition in Business Model Innovation

Marijan Topic
GRIN Verlag, 06-Nov-2017 - Business & Economics - 159 pages


Master's Thesis from the year 2017 Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg


The goal of this Master’s thesis is to examine the relationship between managerial Opportunity Recognition (OR) and business model innovations (BMIs) in established organizations. In order to meet the complexity of the topic, this thesis is focused on factors that hinder or help managers in recognizing business opportunities. Focusing on incumbent firms, this paper conducts further research to identify the main influencing factors, including challenges, vulnerabilities, and obstacles. The thesis is divided into six parts, starting with a brief description of the research topic, including the problem position and objective.

Second, a literature review is conducted to summarize the state of research, including theoretical foundations. The results are then synthesized into a summary

The third part of the thesis consists of expert interviews. Derived from the literature review, a guideline for interviews is developed to treat the research gaps in an appropriate way and to meet the complexity of the task setting. The explorative survey aims to identify the challenges and drivers of managerial OR in BMI and to identify approaches that have not yet been addressed in scientific literature to a significant extent.

The core of the analysis is the splitting of the BM into the elements value proposition, value creation, and value capture. This ensures that all the facets of a company ́s BM are accurately addressed and form the basis for high-quality results.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=9DI9DwAAQBAJ



40 Principles for Business Model Innovation

The 40 principles for innovation, based on TRIZ adjusted for business problems, is the result of an analysis of close to three million successful inventive solutions from areas such as science, arts, politics.

http://tbmdb.blogspot.in/2009/03/40-principles-for-business-model.html

Psychology for Managers - Introduction

http://lumenlearning.com/courses-intro-psychology/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-psychology/

Scope and Definition of Manufacturing - Production Management

Manufacturing creates man-made goods from various materials. The goods, more specifically called finished  goods are created through manufacturing processes. Modern manufacturing employs machines to produce goods. Manufacturing management plans, organizes, acquires resources required for manufacture, allocates those resources to various departments, directs and controls manufacturing activity.The aims of manufacturing management are producing goods according to the specifications of the customer or of the product design department if it is made to stock product developed by the company, in amounts and by the schedule demanded at minimum cost. Manufacturing is carried out in factories or manufacturing plants. A manufacturing plant and the various activities carried out in it can also be described as a manufacturing system. Modern manufacturing systems have machines, methods, men, material, motive power, money and management essential components of the system. In terms of assets used in accounting terminology, we can say manufacturing system has both long term assets (fixed assets) and current assets (short term assets).

Manufacturing management involves plans and  decisions regarding long term assets and short term assets, manufacturing methods and manpower.

We can say the long term decisions are in the areas of design, installation and improvement of specified products, manufacturing processes to produce those products, equipment for production, transportation, inspection etc., industrial buildings, location of the plant, layout of the plant. recruitment of permanent manpower and training to develop them into skilled operators in the processes employed by the organization etc. Manufacturing management has to be effective and efficient. Effectiveness refers to producing what customers want in quantities according to the delivery time requested. Efficiency refers to the cost dimension and wastes that occur in manufacturing systems if special attention is not paid to eliminate them.  Industrial engineering is a specialized discipline providing efficiency improvement service at design, installation and improvement stages of manufacture.  

The short term decisions of manufacturing are related production quantities in year, quarter, month etc., inventories, temporary increases or reductions in manpower, overtime decisions to take care of sudden increases in demand, or some exigencies, short term cost budgets, and other incidental  day to day activities. Production planning and control, inventory planning and control, cost control, quality control, maintenance planning and control etc. are some of the well known short term manufacturing management areas that are well developed as independent subjects in manufacturing management degree curriculums. Similarly, new product development, process planning, facilities planning, manufacturing strategy, industrial engineering etc. are well developed subjects dealing with long term aspects of manufacturing management. Industrial engineering became a degree level curriculum as number of methods were developed in this area providing a scope for specially educated and trained professionals in this discipline. Value engineering, Methods Efficiency Engineering, Motion Study, Work Measurement, Ergonomics, Operations Research, Engineering Economics, Applied Statistics, Six Sigma, SMED, Poka Yoke Design etc. are full subjects in industrial engineering curriculums apart  from the basic engineering knowledge in various engineering branches, knowledge of business processes and managerial processes.

Manufacturing managers at various levels are responsible for both effectiveness and efficiency. But they can employ industrial engineers in their department either on full time basis or on assignment basis from their organization industrial engineering department or on consultancy basis from outside industrial engineering organizations.

Elwood S. Buffa, well known author of Modern Production Management first published in 1961 included the following topics to introduce the scope of production management. 

Long Term Decision Areas

Production processes

Automation and Use of Computers (Presently CAD-CAM or CIM)

Design of Jobs and Work Methods

Design of The Working Environment

Production Design of Products and Process Planning

Plant Location

Layout of Physical Facilities

Short Term Decision Areas

Inventory and Production Control

Maintenance

Control of Quality

Production Standards and Work Measurement

Wages and Labor Costs

Control and Improvement of Production Costs.

It is important to state that managerial skills are classified as business conceptual skills, people related skills and technical skills. So manufacturing managers need to have the knowledge to conceive a business opportunity to their department assets and people, knowledge to manage people related to the supply chain that starts  from suppliers of materials and ends with the customer, and technical skills in various methods involved in the manufacturing establishment to plan them, organized them, acquire resources, allocate resources, and direct and control the activities.

References

Elwood S. Buffa, Modern Production Management, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1961.

Related Article
Manufacturing Management - Introduction


Planned Revision of Operations Management/Production Management Book Chapters  - March Month



Advances in Production Management Systems. Initiatives for a Sustainable World: IFIP WG 5.7 International Conference, APMS 2016, Iguassu Falls, Brazil, September 3-7, 2016, Revised Selected Papers

Irenilza Nääs, Oduvaldo Vendrametto, João Mendes Reis, Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves, Márcia Terra Silva, Gregor von Cieminski, Dimitris Kiritsis
Springer, 15-Mar-2017 - Computers - 962 pages


This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the International IFIP WG 5.7 Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems, APMS 2016, held in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, in September 2016.

The 117 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 164 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: computational intelligence in production management; intelligent manufacturing systems; knowledge-based PLM; modelling of business and operational processes; virtual, digital and smart factory; flexible, sustainable supply chains; large-scale supply chains; sustainable manufacturing; quality in production management; collaborative systems; innovation and collaborative networks; agrifood supply chains; production economics; lean manufacturing; cyber-physical technology deployments in smart manufacturing systems; smart manufacturing system characterization; knowledge management in production systems; service-oriented architecture for smart manufacturing systems; advances in cleaner production; sustainable production management; and operations management in engineer-to-order manufacturing.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=khBhDgAAQBAJ

Updated 22 October 2017, 17 March 2017

Business Logistics - An Introduction

Logistics – Introduction

A dictionary definition of logistics is “the branch of military science having to do with procuring, maintaining, and transporting material, personnel, and facilities.”

The definition promulgated by the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), is: “Logistics is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.”

Ballou explained that in the context of manufacturing it appears from the definition that the logistician is concerned with flow of goods to and from his firm. But the responsibility extends to the flow of components and goods through the production process as well. But the logistician may not deal with detailed production processes, machine scheduling, quality control etc. in the production process. Also the manufacturing logistics definition excludes maintenance which is a part of military logistics.

The mission of logistics in a business firm is to get the right goods or services to the right place, at the right time, and in the desired condition, while making the greatest contribution to the firm. Value in logistics is a combination of time, place and cost.

Logistics is about creating value – value for customers, value for suppliers and value for the firm’s stakeholders.

The Activities of Logistics Function

Council of Logistics Management identified the following:

• Customer Service
• Demand Forecasting
• Distribution Communications
• Inventory Control
• Material handling
• Order Processing
• Part and Service Support
• Plant and Warehouse Site Selection
• Purchasing
• Packaging
• Return Goods Handling
• Salvage and Scarp Disposal
• Traffic and Transportation
• Warehousing and Storage

Case for Organizing a Separate Logistics Department

Both marketing and production have recognized the importance of logistical activities. According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges with target groups that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”

Therefore distribution of goods is identified as an important activity in marketing. Ballou quotes, McClain and Thomas, who stated that operations management has the responsibility for the production and delivery of physical goods and services. Hence delivery of goods at destinations required by the customer or the sales department is recognized as a part of operations management function.

But Ballou argued that both marketing and production have more important core activities to perform and hence logistic activities may not get adequate attention. According to him marketing may be given the job of creating possession value and production may be given the job of creating form value. A separate logistics department would be concerned with providing time and place value. Ballou recognized the interface problems that arise as more departments are created and hence stresses the need for coordination.

Objectives of Business Logistics Function

The logistics function has to earn the highest possible return on investment over time as far as internal objective is concerned. But to achieve this internal objective it has to first achieve external objectives. It has to earn revenue and minimize costs.

Therefore a logistics system has to be designed and operated considering its impact on revenue contribution that comes through the quality of customer service provided and cost of logistics facilities, system and operation.

Costs of logistics function include capital costs are operating costs. Wages, public warehousing (rented warehouses or warehouse space) expenses, public transport expenses, financial expenses related to inventory investment, other administrative expenses are examples of operating costs. Capital costs are one time costs, own warehouse, own trucks are examples of capital costs.

The financial objective of the logistics function can be expressed as “Maximize over the time the ratio of the annual revenue (due to the customer level provided) less the operating costs of the logistics system to the annualized investment in the logistic system.”

Time value of money may be considered and the objective can be expressed in net present value (NPV) terms or internal rate of return (IRR) terms.

Study of Logistics

Study of logistics can focus on management process and the skills needed to perform the activities involved. Management process can be briefly described as planning, organizing and controlling. The three important domain areas of logistics are facilities location, inventory levels and mix, and transport facilities. Logistics function is concerned with providing service levels to customers and managing costs appropriately for the company. All decision making requires information. Study of logistics includes principles and practices related to the above issues.  Some of the issues are discussed in detail in specialized texts related to those areas and a logistician has to examine them now in the context of logistics.

References

The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management: Understanding the Supply Chain

Alan Rushton, Phil Croucher, Peter Baker
Kogan Page Publishers, 03-Jan-2017 - Business & Economics - 912 pages

The definitive guide to supply chain philosophy, strategy AND the practicalities of logistics and distribution. The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management is a step-by-step guide to setting up and managing supply chains to add maximum value to the organisations they serve. Benefiting from the author team's years of practical field-based experience in some of the most challenging environments across the world from developed economies to third world countries and war zones, this is a book that will enthuse students and be an invaluable desk reference throughout the careers of practitioners.

Packed with worked examples and real-world data The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management offers complete coverage on all the key aspects of distribution, logistics and supply chain planning and management with clear and straightforward explanations. This is not a compilation of work drawn from a disparate collection of research papers and miscellaneous projects but a logical and complete holistic view of how supply chains fit together including the detailed, nitty gritty of the distribution and logistics.

Globalisation, increased competition and new technologies have all changed the landscape in which supply chains operate. This fully revised 6th edition of The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management provides solutions to the key challenges. With new material on international freight forwarding, environmental best practice, cool chain, intermodal shipping and outsourcing and a new, detailed index of contents this is the ultimate study/reference companion.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=g_vTDQAAQBAJ

Ronald H. Ballou, Business Logistics Management, Fourth Edition,  Prentice Hall Int. Inc., USA,  1999.
Joh O. McClain and L. Joseph Thomas, Operations Management: Production of Goods and Services, Second Edition, Prentice Hall, USA, 1985.

http://www.bms.co.in/elements-of-logistics-management-notes/




http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/business-logistics-an-introduction/ 2utb2lsm2k7a/ 1384


Updated 6 October 2017, 30 May 2012

October - Management Knowledge Revision

October  (Information Technology and Management Information Systems, Logistics - Warehousing and Transport)

October 1 to 5

Principles of Information Systems - Ralph M. Stair and George W. Reynolds
http://nraomtr.blogspot.com/2015/10/principles-of-information-systems-ralph.html

An Introduction to Information Systems

2.
Foundations of Information Sytems
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/introduction.pdf

E-Business
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/E_Business.pdf

3.
Competitive advantage with information systems
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/CA.pdf

IT Infrastructure
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/ITI.pdf

4.

Communication and Networking
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/CN.pdf

Improving decision making and managing knowledge
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/IDM.pdf

5.
Enterprise Applications
http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/~csajaykr/EAP.pdf

Economics of Information Technology - Hal Varian
people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/mattioli/mattioli.pdf


October 8 - 12

Logistics - Warehousing and Transport




October 15 - 19



October  22 - 26







October 23  - 29

Industrial Engineers support Engineers and Managers in Efficiency Improvement of Products, Processes and Systems

One Year MBA Knowledge Revision Plan

January  - February  - March  - April  - May   -   June

July  - August     - September  - October  - November  - December


Updated 6 October 2017, 6 June 2014