ZHOU, John - Self-Reflection Paper PDF

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Self-Reflection Paper This course definitely helped me learn using a hands-on exercise approach. One of which I would not have been able to practice elsewhere. I liked how each week was a different topic that helped expand our perspectives on what kinds of different international negotiation situations existed. Some negotiation exercises were more simple and straightforward, while others were more in-depth and focused on a specific topic to reach a learning goal. I was able to learn my strengths through successful negotiations. And from my failures during some of the negotiation exercises, I was able to understand my weaknesses when it came to negotiation. It also helps to keep in mind for later, so that I don’t make the same mistake when the actual time comes to use my skills in real-time. One of the most memorable negotiation exercises for me was the Mexico Venture negotiation exercise. This was the exercise that really tested my ability to negotiation with someone of a different culture. It helped me realize that I didn’t have the level of cultural sensitivity that I thought I always had. The biggest mistake I made during this negotiation was that I went right into the business before taking the time to meet and get to know the other party. This caused the other party to assume a bad impression of me and lose interest in doing business with me. If I had a second chance to negotiate with someone of a foreign culture, I would definitely take the time to understand their culture beforehand, and also take some time after introductions to get to know him on a more personal level first. What was most important for this negotiation to be successful was for me, as an American, to research the norms and customs of the Mexican culture before trying to negotiate with a Mexican. I will keep in mind that I must make sure to do prior research and conduct the negotiation accordingly with respect to the culture of the other party.

Something else that I learned about myself as a negotiator is that I don’t get angry easily (even if I am instructed to act angry). I guess a strength for me would be that I naturally control my anger and avoid negative conflict. The Myti-Pet negotiation exercise confidential information helped me realize that anger doesn’t help in any situation and you must be able to control anger conflicts in order to carry out a successful negotiation. At the beginning of the negotiation, after our party stated our desired outcome from the negotiation and that we demanded a certain outcome in a subtly demanding manner, the other party responded with even more anger. I knew everyone in our party was given instruction to act with anger for the first 10 minutes. However, due to the angry reaction from the other party, I assumed they were given the same instructions. This was probably not the best way to go about with the negotiation because it results in persistent conflict. After a while, tension began to go down as we shifted away from talking about the possibility of a lawsuit. This exercise reminded me the importance of conflict management. One of the most straightforward and informational negotiation exercises was the LesFlorets negotiation. I felt as if this exercise offered the fundamental information that should be carried out through every following negotiation. This was the one where we learned the basics of a BATNA and whether it will influence our ultimate decision to execute a deal or no deal. However, my specific experience with this negotiation exercise didn’t go as well as it should have. One of the biggest obstacles of this negotiation was communication with the other party. There was definitely not enough trust and understanding between both parties in order to conclude with a mutually beneficial deal. In order to avoid confusion, I should probably clearly state the reasons why I offered what I did. Particularly with this negotiation, I took on the role of the buyer for Les-Florets. Along with buying the restaurant, I also offered continued employment

to the original owner to be the manager of the restaurant. The reason why I offered continued employment was because I needed a manager who knew how to do his job and did a good job with it. I would then also offer fair compensation for continued employment as well. I might not have clearly stated that during the negotiation, therefore we were probably not on the same page. Another exercise that required trust between both parties was the Cartoon negotiation. In order to come to a win-win situation with the best outcome, both parties needed to figure out how much money and episodes to agree upon in order to gain the most after the end of the contract. Of course the tedious calculations made this process even more difficult. I would say this negotiation was difficult in the sense that both parties didn’t really know what to expect as the final outcome in terms of Net Value for each side. The opposing party did seem very nice so that they weren’t seemingly aggressive to fight for a greedy sum. What I took out of this exercise was that it would be best to analyze what kind of situation the negotiation activity is asking for; in this case: doing business with a company so that both parties can earn the highest profit achievable requires trust and openness to share information. There were so many times in which I relied solely on my personal experiences to carry out the negotiation. I tend to not pay too much attention on how each one was unique and required certain tactics in order to come to a successful win-win negotiation. I now understand that every negotiation is not created equal and I must take the extra time and attention to prepare for the negotiation. I’ll make sure to keep these experiences in mind when meeting for my next real-life negotiation; which, hopefully, will be a salary negotiation....