Module 1 What is Negotiation? Alternative Methods of Making Decisions
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- Navigate this page:
- Red and Blue Styles of Negotiation
- The Purple Negotiator
- The difficult Negotiator
- Dealing with a difficult negotiator
The Card GameAnother illustration of this principle is a profit maximising game, in which negotiators play with blue and red cards and get scores depending on the combinations of cards they play: 10 rounds are played and the goal is to maximise their scores. After 4 rounds and after 8 rounds they can co-ordinate. The scores for rounds 9 and 10 are doubled. Clearly it is in the best interest of both players to play blue cards throughout the game, since they can maximize their scores to be 36 each. This does not happen in 92% of the cases. The fear of suffering a loss ‘because the other might play red’ makes the majority play a red card, thereby minimizing their risk of loss to 3 points, with a potential win of 5 points. Playing blue with a potential loss of 5 whilst the prospective gain is 3 is often considered an undesirable risk: you can be taken advantage of (giving but not getting…).  Those who play blue and receive red usually play red over the next round in retaliation. At the end of 4 rounds, most players have less than 12 points. Then they co-ordinate. If one player has played one blue, they could agree to even the scores in round 5 and then play blue cards. In the 10th rounds there is another incentive to play a red card. Thus, players play red, not because they don’t see that playing blue is better, but because they act in self-protection: playing red ensures a smaller loss then when good intentions are betrayed. People do not defect because they want to, but because they must.
Bombastic and patronizing manner. Results oriented. Competitive. To protect themselves: ‘I play red not because I want to, but because I must’. To exploit others: ‘I play red not because I must, but because I want to’. Red ploys:
Do not judge a Red style solely on the basis of the tone of the negotiators; rely instead always on your judgement of the content of the proposal. The Blue Style negotiating behavior is based on ‘more for me means more for you’: the promotion of a long-term relationship and straight dealing. Submission, preference for peace not war, desire for tranquility. Collaborative. Need desperately to be liked, even loved, and in pursuit of this goal they concede everything. Blue ploys: Measured risk/ testing for blue responses on minor matters Always linking issues Realistic offers Seek and reveal interests One takes at the expense of the other and the other gives to the singular benefit of the other; therefore neither is a preferred style. Red/Blue continuum: Extreme Red – Moderate Red – Moderate Blue – Extreme Blue The Purple NegotiatorThe most effective behavior is not to adopt either of these styles, but rather to switch between them, as the circumstances require. This is referred to as the Purple Style. Combine your Red side with your Blue side in assertive conditional proposals and bargains and do not let them be separated – ever! The difficult NegotiatorIn the games we have seen so far, the goal was to maximize scores. We saw that this is difficult because a lack of trust ‘forces’ one to play red. How do you deal with a negotiator that deliberately plays red? You get results based on the merits of a case, rather accepting something because of behavior. The consequences of matching blue and red styles are as follows: Playing blue means being exploited, thus negotiators often play red, at least not to be exploited. Thus, we return to the negotiator’s dilemma: ‘I play Red not because I want, but because I must’. But this hardly leads to desired outcomes…  Robert Axelrod showed with his Tit-for-Tat (TFT) game that a structural reaction to the behavior of the other party shows them the right way. If they play red, you play red. What you really want is to get them to play blue. By reacting consistently the other negotiator will find that if they play red, you do and if they play blue, you will. Recall the summary of the strategy: always open Blue, never initiate Red (be ‘nice’); play whatever the other player plays in the previous round (be ‘consistent’ – ‘punish’ red play; ‘reward’ blue play – ‘instant forgiveness without being vindictive’). Dealing with a difficult negotiatorDownload 0.61 Mb. Share with your friends:
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