Blog post #6

I think power and persuasion played a big part in this past negotiation about the Jac 36 model. Each member had a different position which held different levels of power. For example, The VP of finance was a very powerful person in this situation. I think out of everyone the VP of finance was the person that everyone wanted to persuade with their own opinions. My position on the other hand was a lower power level position, I was the senior engineer of the company. I think my group members were able to respect my opinions in this negotiation because I made it clear to them that I worked with the company for 25 years and the president trusted me. The VP of finance was given a structural source of power because the president of the company was out and unable to attend the meeting.

As far as persuasion goes in this negotiation many of us used "The principal of liking". The only person that my role had a problem with in this negotiation was VP of manufacturing. At first we did not get along, so I was able to form coalitions with people who I did agree with/get along with in my group. Since my role, research and development, and VP of sales agreed on a few things we continued to negotiate and work together to come up with the best outcome for the company.

The principal of reciprocity was also brought into this situation. At first we all wanted to go with our own opinions and argued our reasoning. After a few talks we were able to accept one thing if we were reciprocated with the respect of doing something in our own favor too. For example, My group was set on doing the portable Jac 36 and discontinuing the old one all together. Since I was the senior engineer I felt that I needed to go to a summer engineering seminar so I could perform the best on our new Jac 36. I agreed to creating the new portable Jac if the company would pay for my seminar, which they did. This situation was a win-win.

Power and persuasion are two key aspects to have when negotiating. If someone has power they are more likely to be agreed with and respected for what they need to say. Also, if someone is able to be persuasive and they have the right information to back up their opinions they are able to win a negotiation without a doubt.