Understanding ourselves and others

Understanding ourselves and others

Negotiation

Negotiation is a process of decision making that involves two or more parties who have conflicting interests. Negotiation is used in conflict resolution to settle differences between different parties such as management of companies and unions of employees through machinery called collective bargaining. In any process of negotiation there are two goals to be considered which are substantive and relationship goals.

A substantive goal enables us to settle some claims that involve giving or receiving some benefits. A negotiation for salary increase is a good example of a substantive goal in negotiation. Relationship goals represent the outcomes of decision and their objective is to put the negotiating parties together to work as a team after the negotiation has been reached. As a result effective negotiation requires that substantive issues are resolved while fostering a harmonious relationship between the parties involved in the process of negotiation.

Whichever process of negotiation is followed, the process must follow two approaches which are; distributive and integrative approach. The distributive approaches is a win/ lose or zero/sum game kind of approach and on the other hand integrative approach is a collaborative approach where both parties involved in the negotiation process make a concerted effort to expand the possible outcomes of their decisions and this is achieved by sharing the benefits. 

The distributive approach to negotiation is taken in cases where the parties involved in the negotiation process intend to settle their differences by taking into consideration mutually exclusive goals. As a result, both parties have the intention of withholding as much information as possible while trying to obtain the maximum amount of information from the other party. Often in distributive negotiation approach, it becomes increasingly difficult to make informed decisions since the agreement is reached between the parties without adequate amounts of information to back up the process of decision making. In contrast the integrative approach to negotiation, the goals of the parties involved are not mutually exclusive and as a result none of the parties gains at the expense of the other. The two negotiating parties work hand in hand to optimize the resources at their disposal in the best possible way so as to benefit mutually from the agreement reached upon. In integrative negotiation the goal is to gain tangible benefits while in integrative negotiating the goal is to gain both tangible as well as intrinsic satisfaction. As a result in integrative negotiation, the parties adopt a supportive attitude which is fostered by empathy and the parties take informed decisions.

During the negotiation process two parties seek to reach a mutual agreement through bargaining. Win-win negotiations are only possible when the parties are prepared to give up something so as to achieve something that the other party has. This is the best kind of negotiation approach since all parties benefit in a mutually inclusive way that ensures satisfaction among the negotiating parties.

Time management

Time is a limited resource that can never be replaced once it is lost. People have always wished they could have more hours in a day to do important things. There is a solution to this common problem which might be easier than we realize. This is known as time management. Time management is the process of planning and organizing how to divide our time more effectively in between specific activities. Proper time management allows a person to work smarter and not necessarily faster so as to get more done in less time even at times when time is limited and pressure is high. Failure to manage time leads to ineffectiveness and caused stress. By making a few minor adjustments in how we utilize out rime it is possible to change how we manage time. Effective time management is something that can potentially change our lives for the better.

All daily cycles consist of twenty four hours. This is one factor of time that cannot be changed. Even though we cannot control time we can control how the time we have is utilized. Realizing this simple fact is the first step to being successful in our own time management.  It is very important to record what is important in our daily life and focus on allocating time for those things that are of importance to us. Anything in our daily routines that is not important should be done away with.

Developing the skills required to effectively manage our time is bound to bring about important improvements in our lives on a dramatic scale. One must be ready to make fundamental changes in our daily routines in order to manage our time effectively. There is more likelihood of failing to manage time if we take on more than we can handle or if we take on too much at once. Cultivating time management skills will also help us to know ourselves a bit better. This is the first in effective time management. As people grow older, it becomes easier to lose track of things that are important in their lives. It is not surprising that people allow this to happen but it happen very easily. The first thing we must do to get in touch with what is important to us is to know what we want to accomplish in life.

This is known as locating our vision. When we are young we believe anything is possible. We should think back to our younger days and reminisce on how we envisioned our lives at that time. It is likely that many of our priorities may have changed over time but some of the most important ones have remained the same. We should then begin by focusing on the things we want to achieve. It is important to pick something big as well as something small. After deciding on what those things are, we should take steps to come up with a plan that sets us on a path of achieving these things. Completing one step at time towards each goal is a good way to start. Going on our own pace allows us to plan and manage our time much more effectively. Planning is very important in pointing the direction in which we should go.