Essay Sample on Negotiating Strengths and Weaknesses: Establishing SMART Goals

Introduction

In resolving issues that arise in the international business platform, negotiators always need to check their assumptions by taking time to identify their strengths and weaknesses. In some cases, a negotiator may be in a weak position. As such, it would be essential to seek out others who are in similar positions and establish if the outcome is greater than that of individual parts. The paper will delve into my perceived strengths and weaknesses as a negotiator and identify the SMART goals that I intend to achieve this semester relating to the course of study.

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My Perceived Strengths

As a negotiator, I am patient and capable of pursuing creative solutions persistently. Due to the complexity of business negotiation and progress may be realized in small increments, patience and persistence make it easy to do away with costly mistakes that could arise. The aspect of creativity gives me the desire to come up with innovative win/win results for both the conflicting parties (Peleckis, 2016). Being an active and reflective listener, I tend to focus on ensuring that I understand what a particular party says, summarize, and reflect to the information provided forth by their counterpart. Through these listening skills, I can acquire valuable information about the positions and rationale of the parties in conflict.

Additionally, I show empathy in negotiation as I aim to understand and be sensitive to the thoughts, interests, feelings, and experiences of the parties. In essence, I provide convincing reasons for individuals to exchange their ideas. Empathy enables me to build rapport, promote mutual respect, encourage sharing of information, as well as ensure that the negotiation moves in a positive direction (Karsaklian, 2016). Flexibility promotes my negotiation role as I consider the routine ritual to develop acceptable solutions. Flexibility and adaptability boost my tolerance to conflict and the ability to reach conclusions through the provision of amicable solutions. In negotiation, I always adopt a relationship approach to achieve mutually acceptable solutions, which satisfy the needs and priorities of the parties involved. In most cases, I emphasize on clarity and satisfaction of their interests and avoid debating the positions of those individuals.

My Perceived Weaknesses

One of my weaknesses as a negotiator is the problem with time. On several occasions, I tend to start negotiations with no idea on the duration that the process would take. Before starting the negotiation, it serves vital to have a proper time frame for such an activity to help understand when it starts, takes momentum, and wraps it up within the stipulated period. However, I always find it challenging to create a schedule. Another weakness is the issue with details. When negotiating a deal, I do not focus on little details and only consider a big picture of the deal.

On the contrary, the small print can contain some crucial information that ought to be considered in the negotiation process. Inattention to the details can be costly as it would potentially cause bias when providing solutions (Peleckis, 2016). Moreover, at circumstances, while negotiating, I find myself making extreme demands that would then be followed by slow concessions. Even though this tactic prevents dealmakers from quick concessions, it has the potential of dragging out the negotiations. Therefore, the negotiation might possibly end without reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

In some business deals, I consider the need to invite unreciprocated offers. However, this is not the best way to go as particular individuals may ask a given party to make concessions even before they make a counteroffer. The inability to deal with personal insults in deal negotiations is also my weakness. In the negotiation table, some parties attack me as a negotiator and hurl insults to make me vulnerable. Usually, I find it difficult to handle such situations amicably and get back to the negotiation.

SMART Goals

SMART Goal 1: To learn to remain composed in situations where the negotiation process gets heated, thereby bringing forth some calmness and allowing the negotiation to continue. This will take effect immediately to enhance the achievement of the required outcomes when negotiating.

SMART Goal 2: To improve my preparation before negotiations occur to equip me with concrete facts, figures, and details, which would help in closing deals. This will be ensured by accessing and reading the course texts to understand the concepts and principles of International Business Negotiation.

SMART Goal 3: To improve my active listening skills during negotiations to promote my understanding of whatever the other party tries to put across. I will begin working towards achieving this goal immediately and ought to have been fully realized by the end of the semester.

Conclusion

In international business, negotiations are used to serve various purposes. These may include making deals, resolving business-related disputes, allocation of resources, making decisions, as well as business problems. Some negotiators may not recognize the potential to reach agreements that benefit both parties involved in the negotiation. Such issues would arise due to the tactics used when negotiating. Situational constraints and the aspect of trust also contribute to the lack of solutions that will offer gains to both parties. Therefore, as a negotiator who has some weaknesses, just like other negotiators, I intend to ensure that I minimize the weaknesses by setting up proper time frames for every negotiation that I undertake. I would also maximize my strengths by reading more materials on International Business Negotiation to acquire adequate knowledge on how to engage in negotiations effectively.

References

Karsaklian, E. (2016). The invisible negotiator in the land of paradox management. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 13(5), 333-347. doi: 10.17265/1548-6591/2016.05.003

Peleckis, K. (2016). International business negotiation strategies based on bargaining power assessment: the case of attracting investments. Journal of business economics and management, 17(6), 882-900. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=512090