Negotiation Theory - Process Analysis

Process Analysis

Process analysis is the theory closest to haggling. Parties start from two points and converge through a series of concessions. As in strategic analysis, both sides have a veto (e.g. sell, not sell; pay, not pay). Process analysis also features structural assumptions, because one side may be weaker or stronger (e.g. more eager to sell, not willing to pay a certain price). Process Analysis focuses on the study of the dynamics of processes. E.g. both Zeuthen and Cross tried to find a formula in order to predict the behaviour of the other party in finding a rate of concession, in order to predict the likely outcome.

The process of negotiation therefore is considered to unfold between fixed points: starting point of discord, end point of convergence. The so called security point, that is the result of optional withdrawal, is also taken into account.

Read more about this topic:  Negotiation Theory

Famous quotes containing the words process and/or analysis:

    The toddler’s wish to please ... is a powerful aid in helping the child to develop a social awareness and, eventually, a moral conscience. The child’s love for the parent is so strong that it causes him to change his behavior: to refrain from hitting and biting, to share toys with a peer, to become toilet trained. This wish for approval is the parent’s most reliable ally in the process of socializing the child.
    Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)

    A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties.
    Karl Marx (1818–1883)