NCJ Number
109613
Journal
Negotiation Journal Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1988) Pages: 31-43
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article reasons that the diversity of approaches for analyzing the negotiation process, five of which are identified, demonstrate different ways of talking about the same phenomenon.
Abstract
The basic analytical question for all approaches to negotiation is how negotiated outcomes are explained. Five common analytical approaches to negotiation are structural analysis, strategic analysis, process analysis, behavioral analysis, and integrative analysis. Structural analysis, the most common approach, is based on a distribution of elements, in this case of instrumental elements or power, defined either as parties' relative positions or as the relative ability to make their options prevail. Strategic analysis begins with the assumption that outcomes are determined by the relative array of their values to the parties under conditions of rational choice. Process analysis explains outcomes through a series of concessions determined by some element inherent in each party's position. In behavioral analysis, the terms used are the personalities of the negotiators, either directly or in interaction. Integrative analysis perceives negotiation as a process that consists of stages, with outcomes explained by the performance of behaviors specifically appropriate to each successive stage. These various analytical approaches are discussed as variations in perceptions of the same process. The article concludes with the identification of an agenda of unanswered questions regarding the negotiation process. 71 references.