Assessing the Social Context of Negotiations

Assessing your constituency and social context of negotiation is vital whenever you are negotiating on behave of a business and not for yourself, and in a professional setting where there are more than two parties you are negotiating with, according the authors. They stated that one can assess key parties of their negotiation during the plaining process by conducting a "field analysis" and assessing constituents and the social context of the negotiation by asking the following (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2015, pp. 137-139):

1. Who is, or should be, on the team on my side of the field?
2. Who is on the other side of the field?
3. Who is on the sidelines and can affect the play of the game?
4. Who is in the stands?

5. What is going on the broader environment in which the negotiation takes place?

Presenting the Issues to the Other Party: Substance and Process

The last step in this process is presenting the issues to the other party(s). During the course of this step, the recommendation from Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry is for a negotiator to have prior knowledge on the protocol that should be follow during the negotiation and furthermore know:

1. What agenda should be followed?
2. Where should we negotiate?
3. What is the time period of the negotiation?
4. What might be done if negotiation fails?
5. How will we keep track of what is agreed to?
6. How do we know whether we have a good agreement?