Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams, 2nd Edition

Chapter 18

Negotiation

Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the difference between the three negotiation strategies: the win–lose strategy, the win–win strategy and the lose–lose strategy.
• Develop a negotiation plan of action.
• Understand the dispute process.

Negotiation is the art of influencing people to see things your way!!! The other party will, of course, be trying to influence you to see things their way. And so we have a dynamic situation of opposing positions that can only be amicably resolved by negotiation. Negotiation is, therefore, the method used to reach an agreement by compromise, which is open to discussion or modification.

Negotiation is the process of trying to obtain a better deal for the project than the project manager would get without negotiation. For example, if project managers do not ask the functional managers for the best resources they are unlikely to be given them.

The APM BoK defines Negotiation as: A search for agreement, seeking acceptance, consensus and alignment of views. Negotiation in a project can take place on an informal basis throughout the project life cycle or on a formal basis such as during procurement, and between signatories to a contract.

Negotiation differs from direct control, where project managers can exercise their authority to obtain compliance. Project managers in a matrix organization structure would not normally have direct authority over the resources. So, to be successful, ...