Last week, we talked about rationality and irrationality. I asked you how you might use "irrational" thinking as a leader and still manage and create change and progress towards goals. This week, we talked about different ways of thinking - that cognitive processes are not universal but may also be affected by culture. So, now leaders not only have to deal with appearing irrational, but also have to deal with ways of thought (mind bugs) that may vary by country, ethnicity, religion, etc. This could easily be overwhelming. But, we've sought to make this manageable by describing the principals that underlie cultures (Hofstede's 5 characteristics), and the principals that underlie rationality.
In this post, think back to a time when you have had interactions where you experienced a "(mis)meeting of the minds." Have you had experiences which, in retrospect, didn't go well because you had different assumptions about causality or use of logic than your interaction partner? What is the geography of your thought and can how does it affect you in your interactions with others? What are the elements of your cultural mindset?
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Predictably Irrational
I think the significance of our actions and decisions, whether predictably rational or irrational, depends on the context. In our personal daily lives, as we discussed, we commonly make predictably irrational behavior all the time, everything from judging the best price bargains based on our anchor or reference point to our physical perceptions of objects in a comparative situation. In a business context, however, things need to be looked in a little bit more analytical way. We cannot tell the company's stakeholders and shareholders that we made a certain decision because things looked a certain way, as such arguments would not be received very warmly. We need to base our decisions on facts and data instead.
There have been many times when I have seen pricing information of a product presented in such a way as to influence the decision making, just like the example of a magazine subscription options with expensive option put next to a similarly priced item but less appealing package. I have never paid close attention to such techniques, and after discussing the material in class, I have become more aware of it and realize that such psychologically based methods are in fact quite commonly used in real world.
There have been many times when I have seen pricing information of a product presented in such a way as to influence the decision making, just like the example of a magazine subscription options with expensive option put next to a similarly priced item but less appealing package. I have never paid close attention to such techniques, and after discussing the material in class, I have become more aware of it and realize that such psychologically based methods are in fact quite commonly used in real world.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Predictably Irrational Thoughts....
I think when you are put in a situation where you are acting predictably irrational, as a leader is important to communicate and reassure those around you to trust you. Sometimes explaining more clearly why acting irrational for that window of time or for that specific decision makes sense. Sometimes irrational situations require irrational looking solutions, but after trying those solutions, maybe they will become more rational looking. The best defense is communication and tapping into previous trust that has been built.
Yes, definitely, I think information has been distorted in a way that was over estimating or hyping certain products or efforts. In hindsight, when I have been pulled into situations that are irrational, but are presented in a way that makes them seam rational, normally it is best to step back, and use fundamentals to verify or make sure that everyone on board is not on a boat getting ready to go over a waterfall because of irrational exuberance.
BTW: I really liked the posted movie and the points it made. Especially how the speaker explains how when it come to the physical world, humans are good at understanding their limitations, but when it comes to the abstract, we definitely think there are no limits. I like how he referenced the construction of stock markets are being inherently flawed because we do not know our limitations and inherent mental shortcomings.
Yes, definitely, I think information has been distorted in a way that was over estimating or hyping certain products or efforts. In hindsight, when I have been pulled into situations that are irrational, but are presented in a way that makes them seam rational, normally it is best to step back, and use fundamentals to verify or make sure that everyone on board is not on a boat getting ready to go over a waterfall because of irrational exuberance.
BTW: I really liked the posted movie and the points it made. Especially how the speaker explains how when it come to the physical world, humans are good at understanding their limitations, but when it comes to the abstract, we definitely think there are no limits. I like how he referenced the construction of stock markets are being inherently flawed because we do not know our limitations and inherent mental shortcomings.
Blog Topic: Predictably Irrational
We are continuing our discussion of the human brain with last week's topic of irrationality. These findings suggest that humans are not rational, but are still predictable. This idea has two implications for you as a leader. First, people tend to expect leaders to be rational, to obey certain laws of physics, so to speak, yet, they themselves may act in ways that are not rational. This presents leaders with a conundrum: when you know your actions and decisions make sense, in the predictably irrational sense, but that they do not make sense in the traditionally rational sense, what do you do? How do you explain your decisions? How to defend them?
The second implication has to do with followers and their decision-making strategies. Following on the heels of our discussion of social influence, it seems that you could present information in ways to influence decision-making. Can you think of specific times that this has been done to you, or that, if you had known about it, you'd have changed how you presented information prior to a decision-making situation?
The second implication has to do with followers and their decision-making strategies. Following on the heels of our discussion of social influence, it seems that you could present information in ways to influence decision-making. Can you think of specific times that this has been done to you, or that, if you had known about it, you'd have changed how you presented information prior to a decision-making situation?
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thoughts on Perception...
I don't think anything that we covered in class last week "surprised" me, per say... but it was interesting to see how my mind played into the perception concepts being demondstrated. Even though we have all seen those eye trick pictures before, and we "know" what the correct answer is when asked if a set of objects are the same size or if the lines are parallel, i still couldn't force my eyes to see those truths in the table picture, no matter how hard i tried. It was interesting to see how regardless of fact that the professor and a couple students measured and prooved that they were in fact the same size, i still couldn't train my eyes to see that.
It is interesting to see how even the rational, logical brain can not always combat what we are perceiving through our eyes... it kind of plays a new angle on the whole "seeing is believing" concept. It is hard to argue with what the mind has been trained to perceive and understand, even if you are seeing the truth with your own 2 eyes. We watched the students take measurements of the tables on the screen, and then watched the professor digitally move the perimeter of one table and place it over the other, clearly showing that the 2 were the exact same size and shape. however, this was still not enough to force our brain to be able to conceptualize that they were in fact the same because of how they were positioned in the picture and what we are trained to perceive about the size and comparison of the 2 based on those positions. It was really weird for me to watch everyone be clearly disproved about our insistance that one table was bigger than the other, and then to listen as everyone continued to struggle to be able to accept that proof... myself included.
It is interesting to see how even the rational, logical brain can not always combat what we are perceiving through our eyes... it kind of plays a new angle on the whole "seeing is believing" concept. It is hard to argue with what the mind has been trained to perceive and understand, even if you are seeing the truth with your own 2 eyes. We watched the students take measurements of the tables on the screen, and then watched the professor digitally move the perimeter of one table and place it over the other, clearly showing that the 2 were the exact same size and shape. however, this was still not enough to force our brain to be able to conceptualize that they were in fact the same because of how they were positioned in the picture and what we are trained to perceive about the size and comparison of the 2 based on those positions. It was really weird for me to watch everyone be clearly disproved about our insistance that one table was bigger than the other, and then to listen as everyone continued to struggle to be able to accept that proof... myself included.
Perceptions
Perception , in terms of human behavior, is essentially how we perceive, understand and process information about the other person. Our perception itself depends on multiple factors such as our past experiences, level of social interaction, cultural background, etc. All these factors can play an important role in how are our brain's neutral connections are wired.
In terms of how my past perceptions could have misled me, I would say that would depend on what particular context we look at. For example, from a stereotypes point of view, there have been incidents in my life where the stereotypes played a nonconstructive role in understanding other person's behavior or that in some cases those stereotypes were proven wrong. Similarly, from the point of view of just understanding a certain behavior of a person, my immediate perception of the other person have proven to be wrong multiple times because of coming to conclusion too fast or not interpreting the physical clues properly, among other factors. Also, I think there have been times when others have not perceived my actions or behavior properly because of miscommunication, lack of cultural understanding, and so forth.
If were to draw a graph between perception on vertical axis, with higher values showing better perception, and the duration of relationship (length of time persons have known each other) on a horizontal axis, I think what we would see is a line that goes from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, in other words, a direct proportional relationship. This means time is a very important element of removing barriers to misperception. Other important factor that could facilitate perception is level of communication; the more open and candid communication we have, the lower the chance of misperception.
In terms of how my past perceptions could have misled me, I would say that would depend on what particular context we look at. For example, from a stereotypes point of view, there have been incidents in my life where the stereotypes played a nonconstructive role in understanding other person's behavior or that in some cases those stereotypes were proven wrong. Similarly, from the point of view of just understanding a certain behavior of a person, my immediate perception of the other person have proven to be wrong multiple times because of coming to conclusion too fast or not interpreting the physical clues properly, among other factors. Also, I think there have been times when others have not perceived my actions or behavior properly because of miscommunication, lack of cultural understanding, and so forth.
If were to draw a graph between perception on vertical axis, with higher values showing better perception, and the duration of relationship (length of time persons have known each other) on a horizontal axis, I think what we would see is a line that goes from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, in other words, a direct proportional relationship. This means time is a very important element of removing barriers to misperception. Other important factor that could facilitate perception is level of communication; the more open and candid communication we have, the lower the chance of misperception.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Perceptions (Blog #7)
Did anything covered in class surprise you?
I was definitely surprised at how on some of the examples, I was completely tricked.
How does these insights into human perceptual processes change your views of your own behavior, past and present?
Well It is definitely a good thing because these insights tell us that we are human, and our own behaviors could be skewed by the way we are hardwired or programmed to see certain things. It also means that we don't see the world from some perfect or "better" perspective even though it is the only perspective we know. Definitely looking at these biases, understanding them, and then trying to account for them as being sources of error or bias before we make any decisions to say, do, or stand behind certain things is important.
Have there been times in your life when your perceptions have led you astray? Or times when others perceptions of you have been erroneous and perhaps harmful to you?
Yes, definitely, I think that because a lot of my undergrad and grad training was in engineering, it forces you to take a very quantitative and logical view at situations, problems, decisions, etc... I find myself trying not to get locked into a box of using logical reasoning as the only tool or way to perceive and solve a problem. I have times where people perceive me as being too "cold" or "logical" because I am an engineer... I think because of that perception, it also makes some people hesitant to come to me with problems that may be solved by another problem solving approach.
How do you deal with other's misperceptions of you?
I really try and get to know people one on one. Sometimes we don't have a lot of time to meet or work together, but it is important that during that time, that small window, that we break down those misperceptions because it may be our only chance. I also believe that humor is a great way to break down misperceptions if used at the right time...
Do you still think those two tables did not have the same surface area?
I believed the two had the same surface area. After being beaten up by the previous experiments on my brain, I felt more open to the idea, then after someone measured it, I was sold on it.
Thoughts on Power (Blog #6)
Do you think about yourself as a powerful person?
Relative to my work environment I enjoy a large amount of influence because it is a small business, and someone has to make the decisions. I have the ability to take on or dismiss workers, or decide pay increases, etc. Make new capital investments in equipments, plant, etc... I believe my freedom at work, could be viewed as power, but I view it more as freedom to make changes that affect the company in a positive way.
Do you think of yourself as someone who empowers others?
I sure hope I do... I always try to see when a persons abilities are not aligned with their tasks. A good example is that we had an employee who was in a certain position who performed poorly but worked really hard. I remember many some other managers thought he just wasn't good enough, I thought about it and realized that because he had glasses and that the environment he is was dusty and required heavy lifting, and he was a smaller guy with glasses. I thought about it, a and said to myself that this guy is in the wrong position. I wanted to move him and teach him how to be a machine operator, where pneumatic equipment can lift the heavy parts and dust is minimal. I made the change, which made sense for this employee and our company. He is working harder than ever and happier I can tell, because I think this new opportunity is working out very well for him and will allow him learn even more an program the machinery soon. Short answer is: I try.
Well, I want to definitely become better at delegating out the right functional area's and tasks to people that I believe will excel because what they are doing is more in line with who they are and their talents. I don't really believe in the whole dressing up to show power thing... "perception is reality"... I think this is an area that I am terrible in... I have a hard time giving up my jeans and t-shirt/polo relaxed work image. I chose not to have an office, but a cube like everyone else on purpose... I just don't like to stand out based on image, I believe peoples action and contribution to the company is more important. But it is an area I could work on if I want to create a more powerful image for myself.
I definitely want to keep my eyes peeled in watching how people work, and using any power to realign them with things they want to do, or things they may be better at. I need to speak with employees more to collect more information on if they think they could empower themselves in any ways possible. I don't like to admit it, but I really should dress a little more formal for work to give me an image which would be perceived as more influential. I am going to try after I graduate... ;)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Blog Topic 7: Perceptions
In class we talked about how mind bugs can alter our focus and lead us down the wrong path. We also realized that sometimes we use these mind bugs to our own advantage (such as when crafting our 2 truths and a lie) and sometimes these mind bugs led to errors. Did anything covered in class surprise you? How does these insights into human perceptual processes change your views of your own behavior, past and present? Have there been times in your life when your perceptions have led you astray? Or times when others perceptions of you have been erroneous and perhaps harmful to you? How do you deal with other's misperceptions of you? Do you still think those two tables did not have the same surface area?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Army Strategic Leadership Primer
Was doing research for another class, and found the Army's Strategic Leadership Primer at the Army's War College.
It had an interesting introduction:
"It became clear to me that at the age of 58 I would have to learn new tricks that were not taught in the military manuals or on the battlefield. In this position I am a political soldier and will have to put my training in rapping-out orders and making snap decisions on the back burner, and have to learn the arts of persuasion and guile. I must become an expert in a whole new set of skills."
George C Marshall
General Marshall is alleged to have made this observation as he reflected upon his early years as Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) in the beginning months of World War II Marshall apparently believed his previous education, training, and experience had not adequately prepared him for high-level leadership1
As the CSA, his success depended upon his ability to persuade influential people and organizations, both in and out of government, to employ their efforts on behalf of his vision of a winning wartime strategy and to mobilize the Army to make that strategy a reality. General Marshall’s particular insights in this matter support the belief that beyond the direct and organizational levels is a third level of leadership: the strategic level. This Primer is intended to set the stage for a greater understanding and more in-depth study of leadership at the strategic level—the context, challenges, characteristics, and requirements of strategic leadership.
The Primer is located here: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/dclm/slp3.pdf
Power blog...
Do you think about yourself as a powerful person?
I do think of myself as a relatively powerful person... part of that is because i am very competitive and i like to feel in control of things in my life, be it in my work environment, home environment, or social environment. I think this desire to feel in control of my surroundings and my place within them keeps in me in a position where i feel a sense of power on a somewhat ongoing basis. Sometimes I feel this sense of control more than other times, as of course life has its way of shaking things up from time to time and no one can control certain circumstances or unexpected changes.
Do you think of yourself as someone who empowers others?
I am not sure at this point in my life that I have been in a position on too many occasions where I would directly empower others. However, I think once i move into a more solid position of leadership within my career, which is my hope for when i graduate, that I will use that position of authority to lead others and also empower them to take on their own projects and create their own successes, both individually and as a team. I think that knowing how to empower others is a big part of being a good leader, and i believe that once i am in a position where i have the power to empower, i will do so effectively... at least that would be my hope :)
I will be graduating in Spring of 2011, and at that time i hope to launch an online non-profit business that i am currently working on building/developing. Assuming this goes as planned, i plan to use my new level of power and influence that I attain with my MBA to connect with local schools and businesses and try to engage them in getting involved with my business by giving back to the community. I also hope to be able to move up the ranks in my Marketing career alongside running my online business, and I hope that my MBA degree will provide me with an upper hand when competing against other professionals for a promotion/new job. I would like to get into a leadership role in Marketing as well, and again will use any control or power that accompanies my position to effectively lead and motivate others to perform to their potential as individuals and as a team.
I do think of myself as a relatively powerful person... part of that is because i am very competitive and i like to feel in control of things in my life, be it in my work environment, home environment, or social environment. I think this desire to feel in control of my surroundings and my place within them keeps in me in a position where i feel a sense of power on a somewhat ongoing basis. Sometimes I feel this sense of control more than other times, as of course life has its way of shaking things up from time to time and no one can control certain circumstances or unexpected changes.
Do you think of yourself as someone who empowers others?
I am not sure at this point in my life that I have been in a position on too many occasions where I would directly empower others. However, I think once i move into a more solid position of leadership within my career, which is my hope for when i graduate, that I will use that position of authority to lead others and also empower them to take on their own projects and create their own successes, both individually and as a team. I think that knowing how to empower others is a big part of being a good leader, and i believe that once i am in a position where i have the power to empower, i will do so effectively... at least that would be my hope :)
I will be graduating in Spring of 2011, and at that time i hope to launch an online non-profit business that i am currently working on building/developing. Assuming this goes as planned, i plan to use my new level of power and influence that I attain with my MBA to connect with local schools and businesses and try to engage them in getting involved with my business by giving back to the community. I also hope to be able to move up the ranks in my Marketing career alongside running my online business, and I hope that my MBA degree will provide me with an upper hand when competing against other professionals for a promotion/new job. I would like to get into a leadership role in Marketing as well, and again will use any control or power that accompanies my position to effectively lead and motivate others to perform to their potential as individuals and as a team.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Power and Influence
I would say that I am someone who empowers and likes to empower others. I typically do this by providing necessary information and tools so that people around me can independently solve the problems and do their work. My personal power primarily comes from my skills and area of knowledge and my near term objective is to continue to increase the depth and breadth of my knowledge which would enable me to increase my sphere of influence. I am also working on my communication and delivery skills to further enhance my influence.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Blogging Topic 6: Power
Do you think about yourself as a powerful person? Do you think of yourself as someone who empowers others? We talked about how to be powerful, how to look powerful, and how to exercise power over the past few weeks...and many of you will be graduating in a couple of months...what kind of power do you feel ready to exert and what kinds of power would you like to cultivate? How are going you to meet these power goals?
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Blogging Topic 5: Negotiation and Conflict Thoughts
I was kind of upset that my partner did not achieve a high score. I was trying to figure out the game while playing, and assumed that there was some optimum for both players. I was under the assumption that our trade-offs were benefiting both parties. I was trying to compromise on the things that did not matter as much score wise, but also figure out which I needed to be more firm on.
I was very surprised, since during the negotiation process, things went smoothly, since there were no real arguments or deadlocks, and I was definitely not out to just get as many points of out my partner as possible. (Unlike Anish ;P Sorry bro!) My score was just average. I think there were definitely different levels of satisfaction within the negotiation between my partner and I.
I definitely tried to use a strategy where we would both indirectly figure out what was important to the other person, and try and maximize our gain individually and together. Something went wrong, communication wise possibly, since that was my strategy, maybe she had another. My percieved notions definitely influenced my approach, since her signals showed me that she was content with the deals we were making, but I did not realize she was not benefiting as much as I, when I knew there was some solution for us both to benefit.
I think I always try and work things out with people, there are always tough situations arising everyday with customers, employees, managers, etc... I try and always find that medium where both parties will leave the negotiation table feeling like their needs have been addressed. They may have given up a little, but at least we are all still in the game.
Overall I was not satisfied with my performance, I think I let my partner down. I was trying to find that optimal solution, and I totally failed. My score was ok, but our overall score was not good. I think I definitely need to ask more questions next time. I was being kinda of methodological, more kind of assuming that my partner was on the same page I was, but I think she was being too flexible. If she would have challenged me more, I would have asked more questions to get us to the balanced point.
As a final thought:
I'm also definitely surprised Anish got the top score. Ok, Anish I'll stop picking on you in my blog now, I'm just jealous your the top dawg in that event. BTW, how did you get your partner to agree to almost everything? (Reply to my blog) :-)
I was very surprised, since during the negotiation process, things went smoothly, since there were no real arguments or deadlocks, and I was definitely not out to just get as many points of out my partner as possible. (Unlike Anish ;P Sorry bro!) My score was just average. I think there were definitely different levels of satisfaction within the negotiation between my partner and I.
I definitely tried to use a strategy where we would both indirectly figure out what was important to the other person, and try and maximize our gain individually and together. Something went wrong, communication wise possibly, since that was my strategy, maybe she had another. My percieved notions definitely influenced my approach, since her signals showed me that she was content with the deals we were making, but I did not realize she was not benefiting as much as I, when I knew there was some solution for us both to benefit.
I think I always try and work things out with people, there are always tough situations arising everyday with customers, employees, managers, etc... I try and always find that medium where both parties will leave the negotiation table feeling like their needs have been addressed. They may have given up a little, but at least we are all still in the game.
Overall I was not satisfied with my performance, I think I let my partner down. I was trying to find that optimal solution, and I totally failed. My score was ok, but our overall score was not good. I think I definitely need to ask more questions next time. I was being kinda of methodological, more kind of assuming that my partner was on the same page I was, but I think she was being too flexible. If she would have challenged me more, I would have asked more questions to get us to the balanced point.
As a final thought:
I'm also definitely surprised Anish got the top score. Ok, Anish I'll stop picking on you in my blog now, I'm just jealous your the top dawg in that event. BTW, how did you get your partner to agree to almost everything? (Reply to my blog) :-)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Women Mentoring Women
Interesting article (pushing her book on the same topic) about women mentoring women:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/03/BU3E1FLK4A.DTL&type=jobs
Monday, October 4, 2010
Negotiating: NYT "How I Saved My Company"
Speaking of negotiating skills-- interesting how this small business owner used his negotiation skills to bring down his expenses and keep his company going-- without laying off his small staff: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/how-i-saved-my-company/
There are more videos with really good examples of leadership. Also, the different approaches they took is interesting (one laid off bunch of staff, the other assured her staff from the beginning that there would be no layoffs and expanded her offerings. http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/category/how-i-saved-my-company/
The Warmly Yours video (a radiant heating business) is at: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/how-i-saved-my-company-warmly-yours/
Topic 5: Negotiation and Conflic
I had a score of around 3500 in the negotiation role play, which is on the low side of negotiation skills. The approach I used in this role was to start at the highest amount (score wise) and then gradually negotiate down. I was not firm in the two highest scoring items, including salary and options, where I lost most of the points. I think it would be fair to say the scores paint my real life approach quite realistically. I don't consider myself to be strong negotiator.
One factor (and a mistake) that caused low scores was that I had this idea in back of my mind that I had to negotiate no matter what, and not agreeing was not an option. I failed to realize that my negotiator was also in under similar constraints as he had to finally agree to a negotiated settlement. This was the main cause of my negotiation weakness as my opponent realized my sense of desperation.
One lesson from this role play for me is to never show any signs of weakness to your negotiation partner, even if you one. As soon as your negotiator will sense any signs of desperation, there will be natural tendency to take advantage of it. Second lesson is that it would be to your advantage if you prepare beforehand how much and where you are willing to compromise. The idea is to know your lower bounds so that you do not have to settle anything below it. I think good negotiation is an art that requires practice and experience.
One factor (and a mistake) that caused low scores was that I had this idea in back of my mind that I had to negotiate no matter what, and not agreeing was not an option. I failed to realize that my negotiator was also in under similar constraints as he had to finally agree to a negotiated settlement. This was the main cause of my negotiation weakness as my opponent realized my sense of desperation.
One lesson from this role play for me is to never show any signs of weakness to your negotiation partner, even if you one. As soon as your negotiator will sense any signs of desperation, there will be natural tendency to take advantage of it. Second lesson is that it would be to your advantage if you prepare beforehand how much and where you are willing to compromise. The idea is to know your lower bounds so that you do not have to settle anything below it. I think good negotiation is an art that requires practice and experience.
Negotation
I actually enjoyed the negotiation excepercise in last week's class more than i anticipated. As the recruiter, it was entertaining seeing how the conversation played out and coming up with ways to influence the employee into backing down and believing my reasons for why i was low balling him on the offers.
I think we did pretty well on the negotiations overall- there was a good back and forth going on the whole time and the employee was holding his ground pretty well, calling me out on my salary and bonus explanations by saying that he had "spoken to other employees and they had told him they were hired with a higher level base/bonus package..." In both cases, we would improvise explanations for why we "couldn't" offer/accept a higher/lower salary, bonus structure, vacation package, division, etc.
I thought we were pretty mainstream with how the points totaled up in comparison to the rest of the class. As the recruiter, i "won" on some negotiation points, and then gave more leiway or wiggle room to the employee to win on other ones so he didn't feel completely dominated in the negotiation. At one point, when i was trying to battle with the employee to keep the start date later, while he wanted it earlier, i resorted to confiding "insider information" to him that the current employee that he was going to be replacing was being "phased" out forcefully, and that his term would overlap with the new employee if we let him start before Aug 1. When that wasn't enough of a deterrant to the employee, i told him that the current employee had violent tendencies and that we didn't want to put him in harm's way, since he would likely feel rage towards the new employee who was taking his position. I finally told him that if he insisted on starting earlier than august 1, the earliest we could do was July 1, not June 1, and that he would have to understand that he was entering a potentially hostile work environment at his own risk at that time. He told us he wasn't concerned about it since it was the employer's responsibility to ultimately provide a safe and comfortable work environment for him, and that he trusted that they would do their job. That conversation clearly wouldn't be a professional one to instigate in real life, but for the sake of the role playing it seemed okay to just run with it. :)
I didn't have any preconceived notions of my negotiation partner because i didn't know him, so i had no idea what to expect in terms of his assertiveness or submissiveness, etc. It ended up being a pretty balanced negotation, though, with both sides holding ground on certain points that were of higher importance to us and backing down on ones we weren't as concerned with. I think my role in this negotation somewhat reflects my general approach to conflicts in my life. I consider myself a pretty fair, level headed person, and am pretty good and finding a balance and give-take solution whenever possible when problems arise. I believe that things should be fair whenever possible, and am a strong believer in compromise as a tactic for conflict solving. In this situation in real life, i would not have felt good about a negotiation that ended with me getting my way by bulldozing through and demanding that my terms be met on all/most points. I would want to walk away knowing that the employee felt satisfied that they were able to get their way on some of the contract terms that were important to them, but also knowing that i held firm on some of the terms that were more critical to me. That way, we both have a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, and there is no reason for resentment down the line since things started with a balanced playing field and no one feels slighted.
I think we did pretty well on the negotiations overall- there was a good back and forth going on the whole time and the employee was holding his ground pretty well, calling me out on my salary and bonus explanations by saying that he had "spoken to other employees and they had told him they were hired with a higher level base/bonus package..." In both cases, we would improvise explanations for why we "couldn't" offer/accept a higher/lower salary, bonus structure, vacation package, division, etc.
I thought we were pretty mainstream with how the points totaled up in comparison to the rest of the class. As the recruiter, i "won" on some negotiation points, and then gave more leiway or wiggle room to the employee to win on other ones so he didn't feel completely dominated in the negotiation. At one point, when i was trying to battle with the employee to keep the start date later, while he wanted it earlier, i resorted to confiding "insider information" to him that the current employee that he was going to be replacing was being "phased" out forcefully, and that his term would overlap with the new employee if we let him start before Aug 1. When that wasn't enough of a deterrant to the employee, i told him that the current employee had violent tendencies and that we didn't want to put him in harm's way, since he would likely feel rage towards the new employee who was taking his position. I finally told him that if he insisted on starting earlier than august 1, the earliest we could do was July 1, not June 1, and that he would have to understand that he was entering a potentially hostile work environment at his own risk at that time. He told us he wasn't concerned about it since it was the employer's responsibility to ultimately provide a safe and comfortable work environment for him, and that he trusted that they would do their job. That conversation clearly wouldn't be a professional one to instigate in real life, but for the sake of the role playing it seemed okay to just run with it. :)
I didn't have any preconceived notions of my negotiation partner because i didn't know him, so i had no idea what to expect in terms of his assertiveness or submissiveness, etc. It ended up being a pretty balanced negotation, though, with both sides holding ground on certain points that were of higher importance to us and backing down on ones we weren't as concerned with. I think my role in this negotation somewhat reflects my general approach to conflicts in my life. I consider myself a pretty fair, level headed person, and am pretty good and finding a balance and give-take solution whenever possible when problems arise. I believe that things should be fair whenever possible, and am a strong believer in compromise as a tactic for conflict solving. In this situation in real life, i would not have felt good about a negotiation that ended with me getting my way by bulldozing through and demanding that my terms be met on all/most points. I would want to walk away knowing that the employee felt satisfied that they were able to get their way on some of the contract terms that were important to them, but also knowing that i held firm on some of the terms that were more critical to me. That way, we both have a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, and there is no reason for resentment down the line since things started with a balanced playing field and no one feels slighted.
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