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FOUR KEY CONCEPTS : The First Reading

BATNA is a concept developed by Roger Fisheer and William Ury, this acronym stands for Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.

The text teaches us that no negotiation method is able to completely overcome substantial differences in power. However, there are ways to protect the weaker party against a poor agreement, and to help the weaker party make the most of their assets.

In many situations, we can note that negotiators will establish a "bottom line" in an attempt to protect themselves against a poor agreement. The bottom line is what the party anticipates as the worst acceptable outcome. Negotiators decide in advance of actual negotiations to reject any proposal below that line. Because the bottom line figure is decided upon in advance of discussions, the figure may be arbitrary or unrealistic.

The watchword is « always know our BATNA » before entering any negotiations. Thanks to this, we will have options and our level of risk-taking will be less important. Constantly, we must be focused on our own BATNA and try to improve it.
Analyze the other side's BATNA is also essential. The perfect strategy would be to put into practise a SWOT analysis in order to highlight the strenghts and the weaknesses of the other party.

Otherwise, the Reservation price is the price at whch the rational negotiator will walk away.

We also the have the Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) that describes the intellectual zone in sales and negotiations between two parties where an agreement can be met which both parties can agree to. Within this zone, an agreement is possible. Outside the zone no amount of negotiation will yield an agreement.


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