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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Managing Negotiation
Impasses

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The Nature of Difficult to Resolve

Negotiations and Why They Occur
The nature of impasse
Causes of impasses and intractable negotiations
Characteristics of the parties
Characteristics of the issues
Characteristics of the environment
Characteristics of the negotiation setting
Characteristics of the conflict resolution process

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The Role of Power in Impasses

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The Nature of Impasse

Impasse is a condition or state of the
conflict in which there is no apparent
quick or easy resolution
Impasse is not necessarily bad or destructive
Impasse does not have to be permanent
Impasse can be tactical or genuine
Tactical impasse: parties deliberately refuse to
proceed as a way to gain leverage
Genuine impasse: parties feel unable to move
forward without sacrificing something important
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The Nature of Impasse

Impasse perceptions can differ from reality
The perception of impasse can be created by an
intransigent negotiator who is looking to extract
concessions from the other party
Intransigence can be defined as a partys
unwillingness to move to any fallback position
through concession or compromise

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What Causes Impasses and

Intractable Negotiations?
A negotiation becomes more tractable when it
becomes easier to resolve, and intractable when
it is more difficult to resolve
Intractable conflicts vary along four dimensions
Divisiveness
Intensity
Pervasiveness
Complexity

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Characteristics of the Parties

How one defines ones self
Comparing ones self to others
Perceptions of power
Revenge and anger
Conflict management style

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Characteristics of the Parties

How one defines ones self
Identity - who am I?
Conflict occurs when peoples identities are threatened
Comparing ones self to others
Characterization - Who are they?
Blame others when things go wrong, take credit for successes
Perceptions of power
A negotiator may bargain tough because they believe they can
effectively exercise coercive power

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Characteristics of the Parties

Revenge and anger
To correct injustice
To stand up and express ones self-worth
To deter future occurrences of undesirable behaviors
Conflict management style
Parties often avoid conflict in creative ways:
Aggressive avoidance intimidate others to keep them
away
Passive avoidancetry to ignore the other
Passive aggressive avoidance- blame the other party and
walk away
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Characteristics of the Parties

Conflict management style (cont.)
Avoidance by claiming hopelessness Whats the
use..
Avoidance through surrogates use a surrogate to take
the other on
Avoidance through denial make believe it isnt there
Avoidance through premature problem solving I fixed
everything
Avoidance by folding Well do it your way; now can
we talk about something else?

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Characteristics of the
Negotiation Context
The negotiation setting
Changing locations can be a new start
Temporal (time) issues
Earlier compromises re-packaged may break impasse
Relational issues
Replacing an aggressive team member can signal
change
Cultural issues
Changing strategy can change attitudes (i.e. bring in
a mediator)
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Characteristics of the Issues

Value differences
Vary from minor differences to major differences in
ideology, lifestyle, of what is considered sacred and critical
High stakes distributive bargaining
Parties may have inflated their negotiating positions to the
point where there is no apparent zone of agreement
Risk to human health and safety
The threat to human welfare is clear and apparent

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Characteristics of the
Negotiation Setting
Negotiation settings include:
Temporal issues
Relational issues
Cultural issues

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Characteristics of the Conflict

Resolution Process
Processes that increase the likelihood of
impasse:
The atmosphere is charged with anger, frustration and
resentment
Channels of communication are closed or constrained
Original issues at stake have become blurred and ill defined
Parties tend to perceive great differences in their respective
positions
As anger and tension increase, parties become locked in their
initial positions
Those on the same side view each other favorably.

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Fundamental Mistakes
that Cause Impasses
Neglecting the other sides problem
Too much of a focus on price
Positions over interests
Too much focus on common ground
Neglecting BATNAs
Adjusting perceptions during the negotiation

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How to Resolve Impasses

Impasses need to be resolved on three levels:

Cognitive resolution
Change how the parties view the situation
Emotional resolution
Change how the parties feel about the impasse
Behavioral resolution
Specify ways the parties can stop difficult conflict
dynamics

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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Reach agreement on rules and procedures
Reduce tension and synchronize de-escalation of
hostility
Improve the accuracy of communication
Control the number and size of issues
Establish common ground
Enhance the desirability of options and
alternatives
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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Agreement on rules and procedures
Obtain mutual agreement about the rules that will govern
the negotiation
Determine a site for a meeting
Set a formal agenda
Determine who may attend the meetings
Set time limits for individual meetings
Set procedural rules
Follow specific dos and donts

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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Reducing tension and synchronizing de-
escalation
Separate the parties
Manage tension
Acknowledge the others feelings: active listening
Synchronize de-escalation
Decide on a small concession that each side could make to
signal good faith

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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Improving the accuracy of communication
Role reversal
Imaging: parties describe
1. how they see themselves
2. how the other party appears to them
3. how they think the other party would describe them
4. how they think the other party sees themselves

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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Controlling issues
Fractionate the negotiation
Reduce the number of parties on each side
Control the number of substantive issues involved
State issues in concrete terms rather than as principles
Restrict the precedents involved, both procedural and substantive
Search for ways to fractionate the big issues
Depersonalize issues: Separate them from the parties advocating
them

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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Establishing common ground
Superordinate goals
Common enemies
Common expectations
Manage time constraints and deadlines
Reframe the parties view of each other
Build trust
Search for semantic resolutions
Use analogical reasoning
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Strategies for
Resolving Impasses
Enhancing the desirability of options to the
other party
Give the other party a yesable proposal
Ask for a different decision
Sweeten the offer rather than intensifying the threat
Use legitimacy or objective criteria to evaluate solutions

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Fishers Demand Dynamics

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