Distributive Negotiation
Imagine you are going out to buy a piece of furniture. You will try to negotiate the price in your favor and the seller tries to negotiate the price in their favor. Here, you both are trying to protect your interests and maximize your outcome.
The above transaction is an example of distributive negotiation.
When two parties try to maximize their benefit from a transaction, it’s a distributive negotiation. It is misunderstood as the only form of bargaining since it’s more commonly used as a negotiation strategy.
Here, what one party loses is the gain of the other party.
Now imagine you are going to buy a painting. You tell the artist your preferences, and you finalize a piece you like. The artist quotes the final price at $ 2,900, whereas your maximum quote is $ 2,600. You both compromise and settle at $ 2,750. This is an example of integrative negotiation.
Integrative Negotiation
In an integrative negotiation scenario, both the parties put forward their interests to try and agree to a solution that creates a mutual gain for both.
Here, both parties gain something. This method of negotiation is taught in most professional schools today. The primary issue that concerns most people regarding the integrative negotiation approach is revealing too much information. These are important types of negotiation in corporates, where in both the parties look in for mutual benefits from any negotiation.
Usually, while negotiating, people try to hold their cards as close as possible. However, experts say you are supposed to explicitly reveal only preferences and interests. This tpe negotation makes you effectively negotiate and solve your problems.
Difference between Distributive and Integrative Negotiation
To highlight the differences between distributive negotiation and integrative negotiation for you:
● Integrative Negotiation aims for mutual gain, whereas Distributive Negotiation aims for maximizing personal benefits.
● The outcome of Distributive Negotiation is always a win-lose scenario, whereas it's a win-win scenario for Integrative Negotiation.
● Distributive is more of a competitive negotiation strategy, whereas Integrative is a collaborative strategy.
● The suitable scenario for using integrative negotiation is when the resources are fixed or limited. When the resources are in abundance, it’s best to use an integrative negotiation approach.
● The communication in integrative negotiation is open and constructive. On the contrary, it's controlled and selective in the case of the distributive approach.
To learn more about the difference between distributive negotiation and integrative negotiation, read the below article:
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/negotiation-skills-expanding-the-pie-integrative-bargaining-versus-distributive-bargaining/
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