Negotiation Techniques And Strategies: A Case Study On Dispute Resolution

Analysis of the Dispute

Question:

Discuss about the Property Directions in Protection Orders.

Negotiation is a part of any business relationship. Generally, there are two parties to a negotiation process and both the parties tend to have a different set of needs and requirements. As it is impossible to see to it that all the parties to the negotiation are satisfied, a middle path needs to be adopted. The middle path of the negotiation process can be made with the help of different negotiation techniques and strategies which will ensure that the strategy results into fruitful results[1]. The given report shall be analysing the dispute between Mr. Migrant and Mrs. Refugee. The case shall be briefly discussed which will then be followed by the jurisdiction and laws applicable to the given case. The latter half of the report is a reflective analysis of the role play session which is backed but the different theories related to Negotiation.

In the given scenario, both the parties are not at fault. This is because, Mr. Migrant`s case is accurate that his property has been damaged which is against the law. Secondly, Mrs. Refugee is also not at fault as she is not educated enough to re-install the heating system. The lawyers need to keep the background of Mrs. Refugee in mind before taking any serious actions as she belongs to a minority background with no one to support the family. The mediator in the given case will have to analyse that there does not exist any shortcomings in the process of negotiation and that both the parties in the given scenario are able to successfully derive a solution out of it. Mrs. Refugee will require extra help from Mr Migrant in such cases; however the ailing health of Mr. Migrant also needs to be kept in mind.

The jurisdiction where the given dispute will be launched is the Residential Tenancies Authority and State-wide Tenants Advice and Referral Service[2]. The given authorities look after the legal proceedings that take place in case of disputes between the different parties. The process of negation is very simple in this scenario:

• The parties are called for a meeting.
• The parties are allowed to present their case
• The lawyer discussion take place
• The parties arrive at a settlement
• The parties need to abide by the discussion that tales place.

The impact of the given requirements is that:

• Both the parties are allowed to state their case and seek solutions for their grievances.
• The dispute gets resolved in a mature manner.
• The parties suffer minimum loss.
• All the detailed laws are abided by truthfully.

The purpose of the given act is to assist the parties in case of regulations and disputes involved in rental plans.  It also defines the rights and duties of each party during the tenancy procedure. It helps in the establishment of the Tribunal of Residential Tenancies and defines the legal proceedings for the same[3]. The given law has 15 parts, each part dealing with different issues relating to the various issues that generally take place between the tenant and the landlord.  The law comprises of various aspects of the law likes Regulation of caravan parks and movable dwellings, Administration of the relationship, Constituents of the tribunal and other aspects.

Jurisdiction and Laws

The given law assists in the negation process as follows:

• Helps in defining the rights and duties of each party in the dispute
• Lays down the framework required to conduct the negotiation process
• Defines the legal proceedings that might be taken in the dispute[4].
• States down the important aspects of a tenant and landlord relationship.

Negotiation can be defined as a process whereby the disputes between two different parties are required to be solved using various negotiation techniques and a mediator. The negotiation process can be described as a daily part of the lives and an individual often has to indulge in various negation processes to get things done. In the given scenario, Mr. Migrant and Mrs. Refugee are the primary parties to the given process of negotiation and a mediator was involved in between. The case for which the negotiation was taken place was for, the property damage caused by Mrs. Refugee to Mr. Migrant`s property.

The agreement of rent was for a period of 12 months, however, when Mr. Migrant visited the property which he had rented to Mrs. Refugee, he witnessed that she had spoilt his house and demanded them to vacate the house in 28 days. However, Mrs. Refugee has not been leaving since 6 weeks[5]. In the negotiation process the first step that took place in the Tribunal was, Determination of the Objective, Goal and Interest.

In the given scenario, the case was described and both the parties were present for the dispute settlement. According to me, one of the disadvantages of the given settlement scenario was that Mrs. Refugee was unable to understand what was required out of her and why was she dragged in the given case. According to Homeaffairs.gov.au (2018) [6] , the process of Negotiation is the most successful when both the parties are equal. In case both the parties are not equal , then the power dynamics changes and the case may be partial. As Mrs. Refugee has a language problem and no one to support her in the given matter except for her lawyer, I believe she could have been provided assistance for interpretation of all the rules so that she could have seen to it that she abides by them.

The second step of the negotiation process involved Identification of the parties at fault and attributes. According to me, both the parties were at fault in the given scenario as despite knowing that the given property was rented, Mrs. Refugee had burnt the lounge floor. Secondly, Mr. Migrant should have arranged for an interpreter and explained all rules to her and helped her out in case of any queries. Due to the poor health of Mr. Migrant, his shortcoming in doing so might be a risk in the process.

Reflective Analysis of the Role Play Session

The heating system was not adequate and hence, the given incident took place. Had he given all facilities to Mrs. Refugee such a situation would not have taken place. In the negotiation process, I identified that the demeanour of Mr. Migrant was competing. According to Guide, Global, Tenant Protection Laws Are Neutral (2018)[7], there are various Conflict management styles  that a person has and the different styles are backed by a motive which states that the style is pro-self or for to others. Mr. Migrant had a competing style in the negation process as he did not want a positive settlement and was deeply upset by the damage to the property. He also refused to agree that to a certain extent, it was his fault. He had a certain goal in mind which involved getting Mrs. Refugee out of the house and he would not believe in settling for anything else.

Contrary to this, the demeanour and conflict style of Mrs. Refugee in the given scenario was that of a compromising one. This may be backed by the fact that Mrs. Refugee has a poor income source and that she wanted to settle and remain as a tenant in the given house for the designated period of 12 months . She was ready to compensate for the damage she had caused but did not want to leave the tenancy.

According to me, the style of Mr. Migrant was not accurate and he should have been more considerate. During the third step where the issues were being assessed, Mr. Migrant lost his cool and became quite aggressive in nature Legislation.vic.gov.au (2018) [8], states that one of the primary negation techniques is to keep calm during through the process of negotiation which Mr. Migrant completely did not. He kept on blaming Mrs. Refugee and was insulting her, which was morally wrong. According to me, the negotiation process could have been simpler and easy had Mr. Migrant kept cool during the process the negotiation could have been simpler.

The next step involved settlement between the different parties. In the give  procedure, each party would state what they actually want out of the negotiation process, Mr. Migrant stated that he wants to cancel the tenant agreement whereas Mrs. Refugee wanted to continue with it. During the given procedure, I observed that the mediator played a good role in determining the path of the negotiation process[9]. When both the parties to the negotiation seemed totally con fused and determined to their causes, the mediator decided to settle down the middle path. The negotiation strategy as used by the mediator was that of that of Problem Solving. The mediator decided that the inconsistent argument and lack of compromise would go nowhere to solve the case and hence, he applied the problem solving technique.

Negotiation Techniques and Strategies

He made Mr. Migrant believe that Mrs. Refugee was apologetic for her mistake but her refugee and minority background needs to be considered and he has to permit her to complete the 1 month agreement. He also made, Mrs. Refugee realise that the lack of adequate help at home and the language barrier were although considerable but it cannot permit her to damage the property According to Negotiations.com  (2018)[10], any damage caused to the property of the landlord needs to be paid for by the tenant. He made Mrs. Refugee agree to it that if she causes any further damage then she would have to pay for it.

I believe that the negotiation technique was carried out in a systematic manner.

• An interpreter could have been present who would have made the negotiation process easier and simpler for the party at grief- Mrs. Refugee. She could have been provided with assistance and it could have been seen to it that she is able to present her case carefully.
• Secondly, M. Migrant was not put at fault for not keeping the heating system consistent. Had he been asked to repair the same, it would have been more beneficial on the side of the Mrs. Refugee.

Negotiation principles involve conducing a win win situation for both the parties. If the negotiation does not lead to lead to a win win process for both the parties. Hence, the parties as well as the mediator should see to it that a win win environment is created. According to me, the following could have been implemented in the given negotiation process:

The goal of the negotiation should be kept in mind before the process begins . In the given scenario, i was unable to identify any goal and the parties were just trying to go with the flow. However, according to Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu (2018)[11], this should not be the case and proper goal identification.

Trying to understand the counterpart point of view

Understanding the view point of the counterpart also goes a long way in determining the different decision making aspects. Mr. Migrant as well as Mrs. Refugee should have tried to understand each other’s point of view and made an aim to develop a compromising situation. According to me, this aspect was quite visible from the side of Mrs. Refugee but  not visible from Mr. Migrant`s side. Even his lawyer was not willing to come to a comprising situation[12].

Hence, the given situation was although carried out in a proper manner but there does exist more scope for improvement and according to me, principles of negotiation like planning, goal objective, conducing win win situation should also have been implemented in order to get a better result.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the given analysis on the various negotiation processes between Mrs. Refugee and Mrs. Migrant it could be witnessed that negotiation is an important aspect of any relationship. Very often two parties in a deal do not agree to a certain aspect and often engage in a conflict. Conflicts tend to bring about damage to a business and therefore, they lead to problems. Negotiation can be described as a problem solving technique whereby the parties at conflict are easily able to bring their problems in front of one another with the help of a mediator. A mediator goes a long way in solving the dispute. Proper negotiation techniques and strategies should be applied to solve the different issues and it should be seen to it that  the right strategy is employed. Each strategy which is employed is relative to different situations and therefore, the strategies need to be applied carefully.

References

Ahuri.edu.au (2018) Ahuri.edu.au https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/2227/AHURI_Final_Report_No209_Long-term-private-rental-in-a-changing-Australian-private-rental-sector.pdf

Alternative Dispute Resolution | IP Australia (2018) Ipaustralia.gov.au https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ip-infringement/enforcing-your-ip/resolution-methods

Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu (2018)Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.890.8965&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Eprints.soton.ac.uk  (2018) Eprints.soton.ac.uk https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/373770/1/Decoupling%2520Negotiating%2520Agents%2520to%2520Explore%2520the%2520Space%2520of%2520Negotiation%2520Strategies.pdf

Guide, Global, Tenant Protection Laws Are Neutral (2018) Global Property Guide https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Pacific/Australia/Landlord-and-Tenant

Homeaffairs.gov.au (2018) Homeaffairs.gov.au https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/family-migration-australia-august-2012.pdf

 https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Catalog/legislation/Acts/r/1995.63.htm

Legislation.vic.gov.au (2018) Legislation.vic.gov.au https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/edfb620cf7503d1aca256da4001b08af/c7f3c6d8118d4bcaca256e5b00213c3d/$FILE/97-109a.pdf

MIRCIC?, NELA, CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION (2018) Ceeol.com https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=253778

Pdfs.semanticscholar.org (2018) Pdfs.semanticscholar.org https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2941/80785bb71cfbf5678c51ce4e9a0d71dcc793.pdf

Personal Property Directions In Protection Orders | ALRC (2018) Alrc.gov.au https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/16.%20Family%20Law%20Interactions%3A%20Jurisdiction%20and%20Practice%20of%20State%20and%20Territory%20Courts/pe

Power Negotiation Principles & Techniques | Negotiation Experts (2018) Negotiations.com https://www.negotiations.com/articles/power-negotiation/

Property Dispute Settlement And Conciliation Program | Relationships Australia Victoria | Dispute Resolution (2018) Relationshipsvictoria.com.au https://www.relationshipsvictoria.com.au/services/FDR/propertyconciliation/

Researchgate.net (2018) <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alice_Stuhlmacher/publication/268787533_A_Meta-Analysis_on_Gender_Differences_in_Negotiation_Outcomes_and_Their_Moderators/links/553f7c190cf2574dcf629531/A-Meta-Analysis-on-Gender-Differences-in-Negotiation-Outcomes-and-Their-Moderators.pdf>

Researchgate.net (2018) You Have A Real Estate, Rental Property Or Body Corporate Complaint... -Queensland Ombudsman (2018) Ombudsman.qld.gov.au https://www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au/how-to-complain/make-a-complaint/out-of-jurisdiction-categories/real-estate-rental-property-or-body-corporate