Free «Business Law» Essay Sample

In the heart of a battle, a negotiation tactic is a single maneuver employed as a move or countermove at any given moment to achieve the best possible outcome. Any contract negotiation is regarded as a battle between the involved parties, striving to manipulatively move the opposing party from a position of safety to vulnerability for ease of attack. All negotiators need to be prepared for negotiation tactics, armed with countertactics, for the best possible deals. Parties get the potential to create mutually beneficial agreements, or win-win outcomes, as a results of the integrative negotiations. Nibbling, snow-jobbing, bogey, and extreme demands before concession are some of the common tactics in contract negotiation.

One of the tactics used in contract negotiations is the use of extreme demands before making slow concessions. Dealmakers use this tactic to avoid quick concessions, a move termed as an all-hard bargaining tactic (Gibson & Osborne, 2019). The supplier of the seating interiors for a jet is likely to start with extreme demands before slowly conceding, in view of striking a deal, rather than unnecessarily dragging out the contract negotiations. To counter this tactic, the buyers must not be rattled by an aggressive opponent, by establishing a clear bottom line, having an alternative to a negotiated contract, and having a clear sense of the set goals. For instance, the seller of the jets seating interiors is likely to quote an extremely high or low offer, with the view of compelling the buyer to reconsider their stance. Unless the buyer is able to call out the seller through thorough research and clear goals, the seller is likely to emerge victorious.

The second contract negotiation tactic is bogey, whereby the seller brings up unimportant issues to cover up the vitally important details of the contract. A negotiator expects the other party to concede an important aspect, while agreeing to concede the bogey issue (Blount, 2019). It is hard to detect the opposing party’s intentions and instructions, making bogey a difficult tactic to detect. For instance, if the jet seats interior seller hikes the price due to the manufacturing fabric, but later concedes it for installation costs, it is likely that the fabric issue is not really important. A sudden change of attitude by the seller over an issue they adamantly could not concede indicates it could be a bogey. To counter this tactic, the buyer needs to inquire about the sudden change of attitude. The buyer needs to have sufficient information to gauge the importance of the aspect ceded, as well as the value of the alternative, before proceeding with the contract.

Third is snow job, a tactic skillfully designed to distract and confuse the buyer. Here, the seller bombards the buyer with plenty of information, backed with overwhelming figures and facts (Staff, 2021). The biggest test for the buyer is identifying the most important facts, and distinguish them from information supplied for distraction. For instance, the jet seats interior manufacturer may decide to technical jargon in the field, which would be tough for a layperson to decipher. The buyer needs to be firm when negotiating a contract, to fight this tactic. The buyer needs to approach the seller with specific descriptions and qualities he/she is looking for, to avoid snow jobs. The key to avoiding this tactic is paying close attention and specifically ask what is important.

Lastly is the nibble, mostly a condition set by one party towards the end of the negotiations. The opposing party would want to insert a new clause before consenting, after spending much time on the negotiations (Gibson & Osborne, 2019). The jet interior seats seller may first want to wear down the buyer during negotiations, to easily gain their consent. To counter the nibble tactic, both parties should present their issues for discussion at the onset of the negotiations. Any matter brought out during the negotiations process, and not arising from the already discussed subject, should be expunged, to avoid meddling with the mind of the opposing party.

In conclusion, parties in a contract use extreme demands at the beginning, bogey, snow-job, and nibble tactics to obtain a favorable outcome. Extreme demands at the onset are meant to avoid concessions by providing a hardline position. Bogey is a tactic used to cover some important aspects of the contract, to maintain an upper hand. Other negotiators use snow jobbing to confuse their counterparts with a lot of unnecessary facts and information. Finally, there is nibbling, a tactic preferred to wear down a negotiator, for easy concession.