Interest Analysis: Understanding Conflicts and Negotiation Strategies, Study notes of Conflict Management

Download Interest Analysis: Understanding Conflicts and Negotiation Strategies and more Study notes Conflict Management in PDF only on Docsity! 50 Lesson 14 INTEREST ANALYSIS II Quotation The interest of the landlord is always opposed to the interests of every other class in the community. David Ricardo (1772 - 1823) British political economist. We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow. Lord Palmerston (1784 - 1865) British prime minister. Speech to the British Parliament In the previous lecture, we talked about the analysis of interests. How interests of conflict participants are important to understand the nature of conflict. The analysis of interests helps diagnose conflict greatly. The deeper understanding of the sources of conflict, both superficial and deep, could help resolve conflict successfully and favorably. Conflict in its collective sense is sometimes defined as a condition, sometimes as a process, and sometimes as an event. Conflict can be taken as a challenge and could be transformed into an opportunity. Analyzing the interests of constituents and stakeholders Constituents and stakeholders are affected by the course and outcome of a conflict; in turn, their connection to the disputants can lead to their significantly affecting the settlement, or potential settlements, made by the disputants, for good or for ill. Uncover conflicting interests that might lead to undermining negotiation or sabotaging a settlement. Improve the ultimate result by taking account of what others are likely to do. For example in a divorce case, the children’s interests should be analyzed carefully. Apart from the moral responsibility the adults in the situation to act in the best interests of these children, it is highly likely that, without an understanding of the children’s interests, the children will themselves contribute to the destruction of the agreements made by the grown ups. Children also attempt to create a secure relationship between themselves and each parent by telling each parent what the children think the parents want to hear. Analyzing the interests of all participants is important as any participant could sabotage the settlement of the dispute. An interest analysis should also include the agents and advocates for the other disputant. This is because the interests of other participants in the conflict can add to the complexity of motivations driving behavior in the conflict. docsity.com 51 Advantages of interests analysis Reveals possible conflicts of interests and how they may make resolution more difficult and complex. Agents or Advocates for the other Disputant Reveals possible conflicts of interest. Requiring replacement of representative Disputants own Agents and Advocates Allows action to be taken up front to avoid later sabotage of or damage to the settlement Constituents and Stakeholders Enables the negotiator to craft appealing proposals Avoids errors of judgment about how to resolve the conflict Sabotage by a disputant whose deep-seated interests are not addressed by the resolution of the conflict Avoids the pitfalls of positional bargaining Enables the negotiator to (if necessary) tailor coercive measures to the disputants interests The other disputant Clarifies what the disputant really wants and needs Enables the disputant to consider whether interests, values, and needs would be better met outside the conflict Enables greater flexibility and creativity in crafting solutions Avoids the pitfalls of positional bargaining. The Disputant Interests analysis of agents and advocates An interest analysis should explore the interests, values, and needs of the agents and advocates on all sides of the conflict. The principal reason that interests’ analysis should include the agents and advocates of one’s team is to clarify whether they have problematic conflicts of interest with their principal. Better understand the complexities of what is motivating the “other team” and develop coping strategies. Develop understanding of motivators of other team members and strategize to cope with such conflicts. What are interests? Interests are emotions, drives, needs, principles, values, preferences, likes and dislikes, or the forces that move you to an action. These interests are drives or motivators of human behavior. The interests are many in one individual. They are related in a complex way and if the parties to a conflict are multiple, then understanding the logical relationship among interests is hard and complex; that is why we diagram the relationships among various interests. Why diagram interests? Superficial interests are logically connected to more fundamental interests. The concept of an interest tree diagram is used to represent the hierarchical and logical relationships between interests. It also clarifies which fundamental interests underlie more superficial interests. Because the superficial interests are “driven” by the deeper ones; clarifying these logical connections allows one to concede on superficial interests while standing firm on more fundamental interests. Looking at interests of others allows one to appeal to deeper interests as an “end run” around more superficial demands. Diagramming the interests of others, creates the knowledge base one needs to develop effective negotiation and other resolution strategies. docsity.com