Blog 5 Response

I think I did pretty well in the negotiation, I was the employee. I scored higher than my partner and was in the mid to high range compared with others in the class which did surprise me. In order to influence my partner I basically gave a lot of support for each argument that made negotiation difficult. I made myself sound like there was no way out except to get the highest amount of money. I tried to provide as much information about my personal situation to provide reasons why I needed everything to be top dollar. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about my partner so that didn’t have an affect on my approach. I’m not sure that my performance in the negotiation reflects how I approach conflicts, for one I usually try to leave personal information out of conflicts but it was appropriate for this situation. I can be an argumentative person, and sometimes I do catch myself trying to convince people of my opinion and trying to get them to see things my way or do something that I want to do. I think it comes from being a middle child. Growing up there was constant arguments, conflicts, and compromises and my siblings and I still all argue and negotiate about everything all the time even if it’s just going to a restaurant or what time we should meet. It’s a constant exhausting battle but I suppose it prepared me for life and conflict at work for example. I definitely learned a lot from this role play. I always was worried that I may have to negotiate a salary package one day and after going through this I feel like it prepared me. I was overall satisfied with my performance although I’m still disappointed that my bonus wasn’t higher. As far as interactions with people around me, I think I learned that it is important to listen to others and there are two sides to every story. Had I been the recruiter in this case, my approach may have been different.