is negotiation an option?

actually this is a report i done for my group assignment (read between the lines but it is quite clear most ppl will get it... i think) oh ya for this assignement we needed to come up with a video (a short clip / drama), and this video is about negotiation.

The topic this time is negotiation, this is use every where and almost every time, from a family, a child bargain extension for his curfew, students asking the teachers or lecturers to extend the deadline, employees talking to their boss for adding salary or promotion, even in a kindergarten, kids use candy to negotiate for a toy etc. by not noticing it we uses negotiation all the time.

The outcome of the negotiation sure will determine which side is winning or losing, and it will break down to 3 result, for the first harmony result, both party wins what we call as a win win situation, both side have some benefit and both party is satisfy, the other will be lose win, where one party will gain benefits form the bargain and the other will lose something this makes one side happy and the other not, lose lose situation is when both side have lost no one wins but there is too a situation where it is call a tie but this shows that the negotiation isn’t complete because a out come isn’t set.

For this topic we are divided into groups and shoot a video that relate to the topic, there is 2 scenario for us to choose and we have chosen exercise one where a creative director and her junior designer have a conflict and negotiate how should the problem being solve. First the misunderstanding, quarrel (conflict), and the negotiation the process to find a solution, or path to determine the responsible.

How conflict starts? A lot of facts actually helps creating misunderstanding, when communication isn’t properly done, when there is noise (interruption) where one is using a media to communicate to the other, the other party may misinterpreted a word and the whole conversation will mean differently, or when there is no communication, this is always the problem people face, no communication even with the closes as ones parents this is just partly facts that lead to miscommunication. Other then noise there is too the basic fault most people will do, assumptions, “I assume that I have told you all what to do” (but no part of you all disagree with that, from here who is right and wrong) “writing / remembering down the wrong facts” form all here the worst is being a hard head, stubborn mistaken but will not admit it, this is the worst of all conflict.

What conflict got to do with negotiation? A way of explaining it is to solve a problem in a more civil way; this is how man uses this to avoid violence that may create unwilling result to any party. In the other way of looking at it, it is still a mini war going on in a room on a table maybe but without involving any cats fights, fires, weapons etc the only thing uses is the mouth and “fight” for it to determine who is the winner or loser.

This is a story that most students or sons and daughter will say even employees, when people is in need to the other party, sons and daughter that is still living with their parents and using their money, students that wanted to pass, employees that needed the job sometimes negotiation isn’t something they can “afford” why say so? A son and daughter will get grounded in certain circumstances, students may got bar or fail by the teacher or lecturer and employees they may put their family in line by getting fire means no money for dinner (well so far from here it is the value people have in mind so far, that’s why a lot of people chicken out, and too them negotiations isn’t an option). Well it is always unfair to certain groups of people it never will.

Back to the assignment, for our character (pick by a draw) yours truly as the junior designer, Cindy as the creative director, LiuBin as the CEO of the company, Hazrool as Cindy’s secondary, Jesslyn as the busybody coworker, and finally Nurool as the client. Well as I have mention on top the story flows accordingly to what I have just stated, there is some misunderstanding, the creative director ask the junior designer to come up with a big presentation in a weeks time but have no time to pay any attention to the junior designer when he approach her for consultation, without the creative director’s help and advice the junior director that just got onto his post have no idea on what she have to do. Just like what I said earlier assumptions, humans like to make assumptions (personally I hated that), using words like “I assume you know” so whose fault is it? The junior designer didn’t push hard enough? Or the creative director that is too busy with her meetings and other projects?

Here the negotiation seems more like a blaming section to point fingers on who is right or wrong and how the people in it work it out for a better or worst. For this scenario the creative director and the junior designer debate in front of a “judge” here is something indirectly negotiating for their future in the job, who will the “judge” feel not good enough or responsible for the incomplete work. Here it indirectly shows the ugly side of human for surviving – in the work place, the junior who is in the low hierarchy will try to pull down the creative director and in the opposite the creative director will just want to swallow the low rank guy up. But in certain circumstances it may turn out pretty, where they work things out together like a professionals leaving hard feelings behind (seriously how many professionals are professionals but no act like one?).

The outcome is not always predictable, who will win the ugly (although civil it is still ugly) battle in pride (show the truth nothing but the truth) or in shame (make things up, just to murder the other party) it is unclear to others. Because of this unclear ugly world of truth although I m straight and clear to people that is in the same hierarchy but still no hard feelings but when it comes to a more superior party I guess mostly I just chicken out, in this phase I m not committing suicide yet.

actually i didnt post up the ending for our story, but if any one wanted to know just ask.

this is dedicated to a person from a higher hierarchy.

p.s. i maybe updating the pic for the video shoot if possible.