[Negotiation] Chapter 3: Strategy and Tactics of Distributive Bargaining

Essentials of Negotiation
Chapter 3

This chapter focuses on describing the basic structure of competitive or distributive bargaining situations and strategies used in distributive bargaining. The distributive bargaining situation can occur when goals of one party are in fundamental and direct conflict to another party, resources are fixed and limited, and the goal is to maximize the share of resources.

Distributive bargaining is a conflict situation because each party is looking for their own advantage. There are many ways to get this advantage. It could be through concealing information, attempting to mislead the other party, or by using manipulative actions. In order to have effective distributive bargaining, parties should plan carefully, use strong execution and have constant monitoring of the other party’s reactions.

Alternatives give the negotiator power to walk away from the negotiation. If there are attractive alternatives, the negotiators can set their goals higher and make fewer concessions. But if not, negotiators might have much less bargaining power.

Fundamental Strategies:

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  Push for settlement near opponents resistance point.


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  Get the other party to reduce their resistance point.


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  If settlement range is negative, you can get the other side to reduce their resistance point or modify your own.


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  Convince the other party that settlement is the best possible.

Keys to implement any of the four strategies are discovering and influencing the other party's resistance point.

Tactical tasks of negotiators are:

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  Assessing outcome values and costs of termination for the other party directly and indirectly.


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  Managing the other party's impressions by screening and taking direct action to alter the impressions.


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  Modifying the other party's perceptions by making outcomes appear less attractive, making the cost of obtaining goals appear higher, and making demands and positions appear more or less attractive to the other party.


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  Manipulating the actual costs of delay or termination by planing disruptive action, forming an alliance with outsiders, and manipulating the scheduling of negotiations.

Positions taken during negotiations are opening offer, opening stance, initial concessions and the role of them, patterns of concession making, and final offer(commitments).

The tactical considerations for commitments are establishing a commitment with finality, specificity and consequences, preventing the other party from committing prematurely, and preparing the ways to abandon a committed position.

To close the deal, you have to provide 2-3 alternatives for the other party and also assume which way it would end.