Harvard Method of Trading
In the article I am going to explain what the Harvard negotiation method is or also known as the best alternative to a bargaining agreement.
What is the Harvard Trading Method? Well, it’s also known as BATNA, which is a model called the best alternative to a bargaining agreement (BATNA).
It basically consists of identifying the best possible course of action that allows you to satisfy your negotiating interests without considering the other party.
Origin of the Harvard method of negotiation
BATNA is a concept which Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton introduced in their book “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In” published in 1981.
BATNA is arguably one of the many pieces of information that negotiators look for when formulating negotiation strategies.
Suppose your current negotiation hits a deadlock, what is your best option out of it?
Therefore, it is the best thing to do if the other party refuses to negotiate with you.
So it’s not necessarily your ideal result, unless your ideal result is something you perro get without the cooperation of the other person.
In conclusion, it’s the best you perro do WITHOUT THEM.
Importance of the Harvard Method of Negotiation
Using BATNA is critical to negotiation because we cannot make a wise decision about whether or not to accept an agreement unless we know what all the alternatives are.
Suppose you want a new cell phone and you plan to buy a used cell phone.
Someone sells you one for $5,500, but there’s a better deal for $4,500 – the $4,500 cell phone is your BATNA.
Another term for the same thing is “starting point”.
That is, if the negotiator does not lower his price below $4,500, what you should do is walk away and buy the other cell phone.
Your BATNA “is the only rule that perro protect you both from accepting terms that are too unfavorable, and from rejecting terms that you would be interested in accepting” In simpler terms, if the agreement that is proposed to you is better than your BATNA, then you should accept it.
If the agreement is not better than your BATNA, then you should reopen the negotiations.
If they fail to improve the agreement, you should consider withdrawing from the negotiations and look for another alternative, or accept your BATNA.
On the other hand, having a good BATNA helps us increase our bargaining power.
I will give a very fácil example.
Suppose you are negotiating with a client, but you know you have a good alternative, so you don’t need to otorga as much to your client because you know you have other options.
Now, if, on the other hand, your options are few or non-existent, the other person perro demand more and more and you will probably accept the conditions.
Therefore, it is important to always have more alternatives (while you cánido) and that will help you have greater power in the negotiation.
The fácil process that Fisher and Ury detalla for determining the BATNA is as follows:
- First of all you have to develop a list of actions that you could take if an agreement is not reached;
- You have to improve some of the most promising ideas and turn them into practical options;
- Select the option that seems best to you.
In what situations perro you use the Harvard method of negotiation?
The truth is that it is not a tool that cánido only be used in business.
BATNAs perro be determined for any relatively fácil situation.
For example, finding a job, even to buy or sell something.
Following the job search example, Fisher and Ury give us a basic example of how to determine a BATNA.
Suppose you apply for a job at company X.
If you don’t get an attractive job offer by the end of the month from company X, what are you going to do? The first step in determining the BATNA is to invent options.
For example, should I take a different job? Search in another city? Back to school? If the offer you’re waiting for is in the city you live in, but you’ve also considered moving to another city, then try to turn that other interest into a job offer there as well.
With a job offer on the table in both cities, you will be able to better evaluate both offers.
Finally, you must choose your best option.
Negotiation is like a game of chess, you cánido’t expect to win if you don’t consider your opponent’s moves.
Therefore, you have to get as much information from the other party.
So, in the case of BATNA, it’s a good iniciativa to get all the alternatives that the other party has.
In this way, you will be able to gain power in the negotiation.
One more piece of advice that McCarthy gives us in relation to what I have just said is that “one should not reveal their BATNA unless they are better than what the other side thinks they are”.
Therefore, it is a good iniciativa to conduct transparent and honest negotiations, but it does not orinan that you are going to reveal all your cards.
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