Unbundle the issues by definition if negotiations

Unbundle the Issues
• By definition, if negotiations contain only one issue (e.g.,price), they are purely
distributive (i.e.,fixed-pie).
• Adding issues, unbundling issues, and creating new issues can transform a single-issue,
fixed-pie negotiation into an integrative, multi-issue negotiation with win-win potential
• Integrative agreements require at least two issues
• Unbundle the price and include other things that may be of importance to the negotiators.
Make Package Deals, Not Single-Issue Offers
• Negotiators make the mistake of negotiating each issue one by one
• Mistake for several reasons:
 First and foremost- Negotiating each issue separately does not allow negotiators
to make trade-offs between issues.
 Second- It may mean that impasse is more likely, especially if the bargaining zone
is narrow and trade-offs are necessary to reach a mutually profitable outcome.
 Single-issue offers lure negotiators into compromise agreements in which we
know are usually not the best approach for win-win negotiations.
Make Multiple Offers of Equivalent Value Simultaneously
• This is effective even when you are dealing with the most uncooperative of negotiators.
• It involves presenting the other party with at least two, preferably more proposals that are
of equal value to me.
• The multiple-offer strategy is threefold:
 1. Devise multiple-issues offers : as opposed to a single issue so you get
away from sequential bargaining, which can lock people into lose-lose
outcomes

 2. Devise offers that are all of equal value to yourself: leaving yourself
many ways to get what you want before making a concession
 3. Make all the offers at the same time: present it to them like a dessert
tray and wait for a response; and they come as a package, they can’t pick
and choose from each one.
• Substantiation- arguments for one’s own position or against the other’s position is what
interferes the most with win-win agreements.
• Negotiators who make multiple, equivalent offers have an edge in five critical
aspects:
a. They can be more aggressive in terms of anchoring the negotiation favorably
b. Gain better information about the other party (inductive reasoning: a
negotiator can deduce what the other party’s true interests are and where
the joint gains are)
c. Be more persistent
d. Signal their priorities more effectively
e. overcome concession aversion on the part of the other side (when people
perceive themselves as having more choices, as opposed to only one, they
may be more likely to comply.
Structure Contingency Contracts by Capitalizing on Differences
Differences in Valuation : Logrolling- the strategy of trading off so as to capitalize on different
strengths of preference.
Differences in expectations : people have different forecasts or beliefs about what will happen in
the future (get what you want based on what you believe will happen)
Differences in risk Attitudes: They may agree on the probability of a future event but feel