Question

Dynamics of diversity drive attention towards decisions and how they are negotiated. But there is a paradox to consider: While decision steps are central to your management authority, there is limited information within success stories and case studies about these details. This situation becomes problematic when there are a range of cultural expectations. In contrast, exploring how to making decisions by being attentive to diverse views adds power and analytical skill to your management performance.

Important Questions to think about in posting to Conference 6:

You can observe important lessons about your decision/negotiating process by look at a memorable or “turning point” event in which you recall a decision and how it was negotiated, or not.

• In what ways was that decision effective?
• Was the decision negotiated? Why or why not?
• Would that process work effectively if there were diverse viewpoints?

Answer 1

In the organization that I work for, I have been assigned the role of a team leader and was given the opportunity to head a team of extremely talented people. However, during the holiday season, we were not given offs like they do every year. We were made to work overtime to meet the rise in sales around that time. My teammates and other colleagues were not given enough rest. Our organization is generally empathetic towards us employees, but this time they had let it slip. I, being the team leader, took it upon myself to talk to the manager and negotiate on behalf of my teammates and colleagues.

My manager is a very aggressive negotiator. I had to make sure I negotiated in a way that did not irk him. The manager went on about how our contribution towards reaching the targets and goals around this time is important. I listened attentively. Then, I put across my point with great confidence and explained to him that these employees had their families. For a lot of them, their families had to travel long journeys to be with them during this holiday season. I said that the organization's goals are our collective goals too and that we would do anything to achieve them. I suggested working from home as an alternative. This way, us employees can stay at home and still get the work done. I also suggested that the company employ part time employees to comply with the sudden rise in demand and sales for the product. This was a turning point in our negotiation. The manager said that he would convey this to the top management and get back to me regarding this issue. A week later, we all got a mail saying that our hardwork had not been gone unnoticed and that the Management was grateful for our contribution. They gave us all two weeks off and provided us with laptops and internet dongles to get work done from home. They also said that they are hiring part time employees to deal with the increased work load and work will resume again after the holidays.

My colleagues congratulated me on our little victory. The decision made us all happy because we get to spend time with our loved ones at home, while not being too zoned out from work because we could work from home now too. During the negotiation with my manager, the end decision was not negotiated much because with my negotiation skills, I managed to get the manager to feel empathetic towards us and the situation. He also understood our importance and said that he would talk to the higher management about it. If there were diverse viewpoints during the negotiations, it would not have been successfull. While it is important to understand the various viewpoints of others, the manager would not have complied with what I had said if there were other viewpoints blocking his judgement.