MBA 825: ADVANCED BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
TOPIC: BUSINESS NEGOTIATION
PRESENTED BY: AJAYI BOLANLE GRACE
The term business refers to an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial,
industrial, or professional activities. The purpose of a business is to ensure economic production
of goods or services. Businesses can be for-profit entities or non-profit organizations fulfilling a
charitable mission or furthering a social cause. Businesses range in scale and scope from sole
proprietorships to large, international corporations.
Negotiation is a process of finding common grounds and making a mutually acceptable agreement
between two or more parties on issues of mutual interest. Negotiation is also referred to as an “activity of
social decision making” (Firth 1995c: 6) or as “collaborative decision making” (Raiffa, Richardson, and
Metcalfe 2002: title and passim). Negotiation happens all around us, as we do it daily, in buying food
stuffs, clothes and basic need.
The negotiation in business takes place constantly; making the purchase and sale agreement,
appointment and dismissal of employees, dealing with a variety of situations. Negotiations can
take place easily or with high voltage, may be able to easily negotiate or deal with special
problems. Businesses have goals to be achieved, these goals include; sales development, profitability
management, delivery, after-sales services, or the payment of invoices. Effective business negotiation can lead
to favorable outcomes in deals, contracts, and collaborations. Effective business negotiation
contributes to strong business relationships, when parties engage in open and respectful
dialogue, trust is built, leading to better long-term partnerships and cooperation. Effective
business negotiation provides a structured way to resolve disputes, find common ground, and
maintain positive working relationships. Effective negotiation helps to conclude on better terms,
whether in contracts, salaries, or with clients and suppliers which directly
impacts organizational performance by leading to higher revenues and saving cost.
What makes negotiation effective is communicating efficiently, understanding the psychology of
the other human or negotiating partner, and the interests of the organization one is representing.
To negotiate well, one needs to assimilate the basics of communication which include being able
to read well, verbal and nonverbal communication signs, expressions, being able to provide and
receive information to substantiate ones position, being able to respond to comments and decode
them, to understand, to resist manipulations and know how appropriately to complete
negotiations. The lack of communication knowledge and skills may become the key obstacle to
effective negotiation results.
