Negotiation: Definition and types, manager's issues in negotiation, cultural differences and the negotiation process

Ever since she entered the firm, Mrs. Müller has worked every year on Christmas Eve. This year she wants to be with her family, though. But none of her colleagues want to be there. Her boss needs every shop assistant available because of the Christmas sales. At the beginning of December Mrs. Müller asks the boss who will fill in for her on Christmas Eve.
Especially in today’s work setting, where a variety of people are being offered opportunities to be involved in making decisions affecting them and their work negotiation is significant. The more people are involved in the process; more disagreements are likely to arise over diverse matters such as wage rates, task objectives, performance evaluation, job assignment or work schedules (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). A manager of today has to be familiar with basic negotiation concepts and processes to deal with such day–to–day affairs.
In this assignment I want to give a short overview about what negotiation is all about and what different types can be distinguished (chapter 2). Then I want to focus on the manager’s main fields of action within negotiations (chapter 3) followed by some as-pects of cultural differences (chapter 4). Finally I will explain the negotiation process (chapter 5).