Pros & Cons of negotiating in a team (reading 3.12)

Pros
Aligning the conflicting interests held by members of your own team.
Implementing a disciplined strategy at the bargaining table. 
Clarify team goals/ Plot out the conflicts.
Constituents willing to concede more ground if they see the big pictures. 
Form relationships across constituencies.
Bringing in outside consultant to analyze data can align team interests.
Discover one another's strengths and weaknesses.
Rehearsals/Team role-play ahead of time.
Team members with prior negotiation experience with the other party can be valuable.
Clarify who has authority to make concessions and decisions. 
Can play good cop-bad cop routine to whipsaw an opponent. 
Give specific roles to team members.
Make sure team's strategy has been vetted by higher-level management.
Teams achieve higher quality outcomes.
Teams can learn more about the other party's priorities.
Maximizes use of team resources.
Establish a plan for intrateam communication.
Discuss and decide in real time when making concessions.
Access to greater expertise.
Ability to assign members to specialized roles. 
Can implement more complex strategies.


Cons
Other team members could blurt out or say things that cause the team to lose ground.
Have different priorities.
Imagine different ideal outcomes. 
Sometimes does not go to table with a coherent negotiation strategy. 
What's good for one part of the team/company may be bad for another part of the team/company. 
May dig in on issues important to their constituents rather than what's best for the company. 
May not be able to reconcile differences. 
Team members don't have access to same data as leaders.
Members may distrust data that comes from different departments.
Undisciplined behavior.
Team members can get emotional or become irrational toward the other side. 
Team members sometimes reveal information that jeopardizes a position or expose weakness.
Team member may become overeager without reciprocal concession from the team.
Clashes about appropriate negotiation styles.
Some team members offer too much information or chime in at inopportune moments. 
Can run into trouble at the table when experts aren't available.
Lack of internal alignment increases the probability that team discipline will break down. 
Deficiency can push team into a spiral.

Labor Unions

Today, we live in a society that confirms daily that only people with money matter. Wealth segregation makes a common social experience nearly impossible. How much money you have determines what kind of health care you receive or which schools your children attend. Unionizing can close the gap between the rich and the poor by reducing recessions and reducing high levels unemployment. Unionizing could help with higher wages, job security, better health benefits, etc... Today, workers are missing the pull of collective action. Our young generation grew up not knowing of labor's early tenacity and vigor, but with the reality of unions under attack. Nurses and teachers interests are represented by unions. Walmart employees are not represented by unions. Walmart employees have struggled to join forces to advocate for better pay and more stable schedules so they aren't forced to rely on public assistance and food stamps to supplement their low wages. More and more of U.S. businesses provide a service rather than a product with a lot of our manufacturing leaving our country. This has also contributed to unions going down in our country. Unions have been on the decline since the 1960s.

Negotiating with Emotion (Reading 2.4)

      Negotiation is simply a matter of cool calculation.  It's important to be poised when warming up for a negotiation.  Having positive feelings can increase creativity and certainly help with being more prepared. 
      Recently, I was offered a job after graduation, and I intend on negotiating my salary before I accept the position.  Below are the six questions I plan on preparing for before my upcoming negotiation. 
1.)  How do you want to feel going into the negotiation?
2.)  Why?
I want to be optimistic and have positive emotions.  I want to be prepared, educated, confident, and strong.  I feel if I prepared with valid reasons as to why I deserve a higher salary, they would be more agreeable to my request.  I also want to be prepared with comebacks if they shoot down my request.  I don't want to go in and just say "ok" if they reject my request.  I want to comeback again with great reasons as to why I deserve it.  For example, not only do I have a degree, but I also have 21 years of work experience under my belt, then go on to explain or reiterate all the skills and knowledge I have gained over the years. 
3.)  What can you do beforehand to put yourself in an ideal emotional state?
Before a negotiation, for me, it's important to "clear my head" or meditate for a few minutes.  Sometimes just closing my eyes and taking some deep breaths helps me focus and get my thoughts on track and in order.  It also gives me a minute to remember key things and remind myself to stay calm and relaxed.  This helps me to get in that state of mind. 
4.)  What can throw you off balance during a negotiation?
I need to be prepared for possibly not getting the answer I want.  I want to be ready and know how to handle the situation if my request is turned down.  I don't want to give them a negative impression or say something that could change their impression of me if I don't handle the situation correctly or professionally.  Also, if they do give me what I want, I don't want to overreact.  My focus is to stay calm, professional, and respectful at all times. 
5.)  What can you do in the midst of a negotiation to regain your balance?
If I am thrown off balance, I would want to regain my balance by being prepared with another comeback.  I want to be firm in letting them know I deserve a higher salary and why.  I want to be prepared with several comebacks without being pushing or overbearing.  I want to be prepared at staying calm and respectful at all times. 
6.)  How do you want to feel when you're finished?
I want to feel accomplished and satisfied once the negotiation is over.  Even if I don't get what I want, I think just taking a stance and being prepared with good reasoning as to why I deserve a higher salary would make me feel that I at least tried.  At least I asked and let them know that I feel confident and worthy of the job I'm doing.  This alone would make me feel proud that I explained to them that I'm definitely worth it and I gave good answers as to why.