Group - Power and Politics, Conflict and Negotiation

I really enjoyed listening to Professor William Ury’s talk, “The Walk from No to Yes.” The concept that I have learned from Ury is taking the third side in conflict. Conflict often has two sides. When people have different perspectives and all of them need to seek out for a solution, each person should step back and look at the situation as the third person. This technique gives people an opportunity to get out of their own personally hyphenate involved feeling with that particular situation. Then people will have broader vision on that conflict. The better solution will come out afterward. According to Ury, the third side is us, and it steps us closer to peace (2010). Ury gives so many examples that make me understand his concept. For instance, Ury gives the example of Abraham who could turn some hostility in the Middle East to hospitality from his walking journey with his family. Abraham’s and his family’s walking symbolized the unity in family. This unity acted as the third side that influenced to those conflicts in the Middle East. It’s implied to those Middle Eastern people that what they need to solve any conflicts is unity. I think Ury’s concept is absolutely great. We can apply this concept in any conflict in the world, this absolutely includes for management. It is so simple, but sometimes just not so easy to do. For management, in a conflict between employees ,or a conflict between managers and employees and/or managers, everybody should step back and look at the situation with the third-person view. Looking at the situation with an unbiased attitude can resolve the conflict. I do not have any thought to challenge this concept. However, I am looking forward to hearing the next talk from Ury about what alternative skills he would suggest to solve a conflict when one or both sides do not want to step back and take the third side to solve the problem.

When I first started listening to the interview with Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever “Women Don’t Ask” I knew there was going to be a topic on feminism or gender. Babcock and Laschever talk about gender differences in negotiation. Babcock says that the data from her research show that only 7% of the women in her study asked for their job offer, while 57% of the men asked for it. The speakers give some logic as to why women do not usually negotiate for themselves. One of the reasons is the way women were taught when they were young. Aggressive women are not acceptable in some cultures, but not being aggressive can lead those women receive unfair treatment. Two speakers advise women to get out and ask every question they wonder about in negotiation. Starting by setting a goal and negotiate for it. This concept helps women be more visible in organizations, and receive an equal treatment with men. I think this concept is very beneficial for every gender, not only for women. Asking does not hurt anyone. If you never ask, you never know. In addition, the two speakers suggest that women also need to set a bottom line for which offered conditions that they cannot accept in negotiation. I wonder if some women have had bad experience after asking for things that they should get and if they recieved negative effects afterward, are there any ways to make them feel better and not afraid of negotiating for the next time? 

5 Tips to Resolve Conflict (Before it Gets Out of Control) 
This recommendation has been shared 1.2k times, even though this recommendation is not evidence-based. This recommendation is examined from Paul Spiegelman’s experiments and experiences over the years dealing with conflicts in his company. There is no sample size of the research that the author uses to make the argument since it is based on his personal opinion only. I would like to see some results of studies showing that his concepts work and diminish the conflict.

The topic of power and politics is challenging to me. The two readings in this week session are a little bit difficult since a lot of examples and organizations that I have never known are mentioned in these two articles. So, I could not see a clear picture of the examples the author talks about. It was a little bit tough for me to follow. By the way, I really enjoyed watching the clips about negotiation, especially the topic of gender differences. I think it is rewarding especially for women, but also everyone. I am so excited to step forward to learn a bigger scape of management field, organizations: culture and change management. This topic will be more challenging because culture is something that is quite hard to control, but it is so important for every business. I have never paid attention to this topic before, so I hope the next session will be very worthwhile for me.