RUNNING HEAD: NEGOTIATING FOR SUCCESS 1

Municipal Negotiations Process for Success

Diana Householder (Student #522906)

Siena Heights University Graduate College

4-07-2018

Municipal Negotiation Process for Success

Negotiations Process
Negotiations are typically thought of as an activity reserved specifically for the business

arena, such as negotiating a job offer, at the closing of a big deal or during legal negotiations.

Certain individuals with specific job titles are thought of as expert negotiators, such as politicians

and attorneys. We do not typically consider how often we also negotiate in everyday life. We

negotiate when we desire to make any and all changes, such as discussing terms of family tasks

like chores and compensation. Assimilating the negotiating world in the immediate surroundings,

in the workplace and as well as in life.

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Contemplating the bigger picture of things helps one to look beyond limited perceptions

regarding negotiations, and the knowledge that the process of negotiations is an activity that

reaches beyond the typical business, government and organizational settings. Moreover,

negotiating begins the discussions targeted at reaching certain goals. Pinet, and Sander, (2013)

maintain that “losing focus on objectives is a common—and dangerous—pitfall in negotiations”

(p.127). Therefore, in negotiations, the objectives should be clear and concise and understood by

all parties, as well as the realization of the motivations and factors behind the drive for the

negotiations.
Successful negotiations is more than just appreciating the talents of great negotiating skill, it

is also imperative to leverage the talents of the negotiators to achieve a greater purpose - to

propel the business at hand forward. Negotiating is also a great resource for teaching, learning 

and gaining understanding within organizations, as well as an instrumental management tool to 

help in the decision­making process (Baggetta, Han, & Andrews, 2013). Furthermore, 

organizations of all types understand that meetings and negotiations are an important tool to 

utilize for communication.
Essential Strategies
Authentic leaders build and establish trust, and as such authenticity does not always come

naturally. It takes work. Moreover, the same can be said for negotiating. Negotiating mandates a

certain level of awareness of individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as self-awareness and

feeling comfortable in your own skin. Therefore, negotiators can look at the negotiations process

collectively as an opportunity to sharpen or enhance leadership skills. Successful negotiation

process involves these four essential strategies:

1) Preparation - Collect information, determine and establish negotiations goals, and how

to reach them. Be prepared by taking into consideration and understanding the objectives
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of the other party. Evaluate the leverage - absolutely decide what you will or will not

accept, what your bottom line is, the deal breaker so to speak. Initiate communications,

build rapport, to gain some insight of the opponent in the early stages. Know and

understand your own objective, and your negotiations approach and plan.
2) Opening - Phase to explain point of view and listen vigilantly to the objectives of the

other party. Make an effort to understand the central issues.. Also, this is the phase where

trust is built by finding common ground. In this phase the tone is set for the larger part of

the future negotiations proceedings.

3) Bargaining – This phase is the heart and soul of the negotiations. This phase begins the

adjusting, and arranging of what is being negotiated. It is the meat and potatoes phase in

which trading occurs. For example, I will give you this, of you give me that stage.
4) Closure – The phase of negotiations in which the negotiators come to terms or agree,

based on the information collected during preparations, the understanding gained through

the opening phase, and all of the other pertinent bargaining units in the bargaining phase

and come to an agreement.

Negotiating is a part of everyday life, therefore in understanding the concepts of negotiating

success in goals can be met. Understanding an individual’s strengths and weaknesses not only

provides an environment for success, it also allows negotiators to identify the motivators, which
in turn creates a more efficient and effective paradigm. Negotiating for success in organizations

sometimes requires putting people first, therefore fostering an organization’s best opportunity to

innovate, solve problems, and exceed the needs of its employees and customers. By putting

people first and finding out what the other party really wants, organizations and leaders can

perform at the top (Harvard Business Review, 2011).

Municipal Negotiations
Cities and municipalities operate under the political umbrella, therefore negotiations and

bargaining are the common element within these organizations. Every decision revolves around
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negotiations amongst the governing board members. Most of “the negotiations involve economic

factors which include activities such as tourism, home building, business expansion, and the

overall state of the economy that affect revenue collections and growth” (Ashbaugh, 2003, p. 9).

Revenue effects the total governmental operations whether this concerns paying the employees,

providing necessary services or balancing the budget, therefore considerable planning and

negotiations is required. When the community has a vested interest in a particular topic the

negotiations can become filled with passion for the cause.

Officials must remain calm and level headed even against false accusations being hurled at

them. Sitting through a hot topic meeting where heated discussions were fueled by lack of

information and misunderstanding, what was really going on which began with a newspaper

article posted on social media. The news article itself did not give enough information which was

the root cause of all the dissent. In the end the board of leaders’ calm and level headed approach

in the face of opposition, which stemmed from lack of knowledge and misunderstandings, closed

with success. Once final statements were made and the meeting concluded the public left with a

better understanding of the actual circumstances.

Currently in my organization we are in the process of creating the master plan which serves as

a compass to navigate the community using a series of goals and objectives. The master plan is a

dynamic long-term planning document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future growth

and development. Negotiating the master plan involves strategic analysis, recommendations, and

proposals for several areas including population, economy, housing, and land use etc. When

planning out the future of the community the leaders must be able to critically assess and

negotiate all areas which do and will also potentially affect the community in the future. If

properly written a master plan serves as a long-range plan for the community that balances and
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harmonizes all elements incorporated. In short, a master plan is a strategy which realizes goals

that result in growth for the community

Planning often involves significant effort in the coordination and integration of multiple

processes to ensure they complement each other and work together to achieve the community’s

goals. Comprehensive plans, area master plans, economic development plans, and other local and

regional plans can help identify incremental steps to move the community forward, therefore

planning also requires significant negotiations. The planning commission, a team of strategic

leaders and negotiators, work together to strategize and initiate a municipality’s vision of a new

plan/process. The negotiating body come from diverse backgrounds ranging from business

executives, to teachers, to farmers who bring to the table their skills and knowledge of process

and information that is needed. “Brainstorming is a powerful collaborative tool, and helps when

the goal is to discover an answer to solve both parties’ problems” (Pinet, & Sander, 2013, p.

179). The planning members gather documentation, attend trainings and team meetings to

strategize and negotiate a direction for the municipality. Every meeting is a negotiation session

which extends outside of the meeting arena to various shareholders as the project progresses.

Each meeting, as more pertinent information is assimilated and processed, negotiations proceed

toward agreements and the finalization thereof.

Problems can and do arise during negotiations as the information about all options, and

potential strategies to reach future goals are realized. During the negotiations process you

experience many emotions, and you learn how to work through them as you resolve issues under

discussion (Pinet, & Sander, 2013, p. 152). The intent of negotiations is to strive for the

advancement of the entire set of interests, by persuasion, to influence the other side to say yes,

therefore leading to an agreement to the terms without doubt (Harvard Business Review, 2011).

During the negotiations process all previous information and understandings can be, and often
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are reworked and discarded, leaving the previous material existing only in the heads of the

original negotiating parties. At this stage the introduction of a new negotiator will only waste

time and energy in exploring invalid options of the previously discussed and rejected

information. Therefore, it is important for the original negotiators to see through the negotiations

process which began with them. Examining negotiations in action reinforces the ability to assess

and have an idea of what areas or factors are either helping the organization or limiting its

growth.
Conclusion
Whether it is to serve the greater good, the community or business purposes it is important for

the negotiators to remain focused on the original intentions. Training in both the individual skills 

and collective skills needed to complete the tasks, thus operating as a highly efficient negotiator. 

Implementing the proper approach cultivates reconsideration that “individual contributions are 

not the final output but rather the by­product of the negotiations process” (Baggetta, et al, 2013, 

p. 23). Leadership sets the tone for companies and their personal values, ethics and morals, 

therefore becoming rooted in organizational culture. It is difficult to eliminate all bias, and in 

negotiating leaders must challenge their own self­awareness combined with open and honest 

communications so barriers are not erected which can be detrimental to taking fair actions and 

making fair decisions in their goals of successful negotiations. Malhotra, and Bazerman, of the 

Harvard Business Review, (2011) state that “by anticipating and countering common mental 

biases, you make sounder judgements at each stage of the M&A process” (p. 21).
The negotiations process to success in the municipal environment relies heavily on utilizing

efficient and productive communication skills. The stakeholders who are ultimately affected by
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the outcome are the parties in which the negotiating body ultimately affect, such as the

environment and the community itself. Finally, negotiating success is a result of a proactive

attitude instead of reactive to conditions already in existence. Determination to initiate the best

use of resources and skills available to negotiate, thus aligning and incorporating these in the

plan of action. The ability to influence others, intertwined with trust, to voluntarily make

decisions that enhance the prospects for long-term success, while at the same time maintaining

long-term stability.
References
Ashbaugh, S. (2003). An elected officials guide to negotiating and costing labor contracts.
Chicago, IL: Government Finance Officers Association.
Baggetta, M., Han, H., & Andrews, K. (2013). Leading Associations: How Individual
Characteristics and Team Dynamics Generate Committed Leaders. American Sociological
Review,78(4), 544-573. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23469227
Harvard business review on winning negotiations. (2011). Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Review Press.
Pinet, A., & Sander, P. J. (2013). The only negotiation book you'll ever need: winning maneuvers
for the digital age. Avon, MA: Adams Media.