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The ultimate key to the successful resolution of disagreements and conflicts
is having all of the parties involved feel that they are winners. It is human
nature to want to come out on top and to win. But winning does not have
to mean that someone else has lost, or has been out-maneuvered. It is

possible to end most disagreements or conflicts by creatively devising a
solution that benefits all parties.

Negotiation offers an effective approach to the resolution of conflict and
the improvement of relationships. It is not a complex process. However, it

does involve the productive use of information to resolve disagreement or
conflict between two or more parties. The emphasis is on improving the
relationship between the negotiating parties through a mutual or
interactive process. The real value of negotiation is its ability to resolve
conflict in the most equitable and mutually satisfying way.

A wide range of definitions of negotiation exist:

Ury – Negotiation is the process of back-and-forth communication aimed at
reaching agreement with others when some of your interests are shared and some
are opposed. 180

Maddux -- Negotiation is the process we use to satisfy our needs when someone
else controls what we want. 181

Dolan -- Effective negotiation is working side-by-side with another party (or
parties) to achieve mutually beneficial and satisfactory results. 182

Nierenberg – People are negotiating whenever they exchange ideas with the
intention of changing relationships and whenever they confer for agreement. 183

Schoenfield – Negotiating is a process through which parties determine whether
an acceptable agreement can be reached. It is an informational process through

180 William Ury. Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation. New York:
Bantam Books, 1993.
181 Robert B. Maddux. Successful Negotiation. Los Altos CA: Crisp Publications, 1998.
182 John Patrick Dolan. Negotiate Like the Pros: the Essential Guide to Effective Negotiating. East
Rutherford NJ: The Putnam Publishing Group, 1992.
183 Gerald I. Nierenberg. The Complete Negotiator. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1986.

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