Negotation and Gender

Response Guideline:

Having read the response of the following learner, what negotiation tools can you find from the post of this learner. How might you prepare differently for a negotiation with them ? What suggestions can you offer to help them use their gender influence effectively ?

Marc:

When men and women negotiate with members of the opposite gender and even the same gender stereotypical beliefs affect their interactions. Men are believed to be rational and logical; women are thought to be emotional and intuitive. Men are expected to emphasize objective fact; women focus more on the maintenance of relationships. Men are expected to be dominant and authoritative; women are supposed to be passive and submissive. Men utilize more direct language, while women often reveal tentative and deferential speech patterns. During personal interactions, men are more likely than women to use highly intensive language to persuade others, and they are more effective using this approach. Females tend to employ language containing more disclaimers (I think; you know) than their male cohorts, which causes women to be perceived as less forceful. This gender-based factor is counterbalanced by the fact that women continue to be more sensitive to nonverbal signals than their male cohorts. As a consequence, they are more likely to be attuned to the subtle messages conveyed by opponents during bargaining encounters.

Gender-based stereotypes cause many people difficulty when they interact with the opposite gender. Men often expect women to act like ladies during their bargaining interactions. Explicit aggressiveness that would be considered vigorous advocacy if employed by men may be characterized as offensive and threatening when employed by women. This is especially true when females use foul language and loud voices. Male negotiators, who would immediately counter such tactics by other men with quid pro quo responses, frequently find it difficult to adopt retaliatory approaches against women. When men allow such an irrelevant factor to influence and restrict their responsive behavior, they allow their female opponents with a bargaining advantage. Some men also find it difficult to act as competitively toward female opponents as they would toward male opponents. These men give further leverage to their female opponents.

Reference
Lewicki, R., Saunders, D., Minton, J. & Barry, B. (2003). Negotiating for results. The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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