Reference no: EM132253373

Question

You have been working in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in Singapore for the last three (3) years. At the same time, you are studying part-time at a university. It will soon be your last semester at the university and you have heard that some of the courses that you will taking can be very intensive.

You want to do well for these courses. Hence, you are hoping to leave work a couple of hours earlier every day during the last semester, so that you can have more time to study and do well in your assignments and exams. You intend to ask your immediate manager for a promotion and a salary increase once you graduate.

However, you are aware that your company is short-staffed, with many of the employees having to multi-task and work overtime. This style of working has become the norm within the company. While the company is trying to hire one or more new employees, it has been challenging since most of the job applicants either do not have the relevant work experience or are seeking higher remuneration.

You intend to broach the subject with your immediate manager soon. He has been with the company for more than five (5) years. While he is on friendly terms with you, he can also be very task-oriented. From time to time, you have observed him being frustrated with mistakes that were made by the team. While he tries to coach the more inexperienced employees, he appears to be very stretched for time. He is always out for meetings, reviewing paperwork in his office or talking to other employees about work-related matters.

(a) There are various ways in which an existing relationship between the negotiating parties can change the negotiation dynamics. Consider the relationship between you and your immediate manager in the scenario above. Appraise three (3) ways in which such a relationship may impact on the upcoming negotiation with your immediate manager. Support your analysis with reasons and specific examples.

(b) Based on the 10-step planning process, analyse each step and discuss the key actions that you need to take, in order to be well-prepared for a successful negotiation and achieve an outcome that is beneficial to you. Provide reasons and specific examples that are relevant to your organisation and your role, to support your analysis. Please note that you are required to assess and analyse the key actions, and as such, you should not be describing a laundry list of actions for each step.

(c) Communication can be ineffective if the incorrect channels are used. Evaluate how you should communicate with your colleagues in your company, including the person(s) with whom you should communicate, the types of communication channel, when each of such channels should be used, and the duration of each communication and venue (if relevant).

Please provide supporting reasons and examples for your recommendations. As part of your analysis, you should analyse the level of power between you and your company. Describe one (1) source of power for each party, as part of your analysis. Discuss how this will impact on your communications with the company, with supporting examples and reasons.