Friday, January 8, 2010

Power as a bargaining tool...

The ability to bargain can be linked with the different kinds of powers that either the employee or the employer can exercise over the other. I am discussing a few of them below:-

· Expert power: When one perceives the other to possess some kind of expertise.

· Reward power: When one has the ability to control or grant rewards to the other.

· Legitimate power: When one has the lawful authority to influence the other.

· Coercive power: Power which one exercises over the other by the virtue of possessing the ability to punish.

· Referent power: Influence that one has over the other which is obtained from being well liked.

As has already been stated by Varun, the law of demand and supply governs the ability to bargain. However there are other aspects which can influence the ability to bargain.

One can pressurise the other by using tactics such as threats or forming coalitions in order to persuade. Also one can make promises to the other in order to make him comply. The negotiator can use rational persuasion and factual data to prove his point. Psychological tactics like improving the other persons mood by generating a favourable image or making an emotional appeal can also be used.

In this case Darell Hair has used Legitimate power as a bargaining tool. Even though the decision was a unique decision which had never been executed in over 1000 tests; there were different takes on the initial decision of granting England 5 runs for ball tampering. Nasser Hussain, Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh and many others severely criticised the decision. However, all 3 boards (PCB,ECB and ICC) later confirmed that the decision was in line with the laws of cricket.

Priyanka has explained how to deal with non negotiable offers and I believe that if the clauses of my contract permit me to, the opportunities available to me are better, my importance to the company is very high or my motivation of staying in the company is very low then I will be in a position to make such non negotiable offers.

4 comments:

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  3. Dear Ketan,
    We appreciate your conceptual knowledge gained in OB course and the application of the same to non-negotiable offer by Darrel Hair.

    I am referring to the “types of power” you have mentioned in your posting. But are you sure that Darrel Hair used “legitimate power” to make this onetime non-negotiable offer? If you think so, most probably you are wrong since “legitimate power”, by definition of the OB text book, is enjoyed by someone who has the capacity to influence others through formal authority vested with the person through the organizational hierarchical system.


    With Regards,
    Ganesh

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  4. Sir

    As per my understanding, Legitimate power is the ability to influence through authority.Since Darrel Hair had signed the contract till March 31t 2008, he was in the position to direct the course of the negotiation.By the virtue of this position that he was in, he was able to make the one time non negotiable offer to ICC.
    However I thought from a contractual point of view and not from a hierarchial point of view in case of which your concern about the validity of my statement is valid.

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