Negotiation and people management are an inherent aspect of business management and very important skills for corporate managers because they have to deal with various situations where they have to successfully negotiate various crucial deals with other organisations and they also have to manage their own people.

Keeping in view, the need for budding managers to hone and sharpen their negotiation skills & people management abilities, Management Studies Department of the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology  (MANIT), Bhopal organized a special session on negotiation and people management on Tuesday. The session was a part of a special lecture program for the MBA students. Naveen Krishna Rai, manager, government affairs, IIM Indore was the resource person for the session.The session familiarised the participants with the vital aspects of negotiation, conflict management and people management.

Rai emphasized the need to improve negotiation skills by quoting that “people do not get what they deserve, but they get what they negotiate”. The session explored a diverse set of management theories and models describing and prescribing the approaches to managing and negotiating with people and understanding how to resolve conflicts.

Elaborating upon the various stages of negotiation, participants were told that while preparing for any negotiation they should think about and understand their best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) and they should try to figure out the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA) as soon as possible. Talking about people management, Rai elaborated on the Schema Theory, which sheds light on how our unique life experiences shape our perspectives.

He also dwelled on the interest vs. position-focused approach to conflict resolution. This approach emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between the explicit positions taken by parties involved in a dispute and their underlying interests, often hidden beneath the surface. Developing the skill to read between the lines empowers managers to diagnose the root causes of conflicts, paving the way for more effective and fair resolutions.