ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview and a discussion on elements, negotiation application, and limitations of negotiation team. Establishing the team is a critical part of the negotiation process as personalities, skills and role apportionment need to be taken into consideration. Relationships, positioning and differing perspectives among team members can complicate the ways in which the strategy and tactics are used in order to work towards a negotiated settlement. Academics assert that teams in general need to be heterogeneous rather than homogenous in make-up, and that the optimum team number is somewhere between five and seven members. This could suggest that anything outside of these parameters is ineffective, but further research is needed to support such an assertion. Negotiation application are: some cultures require that team rather than individuals negotiate, the negotiation requires a diverse set of knowledge, abilities, or expertise, and range of interests must be represented at the table.
