ABSTRACT
Negotiation is the process through which people who has conflicting interests jointly make decisions to resolve those conflicts. Actors in organizations must frequently negotiate with other individuals, in groups, and across larger social entities to accomplish their objectives. This chapter examines decision making in competitive contexts that affect organizations and focuses on how the social contexts of various competitive situations influence decision making and negotiated outcomes. It investigates negotiations in dyadic relationships, group situations, and in a specific type of competitive market. Developing the negotiation skills of organizational decision makers is increasingly important. The chapter identifies systematic errors in negotiator judgment that affect the quality of negotiation outcomes. It explores deviations from optimal negotiated agreements and discusses the factors that lead to suboptimal decision making behavior. Behavior in business and organizations inevitably involves conflict. Conflicts occur in interpersonal, group, organizational, and market settings.
