The art of negotiation is an extremely important tool in the business world. It is used every day by countless numbers of companies and individuals. It is a very valuable art to master, and if mastered can give one the upper hand in numerous business transactions. Whether it is closing a deal for a huge corporation, signing a lease with a future tenant, or just buying a used car, if one is a good negotiator they will make or save themselves a lot of money. Negotiation is a part of almost every profession today, which is why everyone should strive to become a better negotiator. Pretty much every deal one makes in their life will go through some phase of negotiating. This is why if one understands the art of negotiation then they will have the upper hand and get the most out of these deals. .
It is first important to know what the term negotiation means before anyone can learn to master it. "Negotiation is a process through which parties move from their initially divergent positions to a point where agreement may be reached" . Most of the time parties will move from their divergent positions in response to the five basic approaches to negotiation: compromise, bargaining, coercion, emotion, and or logical reasoning. "It is most often identified by name in the realms of international, labor management, and marketplace decision-making. But it is actually a much broader phenomenon, occurring within and between business and government offices, in homes, and among friends and relatives. Indeed, it is found at so many levels of society, and is so frequently encountered that its impact on human welfare can hardly be underestimated" . Basically the negotiation process is a long established means to reach agreements. It is a give-and-take trading process by which the terms of a transaction are agreed and then acted out. .
The two most predominantly used approaches in negotiation are compromise and bargaining.