REVIEW ASSIGNMENT GENDER AND NEGOTIATION

Disusun oleh:
Alexander David G
NIM. 125120407121040

FAKULTAS ILMU SOSIAL DAN ILMU POLITIK

DEPARTEMEN HUBUNGAN INTERNASIONAL

UNIVERSITAS BRAWIJAYA
2014
Popular stereotypes embraced many people say that women are more cooperative and
pleasant in negotiations than men. However, men are found able to negotiate better
outcomes than women, although the difference is relatively small. It is assumed that
this is probably due to differences in men and women put different values on the
outcome of negotiations.

Research shows that managers who do not have the power not much, regardless of
gender, tend to try to please their opponents and use gentle persuasive techniques
rather than direct confrontation and threats. In situations where men and women have
the same power, it is not significant difference negotiation style. But if the popular
stereotypes (woman is fun, man is tough) is activated again what happens is the
fulfillment of this prophecy, which reinforces stereotypical gender differences.
Female manager shows a lack of confidence in anticipation of negotiations and more
dissatisfied with their performance after the negotiation process is completed, even
when the results achieved together with the results of men. Women tend to be
successful in negotiating if using her feminine charms, including the seducing,
seductive, or friends. The study conducted by researchers at the University of
Berkeley, California-USA, by lead researcher Dr. Laura Kray who perform four
different observations. Kray and colleagues looked at 22 different negotiation
situations from day to day experience of the participants. He also observed the ratio of
women who negotiate with using her feminine charm and which are not. Based on his
observations, the level of success of the negotiations between men and women is one
in three, which seduce and friendly attitude is an important instrument of successful
negotiation of female participants. Women who use feminine charm tend to get a
bigger discount when shopping. According to Kray, feminine charm is a behavioral
strategy that aims to make the other person you can agree with your desire.
It is said that women are stereotypically more cooperative and relationally oriented
than men, which is supposed to translate into disadvantageous outcomes in
negotiating. The popular press is full of anecdotes about women being at a
disadvantage in purchasing cars and in negotiating salaries relative to males in similar
situations.
However, many academic studies have yielded little or no evidence of statistically
significant differences between the negotiating style of males and females. Other
studies that have found gender-related differences have been countered by other
studies with opposing results. Some of the evidence addressing gender differences in
cooperativeness, aspirations, frequency of negotiations, and biases involved in
negotiating with women is addressed below.
Initially gender was considered in negotiation as a stable set of individual
characteristics leading research to a direct effect model neglecting the influence of
contextual variables in the interaction. The gender differences would become
predictive of specific bargaining behaviours, strategies and even outcomes.
But, differences in outcomes can be expected due to differences in perceptions,
behaviours and contextual factors. To them even if men and women have different
negotiating styles, the effect of these discrepancies on the outcome is unclear. The
effectiveness of a specific behaviour is linked to the context and the constraints of a

specific negotiation. More than this, not all females behave the same way just as all
males dont.
A previous study found that women have a tendency to demonstrate more cooperative
behaviours than men but according to the authors, the choice of competitive or
cooperative behaviours vary mostly depending on the constraints of the negotiation
context. In a study about the effects of gender and motivation on negotiation showed
that even if female pairs obtained during the experiment lower joint profit than the
male ones, it was only when the external motivation to be concerned by both their
own and their counterpart profit was low. According to them, it would be wrong in
these conditions to conclude that men are more effective negotiators than women.
Therefore gender differences are likely to interact with other situational factors. Some
researchers have praised for a contingency approach with a situational perspective but
such situational interactions are difficult to identify due to the vast display of
contextual variations that characterize negotiation. Gender differences are more
influential in vague and confusing negotiation situations because it requires
improvisation and reveals personality traits. In that sense, some situational variables
can moderate or on the opposite amplify those differences.
Kray and Thompson in their writings identify five main theoretical perspectives:
1. Men and women initially differ in the way they consider negotiation
(competition vs cooperation) in their bargaining styles, in how they handle
conflict and negotiation but also how gender impacts the degree to which
negotiators focus on interests, rights, and power in resolving disputes.
2. On the contrary, men and women dont differ fundamentally but rather the
negotiating partners hold different expectations about men and women that
lead them to be treated differently. Negotiators adjust their behaviour
depending on their counterpart gender and they perform differently as a result
of their opponent behaviour. Gender would then affect the way negotiators are
expected to behave but also the way they are treated.
3. Negotiators have different expectations depending on their counterpart gender
that they communicate deliberately or negligibly causing behaviours that are
consistent with these expectations and creating a self-fulfilling effect. The
power or the negotiators expectations produces a behaviour confirmation.
4. The situation is a primary determinant of any behaviour. Men and women are
inherently similar if not identical in their approach of negotiation but external
and situational factors create the appearance of gender differences and
contribute to related behaviours. In that sense, the balance of power and how

power is expressed can be a determinant and an explanatory variable of the

expression of gender differences during negotiation.
5. Depending on the situation, the impact of gender issues on the negotiation
process and outcome can be moderated. Either the situational context will lead
to the activation of stereotypes, presumably negatives, which will have an
effect on the process and will amplify gender differences by reducing reality to
simple traits or, normative contextual cues will force the participants to adopt
a standardized behaviour. In strong situations (high level of stakes for
example), accurate behaviours are more clearly defined while in weak
situations there is a lack of behavioural indications leading to the expression of
individual differences that can be related to gender ones.
These five perspectives bring several challenges for any research. Kray and They
recommend a systematic change between situations where presumed situational
asymmetries within a group across negotiators are present or absent; For example how
women and men respond differently in single-sex versus mixed-sex contexts. But this
doesnt take care of personal differences within male and female populations,
considering that all personalities are homogeneous so are their behaviours. With this
conflicting body of evidence, it is difficult to draw conclusions on what differences
men and women have in negotiating styles, let alone estimate the consequences of
those differences. Furthermore, most of the studies addressed thus far test the
ramifications of gender differentials in an experimental setting. Few studies measure
negotiation performance in negotiations where "real" situational power and status
actually do differentiate the negotiators. Most of the literature on consequences of
gender differences could be better characterized as compilations of anecdotes.