The Difference Between Bargaining and Negotiating

Assignment 7 in our course on Personal Finance is focused on Bargaining and Negotiating. In preparing for today’s lecture, I did a quick google search for Bargaining and Negotiating and I found this LinkedIn Article about the differences between Bargaining and Negotiating. The topic of Bargaining and Negotiating has always been one of the most interesting in our discussions of Personal Finance. Bargaining and Negotiating involves a few basic skills that can make a big difference in your financial life, everything from baseball cards to lease agreements. Cars, motorhomes, job promotions, salary, benefits and almost anything you buy or sell involves some degree of Bargaining and Negotiating.

Some people use these terms as a substitute for each other but there is a difference between Bargaining and Negotiating.

‘Negotiation’ and ‘bargaining’ are two different words with different meanings.

The dictionary meanings of these two words are quite the same but certainly not each others’ synonyms. Now, what follows is the detailed comparison between these words.

Bargaining is only about price

Bargaining is only related to price. Negotiation is not used in connection with the price alone. This term can also be applied in legal situations where two parties want to come to an agreement.

Usually, bargaining is often done in an informal situation whereas negotiation can be used as a description for situations other than just price and basically for legal scenarios. Moreover, bargaining which mostly includes verbal communication; negotiation involves a lot of written records as well.

Bargaining is only about winning

As per their definitions and usage, bargaining can be termed as a conversation that aims to reach at a result where either of the two reaps benefits. Negotiation, on the other hand, aims to reach at a result where both parties are in a win-win situation. Unlike bargaining where being at the winning side is more important, here arriving at the right decision is given priority over their personal gains.

Negotiation is sensible

Bargaining is more of a selfish conversation but again, negotiation is a sensible conversation. In bargaining both the people concentrate on satisfying their desires sometimes without even trying to be rational.

When negotiating, the parties involved are not concerned about winning or satisfaction of any kind. They focus more on coming to a solution that is favourable to both.

Debate v/s communication

Bargaining is like debating. The person with good manipulation and verbal skills tend to win in that situation. Negotiation is a wider term which is actually communication between two parties looking for a proper settlement.

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