Amaze Ltd. announced its acquisition of W. Foods Market Ltd., a high-end grocery chain, for $13.7 billion, which was one of the largest deals in the retail industry. The negotiation between Amaze Ltd. and W. Foods Market

Seven elements of Negotiation Negotiators can successfully avoid deadlocks. For a successful negotiation process, it is important that various principles must be followed to eliminate selfish bargain by replacing it with principled bargain. According to the Harvard Negotiation Project, there are seven elements of negotiation. Communication - The parties must talk to each other while negotiating as the success of negotiation depends upon communication choices. Miscommunication or vague communication may lead to misunderstandings. This misunderstanding may prejudice the relationship between the parties. Therefore, it is important to communicate effectively. Relationship - Parties must deal with one another while negotiating, even if this is a one-time transaction and they have no past or ongoing relation. The relationship can be strengthened by building rapport with the parties. Remove people from the problem. The emphasis should be on how to resolve the dispute without destroying the relationship. Interests - Concerns, objectives, needs, desires or fears must be addressed and satisfied in some way if the parties are to reach a negotiated agreement. The interests are often hidden and unspoken. A good negotiator always addresses the fears of the other party, thereby building a rapport which is essential for a successful negotiation. Options - The various possible ways the parties could work together so their interests are included and satisfied to some degree in a negotiated agreement are called options. The success of negotiation depends upon the number of options the parties propose. Options come from brainstorming - While brainstorming all the ideas must be recorded. Once the ideas are recorded they must be evaluated in terms of feasibility and thereafter they must be proceeded in negotiation. Legitimacy - Objective standards (e.g. market value, precedents, industry practices) and fair procedures (e.g., appraisals, bidding, split-the-difference) that can be used to evaluate options. The success of the negotiation depends upon the fact that the negotiator follows a fair procedure. Being fair is not enough. The fairness has to be rather manifested in the negotiator's approach and dealing. Alternatives - The range of possible things a party can take from the table are the alternatives. As a lawyer does not depend on single argument, similarly, a negotiator should also not depend upon a single alternative. This helps in making a decision as to whether to agree to the proposal given by the opposite party or not. If there are no alternatives a person will be forced to settle in the negotiation. The attempt to settle the dispute depends upon BATNA. BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) - In simple words it means what the party to the settlement actually wants and how far they want to go for settling it. It is important to know the BATNA, as, the better BATNA, the greater is the power to negotiate. It protects the negotiator from agreeing to unfavorable terms. WATNA (Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) - It is the settlement that the parties to the dispute don't want to choose and would never settle for. MLATNA (Most Likely Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) - It is the most likely alternative in case of a dispute if the BATNA is not achieved. This is known as the second best alternative that the parties to the dispute would resort to settle. Commitment - Any preconditions of the parties that must be met in order to negotiate and reach a final, binding agreement. A commitment can range from meeting at a particular place at a particular time.