Negotiating with teams

Last week we were assigned with the task of negotiating in teams. Unfortunately, due to absences I was forced to negotiate alone. Fortunately, our group had met the class before so I had some guidelines for what the team wanted. In the reading "How to Manage Your Negotiating Team" there is a section on aligning my teams interests. This was a challenging aspect with the Connecticut Valley Schools negotiation. The reading states that it is common to wrestle with internal conflicts. During the negotiation it was tempting to promote my own personal agenda. This can also be known as the principal agent theory. This theory states that it may be difficult for a person representing someone to act in the other parties best interest. Although it was tempting for me to do this, I stuck with the teams plans and negotiated with them in mind.
I feel that team negotiations are a good idea when the issues at hand are difficult in nature. It can be difficult to address every issue on the agenda which is when a partner is essential. Teammates may notice these issues that are missed and bring them up at the appropriate time. This can lead to a better deal for the team in the end. Team negotiations may also allow for subcommittees which focus on certain areas of the large scale issue. These subcommittee members are experts in the area they are assigned to and use this knowledge to negotiate a deal.
Team negotiations can also be negative in nature if the team is not well prepared. If a team member is in the process of negotiating a fellow team member may bring up an issue that was not addressed earlier. This can lead to the team getting weighed down with issues that are not relevant taking away from the larger scope. This can be a risky move that could determine the final deal to not be favorable.