BATNA is an acronym for Better Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.  In my own term that means the choice that an individual has to make during a negotiation to either accept the terms of the agreement or to ‘walk away’ or in other words pursue a different course.  You can also call it plan B, your back up plan, or what you can do if things go sour.  Sometimes your BATNA can be really good but you’re trying to get the best out of your current negotiation and sometimes your BATNA can be really bad and you’re hoping negotiations will go well so you don’t have to resort back to your BATNA.

ZOPA stands for the Zone of Possible Agreement.  In my own words that means that in regards to money negotiations there is a range whereas if the contract is negotiated within that range then they will walk away with a benefit.  Anything higher or lower than that then the contract is better off null and void.  Usually the lower number is the lowest number the supplier or I should said the seller is willing to set the contract at without walking away.  On the other end the higher number is the highest the buyer is willing to pay before they are willing to walk away.  In the ZOPA range there is no correct answer but usually the contract falls within that range and both parties walk away with some benefit.  Usually when the ZOPA does not exist (meaning the lower number is higher than the higher number) is when both parties are not willing to budge and they both walk away from the contract and it is never finalized.

After reading this article I am aware of several different aspects of a negotiation and the more you understand about the negotiation process the better negotiator you can become.  Some of the aspects covered in the document that where important to understand was:

All these things are vital in a negotiation and in this article or case study it describes all of these core components of a negotiation.  With that knowledge you can better understand a negotiation and so you can be on top of the negotiation process and not be taken advantage of or leaving with benefits and understandings.