|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
How To Make An Inflexible Bureaucrat See You As A Person
Inflexible Bureaucrats Are Characterized by: 1. Cares little about your happiness in life Description The bureaucrat is the grunt of an organization, originally meant for government institutions, but has been broadened to encompass any large organization or company. Bureaucrats include customer service representatives, insurance claims filers, civil servants, social workers, airport employees etc. The bureaucrat typically views his clients as numbers rather than faces and is usually overworked and underpaid and underappreciated. Because of the large volume of contacts that the bureaucrat handles on any given day, they often forget who they are dealing with and you become just another number. How To Deal With The Bureaucrat 1. Be polite and respectful of their position. Too often, the first things out of a customer's mouth is some type of accusatory complain such as, "You people screwed up again." While your anger might be justified, remember that the bureaucrat might not know who you are and will be less inclined to help you if you are verbally abusive towards them. 2. Make sure that they have the authority to negotiate. Make sure you don't waste your time dealing with someone who does not have the authority to negotiate with you. For example, if I was at a restaurant and wanted to order a dessert from the menu, then I would ask for a waiter or a waitress to help me rather than going to the chef or dishwasher. On the same note, make sure you don't automatically demand to speak to their superior because the subordinate will perceive that as a threat and react defensively against your favor. Also, their boss does not usually have the sufficient background information necessary to make a decision on your particular situation and many supervisors do not like overruling the decisions of their subordinates. They are more interested in the level of service that the subordinate provided you with because their expertise is in management. 3. Make sure that they fully understand your situation. Explain your situation in detail and make sure that they understand the problem you are facing before moving on to solutions. The bureaucrat needs to have a firm understanding of your problem in order for them to feel comfortable helping you with anything, so ask them rhetorical questions like, "Do you understand?" "Do you see where I'm coming from?" "Do you have any questions?" 4. Acknowledge their expertise and ask for help. Treat the bureaucrat as an expert in their subject and ask them for advice. Bureaucrats constantly get verbally attacked everyday about being ignorant or not knowing enough, so make yourself stand out and treat them like they had a PhD in their subject. This type of ego-stroking will persuade them to come up with options that you might not have thought of before. 5. Discuss the spirit versus the letter of the law or policy. Often to prove their point, bureaucrats will open up a 900 page company bible or law book and quote to you section, chapter, paragraph, and line of the company policy on why they can't help you. As with any law or policy, there is some leeway for interpretation. There is the letter of the law-the specific words in that policy or law that dictate enforcement, and there is the spirit of the law-the specific intent of the authors who wrote that law or policy. You might want to point out that the policy is good and purposeful, but it does not apply in your case because of your situation does not conform to the original spirit of that law or policy. 6. Determine a fair standard. Discuss with them what is a fair standard for your particular situation. If you are calling them because of a product defect, then what is the fair standard of getting that replaced or refunded? Agree on what is an objective criteria to filter your options through. 7. Have your plan B ready. There is no formula for a 100% successful negotiation, but there is a formula for moving forward regardless of the outcome-and that is your plan B. Have your plan B fully developed and ready to go before dealing with a bureaucrat and you will not only have more confidence negotiating with them, but you will also be able to move forward regardless of the negotiating outcome. About The Author Tristan Loo is an experienced negotiator and an expert in conflict resolution. He uses his law enforcement experience to train others in the prinicples of defusing conflict and reaching agreements. Visit his website at http://www.streetnegotiation.com or e-mail him directly at tristan@streetnegotiation.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
30 Tips for Keeping Meeting Expenses to a Minimum Money makes the world go 'round. And when it comes to meeting planning, money can probably get you whatever you want. However, few event planners have the luxury of an unlimited budget. Your boss may like to drink champagne on a beer budget. In other words, caution you to spend less, but expect miracles at the same time. Just Ask! Ask and you shall receive & knock and it shall be opened &send an email and see what happens. Games are a Reflection of Behavior You are standing on a small stage yelling, "What's the name of the game?!" How Barter Can Help Your Business Online or Offline How Barter Can Help Your Business The Art of Haggling Did you know that at one time in this country that there were no fixed prices on anything. You would go into a store and find an item you needed then you would begin the process of negotiating the price. This might seem foreign to us today, but it use to be the rule. In a later article I'll talk more about the history of price negotiation in this country, but today I want to give you some pointers about how to negotiate well. How to Change Somebody?s Mind Believe me, it's not easy! And sometimes, it doesn't work at all. Negotiate Your Way to a Better Salary 1. Be persuasive: It's hard to force your boss to increase your compensation, and trying to do so can potentially damage your working relationship. On the other hand, it's much easier to persuade her or him that it might benefit the organisation to pay you more, and that doing so will likely improve the way you deal with each other going forward. How To Make An Inflexible Bureaucrat See You As A Person Inflexible Bureaucrats Are Characterized by: Dont Be Afraid Of Silence In any conversation with two or more people, there is a tendency to want to talk all the time to fill any awkward silences or gaps that appear in a conversation. Making the Deal: Women as Negotiators Negotiating is no game. It is not for the weak or the fragile. It takes assertiveness and someone who feels comfortable in the mano-a-mano world of business. Can women negotiate the deal as well as their male counterparts? Absolutely! In some cases, they may even do a better job. Women have a definite edge at the negotiating table because of their instincts and natural power of persuasion. Business: Keys To Negotiating Well Whether it's buying a car, asking for a pay rise, saying 'no' to a friend or renting an apartment - at some stage in our lives we all are going to need to know how to negotiate. Yet, so few of us know the basic skills before embarking on life changing purchases or decisions! These 8 keys will assist you negotiate well. Negotiating Tactics: Don?t Let ?Good Guy ? Bad Guy? Control the Sales Negotiation Counter one of the classic negotiating gambits by addressing it directly. Neogtiation: How to be Right Without Making Other People Wrong What exactly are we trying to accomplish by proving to others that we're right? We might win the argument but ultimately lose the relationship. Perhaps a better, deeper-rooted question is this: Why do we lose sight of success, of our big objective, when we feel challenged or intimidated? National and Cultural Negotiation Style Cultural and national negotiation styles reflect communication behaviors and the priorities of that culture. Priorities such as trust, teamwork, non-confrontational situations, and openness are all along a sliding scale with each culture. The communication behaviors of each culture reflect these priorities and can dictate how a culture will engage in negotiations. Often, Japanese and other Asian negotiators will plan a social event and dinner before any real negotiations occur. Likewise, Americans place an emphasis on taking clients out to dinner and a round of golf. Engaging in this type of activity builds trust and opens the line of communication between the two parties. Using persuasive techniques to "connect" with another person can lead to trust and the sense of a relationship being built. The negotiation styles of these two cultures mesh well, thus allowing them to understand the priorities of each other's culture. Embarrassed To Discuss Your Prices? Seven Common Reasons We Cant Talk About Them Last week, a wonderfully-skilled electrician installed a new light fixture for us. He was competent, courteous and efficient. He answered all our questions simply, with skill and eloquence. I was amazed, as you might imagine, when I asked him, "How much do we owe you?" and his embarrassed reply was, "Gee, is $50 okay?" Avoiding and Accomodating in Negotiation The avoiding approach to negotiating is characterized by losing, leaving, and withdrawing. No commitments are made, and behavior is impersonal. Use this approach when you would get hurt by staying or when you want to change the ground rules. It is useful when issues are trivial and is helpful when the other side has much greater power. Its disadvantage is that the problem is left unresolved, and this can result in nothing getting done if too many problems are swept under the rug. In the avoiding approach, at least one of the parties displays a subtle reluctance or unwillingness to resolve the issues. This approach is of little use for those working with organizations as it strains relationships and prevents the building of trust between the parties involved. Using this approach can also increase the other party's resistance to negotiation. How To Deal With A Complainer How To Deal With A Complainer Better Internal Proposals A colleague of mine has a problem. We belong to the same association and he's been trying for quite some time, without success, to get support for one of his proposals. Do You Want a Paycheck or a Passion? 10 Qualities Managers are Looking for in Hiring You Based upon my research of over 300 managers in the last two years, I have found what qualities are most important to hiring managers. So Whats Your Argument? Arguments aren't always bad things. Sometimes They're used to convince someone of an important point they may not yet realize.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
