Contract Negotiations (Essay Sample)

Contract Negotiations Author name Institutional affiliation Course number and name Instructor name Assignment due date Contract Negotiations Contract negotiation has become an increasingly important subject in health management and informatics. In most cases, players in healthcare and information management systems participate in contract negotiations to obtain favorable terms for mitigating operational, legal, and financial risks. Without proper contract negotiations, healthcare managers, researchers, and contributors and vulnerable and exposed to lawsuits and damaged relationships. Workers' rights, safety concerns, and working conditions are the main issues addressed during contract negotiations. Selecting the right negotiator is essential to getting better deals on contracts, especially when addressing issues that affect the organization's daily activities and operations. The integration of technology in contract negotiations provides better ways of managing information to protect an organization's interests and strengthen cooperation between parties. A case study on the discourse methods applied in professional email negotiation highlights the need to support technology in modern contract negotiation processes. Contract Negotiation and Technology The widespread adoption and use of email in the 1990s marked the first phase of integrating technology into contract negotiations. The use of email and Microsoft Word documents facilitated contract negotiations by facilitating the sharing of documents in quasi-universal formats, preserving time stamps, and limiting communications between parties (Townley, 2021). Email and Microsoft documents became the foundation for developing digital contract negotiations. In the twenty-first century, advanced digital communication platforms and social media simplify the contract-formation process and provide better ways of managing information. Still, the introduction of digital contract formation processes provides an alternative to physical meetings for contract signing and confirmation. Case Study Overview Jensen (2009) studied the application and use of discourse strategies in email negotiation. Specifically, the researcher examined the formation of participants' relationships during email communications. The target discourse strategies were new relationships negotiations and metadiscourse. A Danish business communicated with its contact in Taiwan via email. The researcher limited the study to email communications between the two companies for three months. Also, the researcher focused on naturally-occurring language during email conversations. She signed a confidentiality form to confirm that the organization's email conversations and other sensitive information will not be shared with third parties. Jensen (2009) found that the frequency of interpersonal message use increased as the relationships between negotiators from both sides improved. An increase in the frequency of interpersonal messages signals improved trust and confidence in the use of email as a negotiation platform. Further, an increase in the exchange of interpersonal messages confirmed both sides' progress and commitment to personalized communication (Jensen, 2009). The researcher's findings indicate that power relations have become increasingly structured and embedded into the legal process of contract formation. Implications of Integrating Technology in Contract Negotiations An increase in the support and use of technology in contract formation procedures creates new opportunities for organizations, especially in the healthcare sector. Healthcare Finance explains contract negotiations are pegged to three factors: strategic initiatives, the operational components of teamwork, and financial terms, including reimbursements (Khoury et al., 2019). Strategic initiatives relate to value-based negotiation and agreements. Parties support value-based negotiations by highlighting their interests and respecting the other side's propositions. The contract between the Danish business and its contact in Taiwan confirms the need to build trust when using technology to form legally binding contracts. When negotiating and forming a legally binding contract the elements of a valid contract must be followed. The basic elements of a valid contract are legality, capacity, consideration, offer, and acceptance (Governatori et al., 2018). Both parties in contract negotiation are responsible for safeguarding their interests. Foreseeable problems and disagreements must be addressed before both parties confirm and sign the contract. Another implication of integrating technology in contract negotiations is increased efficiency. The contract negotiation process is lengthy and cumbersome, especially when the parties reside or operate from different geographical locations. The case study of the Danish business and its contact in Taiwan is a good example of how geographical distances can limit or delays contract negotiation and confirmation. Technology has bridged the gap and facilitated contract negotiation by allowing parties to communicate and interact without meeting physically. Negotiators can fill out forms online, use Google Hangouts, or use video chats to engage each other during a contract negotiation. The goal of integrating technology is to simplify the process and provide more efficiency. Allowing parties to negotiate without meeting physically eliminated geographical barriers, which delays the contract formation process. Nonetheless, parties must have accurate information re...