The Effect of Formality and Relational Tone on Supervisor/Subordinate Negotiation Episodes

NEGOTIATION CAN BE defined simply as a "form of decision making in which two or more parties talk with one another in an effort to resolve their opposing interests" (Pruitt, 1981, p. xi.). Although traditional negotiation research typically centers on such topics as collective bargaining, the principles of bargaining and negotiation have been applied in a variety of micro-level contexts in organizations, such as conflict resolution, problem-solving, and role-making (Bacharach & Lawler, 1981; Pruitt, 1981; Putnam, 1985). The day-to-day negotiations between supervisors and subordinates in organizations are particularly noteworthy (Jablin, 2001). The managerial dyad represents an essential unit of instruction and report in the workplace (Farace, Monge, & Russell, 1977; Jablin, 1979), and the ongoing, interdependent nature of the supervisor/subordinate relationship often necessitates the negotiation of a variety of task and relational issues (Jablin, 2001).