Assignments  Partners and Vendors 

 

Matching the Columns

1. Supportiveness

A. The person’s ability to get others to act is based on their willingness to go along with a request because they hold a key position in the organization or relationship.

2. Trust

B. Based on the identification, attraction, liking, or feeling of unity with the person attempting to excerpt power.

3. Openness

C. Is generated by sharing information willingly and honestly.

4. Participative Decision Making

D. Can be built by sharing your concerns, and encouraging others to do the same.

5. Referent power

E. People tend to cooperate more if they feel they are being asked, and if they feel they are part of the decision making process.

6. Legitimate power

F. You acknowledge that this is a team effort, and provide a consistent message that acknowledges this effort.

 

Answers:

1.)    F

2.)    D

3.)    C

4.)    E

5.)    B

6.)    A

Multiple-Choice

1.         Relationships with vendors and partners are influenced by

a.       Sales figures

b.      How you communicate with each other

c.       Who is in charge

d.      None of the above

 

2.         The first thing to determine when developing a relationship strategy is

a.       Who will be in charge

b.      What exactly your relationship is

c.       What you want from the relationship

d.      Both B and C

 

3.         __________ are quite often an issue when dealing with communication with    partners, beneficiaries, and vendors.

a.       Sales figures

b.      organization histories

c.       Personalities

d.      All of the above

 

4.         What is a question you should ask to define your relationship with a vendor?

a.       Are you connected to them in any way?

b.      What skills, talents, and expertise do they bring to the relationship?

c.       Have you ever worked with them before?

d.      All of the above

 

5.         The way people treat us affects

a.       The way we view these people

b.      How hard we will work

c.       How dedicated we are to the project that has brought us all together

d.      All of the above

 

6.         The tone of a relationship between organizations will be established by

a.       Top management

b.      The liaisons

c.       The partners

d.      None of the above

 

7.         If we are convinced that someone in the group knows more about something than                   we do, and we accept their opinion, this is called

a.       Referent power

b.      Reward power

c.       Expert power

d.      Legitimate power

 

8.         Types of an organizational power base include all of the following except

a.       Referent

b.      Coercive

c.       Reward

d.      Legitimate

 


Summary

 

            How you communicate with your vendors and partners can have a major impact on how they work both for and with you. Personalities are quite often an issue when dealing at this level, as is the way you treat the people you are involved with.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Test

1. ______        The fastest and simplest way to improve a working relationship is to                            change the people who are actually working together.

2. ______        During times of stress or crisis, a group of strangers can band together                                    more tightly than a family in order to deal with whatever it is they are                                  facing.

3. ______        The way we are treated changes our actual relationship to the people we                                are with, and can have a profound effect on our attitude toward them.

4. ______        The levels at which liaisons meet and work will not influence the                                              relationship, its development, and the ways you work together.

5. ______        When you are dealing with a vendor who is working for you, questions                                   about control can be confusing.

6. ______        In a partnership, someone has to be in control.

7. ______        In a partnership, it is clear who is in control.

8. ______        Effective leaders tend to blend organizational and personal power, and                                    understand how each one influences and expands the other.

9. ______        Of the five types of power, Legitimate power usually has the greatest                          influence.

10. ______      Reward power is wielded by those people who can actually give you a                                   raise or promote you, as well as by those who can make you feel part of                                 the group, or grant you social status.

Answers:

1.                                          T

2.                                          T

3.                                          F – does not change

4.                                          F – does influence

5.                                          F – everyone knows who is in charge

6.                                          T

7.                                          F – questions about control can be more confusing

8.                                          T

9.                                          F – Referent power

10.                                      T

 


Bibliography

 

Brock, S., & Barclay, D. (1997, January). The effects of organizational differences and trust on the effectiveness of selling partner relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61 (1), 3-22.

 

Faw, R. (2000, July). Developing world-class partnerships. Communication News, 37 (7), 30.

 

Noordewier, T., & Johnson, G. (1990, October). Performance outcomes of purchasing agreements in industrial buyer-vendor relationships. Journal of Marketing, 54 (4), 80-94.


Glossary

 

Trust – Can be built by sharing your concerns, and encouraging others to do the same. A key factor to getting trust is earning trust by showing that you are being honest, will keep your word, and that you will stand by your team – your partners and your vendors.

 

Openness – Comes with trust, and is generated by sharing information willingly and honestly.

 

Referent power – Based on the identification, attraction, liking, or feeling of unity with the person attempting to excerpt power.

 

Legitimate power – Based on a person’s willingness to go along with a request because they hold a key position in the organization or relationship.

 


Learning Objectives

 

  • There is no one way to deal with partners or vendors. Each strategy has to be based on a number of different criteria, ranging from how much project/programme purpose you do together to how well your people and their people get along.
  • How you communicate with your vendors and partners can have a major impact on how they work both for and with you. Personalities are quite often an issue when dealing at this level, as is the way you treat the people you are involved with.

 


Q&A

 

1.  What are twelve questions you should ask to define your relationship with partners?

The twelve questions to ask are: Are you actually equals or is one of you in charge; if so, which one? Are you connected to them in any way; are you both art of the same organizational structure? What skills, talents, and expertise do you bring to the relationship; what do they? Do you trust their ability and commitment to do and deliver what they have been called upon to do; do they trust you to do the same? What is their reputation within the sector of activity? What is your reputation within the sector of activity? Did you decide to work together, or was the relationship imposed on you? Have you ever worked with them before? Is this a one-time or a long-term relationship; how long has it been going on, and how long will it continue? Is it an exclusive relationship, or does either party sometimes collaborate with the other’s competitors? Do you want to work together again, or do you have a choice about working with them? Could either side have done the entire project without the other?

 

2.  What are five key elements to develop a positive communication climate?

The first key element to developing a positive communication climate is supportiveness, acknowledging that this is a team effort. Participative decision-making helps because people tend to cooperate more if they feel they re being asked, and if they feel they are part of the decision-making process. Trust is built by sharing your concerns, and encouraging others to do the same. Openness comes from trust, and is generated by sharing information. An emphasis on high quality goals lets people know exactly what the goals of the job are, and what they need to know to do their part and accomplish the job well.

 

3.  What are the five bases of power in organizations , and what are they based on?

Coercive power is based on one person having the ability to administer some sort of punishment. Reward power is based on one person having the ability to either bestow or withhold rewards. Referent power is based on the identification, attraction, liking, or feeling of unity with the person attempting toe excerpt power. With expert power, if we are convinced that someone in the group knows more about something than we do, we will tend to accept their opinion. Legitimate power is based on a person’s willingness to go along with a request because they hold a key position in the organization or relationship.

 

 

End of Module