In the opening phase, parties should confirm understanding and get the issues on the table.
The testing phase is an information gathering stage where the hypothesis and assumption you have made in the planning stage can be tested or confirmed or disproved.
Opening questions (those that start with 'what', 'how', 'why') are used at the opening and testing stages to uncover needs and underlying motives, and to allow the buyer to get a feel of what is in store in the negotiation.
Probing questions are also useful to check that the supplier fully understand their offering, as well as your needs, and can also be used to communicate to the supplier that you know this category well. These questions are typically useful at the opening andtesting stages.

Explanation
Elasticity refers to the responsiveness of quantity demanded or quantity supplied to a change in price or another factor.
In microeconomic graphs,elasticity and inelasticity can be shown by the slope of the demand curve. If a demand curve is almost horizontal, then the product pricing can be described as very elastic. If a demand curve is almost vertical, then the product pricing can be described asvery inelastic.
The formulae of elasticity:
Text Description automatically generated with low confidence

Table Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Table Description automatically generated with low confidence

LO 2, AC 2.2

Trust is the expectation that the other party will behave in a predictable and mutually acceptable way. In inter-firm relationships, the presence and absence of trust can affect the level of cost in a relationship. The existence of trust is taught to lower the transaction cost in a relationship. Dr. Mari Sako identified taxonomy of
3 types of trust in commercial relationship, which is very useful from the perspective of procurement.
Contractual trust: Trust based on the contract with TOP. This is potentially the weakest source of trust if there is nothing else to base the trust on, but it is the quickest to establish.
Competence trust: Trust based on TOP's professional qualifications or proven or certified technical capability or experience.
Goodwilltrust: Trust based on knowing TOP has your interest at heart and will not behave opportunistically.
This is potentially the strongest type of trust, but it takes the longest time to build.

Explanation
'Macroeconomic factors always directly influence the negotiations': This statement is false. For any given negotiation it is not the macroeconomic factor itself that necessarily influences the negotiation but the change or rate of change that factor.
'Changes in macroeconomic factors may affect businesses and individualsdifferently': This statement is true.
Macroeconomic factors are factors that have general effects on the economy and many businesses may be completely unaffected or affected more or less than others in the same industry by a change in a factor.
'Macroeconomic factors cannot be influenced by anyone's expectation or sentiment': This statement is false.
When it comes to macroeconomic factors another key consideration is expectation regarding what might happen to these factors, or specifically the measures, metrics or percentage rates associated with these factors in the future.
'Expectations on macroeconomic prospect are always correct': This statement is false. Expectations are not always correct.
LO 2, AC 2.2

Ground rules are the basic rules for doing something (Cambridge Dictionary). A negotiation goes more smoothly if ground rules are adopted. Then if something goes awry at a later time, you can point out the ground rule that has been violated.Procurement professional should seek to minimise conflict over process through agreeing 'ground rules' and approach as far as possible with the other party in advance of any negotiation meetings.
There should be two sets of ground rules: 1) groundrules for the negotiations between the two parties and 2) ground rules for the negotiating team itself. This article is about the negotiating team ground rules.
The rule of law is the condition in which all members of society, including its political leaders, accept the authority of the law.
Ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a nuclear detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ground zero refers to the point on the ground directly below the nuclear detonation.
The Ground Beam is the beam which is provided usually at the foundation level to support building walls, joists, etc.