Collaboration, Conflict & Negotiation

Description

Negotiation is the art and science of securing an agreement with one or more other parties when we can’t achieve our objectives alone. It’s a kind of joint decision making that leverages differences in preferences. We negotiate daily with potential employers, co-workers, bosses, landlords, merchants, service providers, partners, parents, children, friends, roommates, and many others. Although we negotiate often, most of us know little about the strategy and psychology of effective negotiation. As a manager you need not only analytical skills to solve problems, but also strong negotiation skills to get your solutions accepted and implemented.

The primary learning method we will use is experiential. You will prepare for and simulate a variety of negotiations. The skills you develop will serve you in both your personal and professional life. Unlike real life, you will have access to three unique sets of data:

1. 1. How you performed, relative to others who had the same role, information, and objectives,

   2. How successful you were in maximizing the “pie” in the negotiation, relative to what was objectively available, and

   3. How you were perceived by the other party.

If you had this information every negotiation you faced, imagine how quickly you could improve your negotiation skills and your performance. Expect to become a better negotiator in this class.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course you will

• Understand what negotiation is, and why, despite some of the challenges, you should welcome it.

• Understand the importance of building relationships as you negotiate and the roles of respect, trust, and fairness.

• Understand how focusing on interests and being creative with issues can help you reach better outcomes.

• Know how to prepare for a negotiation.

• Understand the 5 negotiation styles and how to leverage your own style as a negotiator.

• Be able to choose a negotiation style strategy based on stakes and relationship importance.

• Be able to use your understanding of reservation prices, aspirations, the bargaining zone, and offers in distributive negotiations.

• Understand the peculiar characteristics of coalitions, how they are formed, and how to manage them.

Sample Syllabus