Negotiation Strategies and Skills

Negotiation is the art and science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties who seek to maximize their outcomes. It is a key leadership skill. While leaders need analytical skills to develop optimal solutions, they also need negotiation skills to win acceptance and implementation of these solutions.

While we negotiate often, many of us know very little about the strategy and psychology of effective negotiations. In this course, students will have the opportunity to evaluate their existing approach to negotiations, learn new strategies, and learn how to apply these strategies to the wide variety of negotiations they will encounter across their career. The course is designed for students in all managerial and entrepreneurial careers.

The course will be largely experiential, providing students with an opportunity to develop their skills by participating in negotiation role-plays and integrating their experiences with the principles presented in the assigned readings and course discussions.

The course has four major parts, adding more complexity as we proceed in the course:

(1) Single-Issue, Two-Party Negotiations

(2) Multiple Issues, Two-Party Negotiations

(3) Multi-Party Negotiations

(4) Negotiations in International Context

(2) Learn to develop strategic plans for negotiating in a variety of contexts

(3) Improve ability to lead the negotiation process and execute win-win agreements

(4) Assess one’s own and the other party’s style, strengths, weaknesses, and biases

(5) Build confidence in negotiation skills

(6) Negotiate effectively across cultural boundaries

The negotiation role-plays will treat a variety of situations (e.g., property purchase, employment and salary, and multi-party coalition building) and will provide students with an opportunity to attempt strategies and tactics in a low-risk environment and learn about themselves and build their confidence.

• Class Contribution (10%)

• Team Presentation (40%)

• Self-Assessment and Reflection Paper (50%)

For details, please see the Syllabus (PDF-File).