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CM SU8A - Negotiation and Conflict Management (intensive)

Faculty
Mary Morrissey, PLA Center

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Although themes related to questions of culture, strategy and ethics are the subjects of other courses, there is little direct overlap with regard to how these are applied to negotiation.

Course content, structure and teaching

This is an intensive course in negotiation and conflict management. The theory and skills taught in this course are fundamental to contemporary management practice in all sectors. The course adopts an experiential approach to learning based on exercises designed to develop strategic approaches to obtaining agreements and managing conflict. The module is premised on the view that modern and effective organizations require leaders who are culturally fluent and conflict competent; leaders who possess well-developed collaborative team building, cross-sectional and multi-cultural conflict handling skills. The course focuses on improving the negotiation skills of students within a model of ‘enlightened’ or ‘exemplary practice’.

Course content includes:

  • Basic Bargaining Theory
  • Preparation: What to do Before Negotiating
  • Interdependence and the Dilemma of Trust
  • Characteristics and Strategies of Distributive Negotiation
  • Characteristics and Strategies of Integrative Negotiation
  • Mixed Motive Bargaining
  • Principled Negotiation theory and practice
  • Conflict Handling Styles and Preferences
  • Characteristics of Effective Negotiators
  • Communication Skills: The Role of Listening and Empathy
  • Individual Differences and Diversity
  • The role of race/ethnicity/ gender / culture in negotiation
  • Creativity and Problem Solving
  • Persuasion, Power, and Leverage in Negotiation Strategy
  • Personal Ethics and the role of trust
  • Reflections on Ethics and Legacy in the Negotiation Process

Students are expected to do the readings and prepare for their assigned parts in role plays, participate in all negotiation and conflict management simulations and case debriefings, prepare 2-3 brief reflective papers on readings and exercises, and complete a group project and individual written assignment that requires the development and application of strategy and theory to selected themes and/or cases.

In addition, case simulations and debriefings will provide a regular opportunity for joint feedback and reflection.

The course's development of personal competences

This course focuses on assisting students to develop both personal and inter-personal skills - including recognition of different forms of intelligence (emotional, mental, social, kinesthetic and aesthetic, spiritual etc.) and personal/inter-personal power (including power derived from strong relationship skills and skills related to innovation and creativity).

Competences include improving essential management skills – such as:

  • Emotional intelligence - the ability to assess and reflect accurately/honestly on one’s own needs, interests, motivations (self assessment, self reflection);
  • Strategic thinking skills - ability to evaluate negotiation opportunities and implement strategies within a holistic frame which includes others as well as the changing environment and aspects related to ethics and legacy;
  • Communication skills - in particular listening skills - as key to improved communication;
  • Ability to work well with others in complex and difficult situations - learning when and how to assess and build trust and manage conflict - in both team and leadership roles
  • Ability to think creatively – in finding innovative solutions. This is based on improved self assessment and personal reflection, listening and strategic thinking.
Learning Objectives

At the end of the course students should be able to:

  • Understand negotiation and conflict management theory as it applies to various business and management settings, and be able to apply this theory to the analysis of problems and the development of exemplary conflict handling strategies.

In particular students should be able to:

  • Identify and describe the mental models, strategies and tactics that underlie the distributive (competitive), integrative (cooperative), principled, and mixed motive approaches to negotiation;
  • Effectively prepare for difficult negotiations through systematic analysis: situational assessment; self assessment; and assessment of the other party;
  • Identify and describe one’s own conflict handling styles and preferences as well as those of others and apply these conflict handling preferences to negotiation strategy;
  • Assess the appropriateness of different conflict handling/negotiation strategies to a wide range of potential negotiation situations;
  • Understand the effects of individual differences in culture, race/ethnicity, and gender to the negotiation context and development of strategy;
  • Identify and analyze the various sources of power in negotiation situations, and how power may be leveraged throughout the process;
  • Understand and explain the dynamics and role of trust in negotiation and how to proceed in situations of breach of trust and mistrust;
  • Evaluate negotiation tactics and strategies against various ethical models/standards of behaviour, and reflect on issues of legacy - how individual decisions affect long term consequences in a world of increasing interdependence and globalization - and apply to one’s own model of practice.
Teaching methods

This course blends theoretical knowledge with practice and reflection. It includes case studies, simulations and group debriefings; video demonstrations; group presentations; individual reflections; and class discussions. Active participation in negotiation simulations and debriefings is central to the learning experience. Case studies/simulations progress from simple individual negotiations to complex team and multi-lateral negotiations.

Examination

Weekly Insight:

This is an experiential course which requires careful preparation, and thoughtful comment on the part of students. Students must submit each week - for feedback, a written comment of an insight or learning gained from the readings and/or the discussion in class.

Group Project:

An important part of the course is a group research project on a topic to be assigned and approved by the instructor. Students will be expected to work together and prepare a presentation to be made within the final two sessions of the class. This will be followed by the submission of an individual research paper providing depth on the topic chosen for group study.

Options for the Group project include:

  • Preparing and analyzing a case study. The case study should include a brief description of a conflict or a negotiation. The situation should be analyzed in terms of negotiation theory, options, perspectives, strategy, interests, and the way in which it was or should be handled, as well as any substantive legal or business issues. This can be a current local or international situation or experience of interest to students, or a problem from the text or another course. Students are expected to have accurate information about the case presented but are not expected to carry out extensive empirical research into the facts as the emphasis is on the student's analysis and application of theories developed in the class.
    OR
  • Exploring in more depth a particular theoretical concern or issue raised by the materials or class discussion for presentation to the class

The groups will be composed of 4-6 students and the presentations will be 40-45 minutes in length followed by discussion.

Final exam (100 %) - Project/home assignment (written individually), 15 A4 pages:

Students will also be required to submit individual papers on the topic identified and developed by the respective groups. The papers will be due in the exam week (early August) approximately 3 weeks after the end of classes.

Grades for the research paper will be based on the student’s demonstrated ability to organize and present information and to critically reflect on the theories and ideas developed in the presentation. The paper should be about 15 pages in length subject to CBS requirements.

Re-take exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 15 A4 pages.

Recommended literature
  • Roy J. Lewicki, David M. Saunders, Bruce Barry and John W. Minton, Essentials of Negotiation, Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill/ Irwin Publishers, New York, 2007. ISBN 0-07-254582-8
  • The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Third Edition by Leigh L. Thompson, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2005. ISBN 0-13-140738-4
  • Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, Xicom Incorporated, 2002
  • Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton, Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Second Edition, Harvard Negotiation Project, (N.Y. Penguin Books, 1991). ISBN 0 14 00.6534 2

Additional Readings:

Articles from Dispute Resolution Readings and Case Studies, second Edition, Editor: Julie Macfarlane, Emond Montgomery Publications Limited, Canada, 2003, ISBN 1-55239-130-2

  • Conflict Analysis, A Series of articles from leading theorists in conflict studies: pp. 1-88;
  • Negotiating Style and Effectiveness: pp. 165-180 including Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes Harvard University Press by R. H. Mnookin, S.R. Peppet, and A.S Tulumello; and Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Negotiators by Gerald R. Williams,

The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Third Edition by Leigh L. Thompson, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2005. ISBN 0-13-140738-4

  • Chapter 2: Preparation: What to do Before Negotiation pp. 13-39;
  • Chapter 6 Establishing Trust and Building a Relationship pp 123-149
  • Chapter 8 Creativity and Problem Solving in Negotiations pp. 174- 202

Difficult Conversations, How to Discuss What Matters Most, Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Penguin Books, N.Y., 2000. ISBN 0 14 02.8852 X

  • ·Creating a Learning conversation—Listening from the Inside Out pp. 163- 185

Clear Leadership, How Outstanding Leaders Make Themselves Understood, Cut through the Mush and Help Everyone Get Real at Work, by Gervase R. Bushe, Davies Black Publishing, Palo Alto CA., 2001 ISBN 0-89106-152-5.

  • The Descriptive Self : Communicating honestly pp 119-140
  • The Curious Self: Helping Others to communicate pp. 141-155

Bridging Cultural Conflicts, A New Approach for a Changing World, Michelle LeBaron, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco Ca. 2003 ISBN 0-7879-6431-X

  • Cultural Fluency in Conflict: An Overview pp. 33-83

Case Studies:

Case studies from the Harvard Program on Negotiation that deal with examples of distributive, integrative and principled negotiation-- from the perspective of bi-lateral and multi-lateral negotiations are included in the course.

Other

Classes will be held from Monday-Thursday for a total of 30 hours for the first three weeks of the program. A project/home assignment will be given for the last three weeks. The hand in deadline for the project/home assignment will be in the last week of the program.

Two sessions of this course will be offered, and you can therefore apply for the morning class (session 1) or the afternoon class (session 2).


Sidst opdateret af ISUP Secretariat 08.02.2010