Negotiations

Course Overview

We negotiate daily with colleagues, employees, family, friends, and even strangers. Yet, despite the frequent occurrence of negotiations, most people are not familiar with the strategy and psychology behind successful negotiations, and as a result walk away from the negotiation with a less than optimal agreement.

Negotiation is the art and science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties. It is a strategy that allows you to get what you want through two-way communication. The central issues of this course deal with the decision-making processes and behaviors that you and other negotiators use in competitive contexts.

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the theory and processes of negotiation as they are used in professional settings, which will help you be successful in a variety of negotiations. The course helps you understand the theory behind successful negotiations, but also allows you to experiment with the strategies prescribed by each theory, giving you the opportunity to develop your own negotiating style. To achieve these objectives, emphasis will be placed on exercises, cases, and discussion. Some of the specific objectives of this course are:

To understand the nature of negotiation. There is no formula that ensures success in a negotiation. Thus the purpose of this class is to teach you a framework that will help you develop a path to achieve the best outcome in your negotiations.
To gain an understanding of the central concepts in negotiation, as such concepts are the building blocks to successful negotiation strategies.
To gain confidence in the negotiation process as an effective way to resolve conflict.
To observe the behaviors and motivations of others and experiment with various negotiation strategies to improve your abilities as an effective negotiator.