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\u201cNegotiation Strategy: Fostering Collaborative Dynamics in Competitive Environments\u201d<\/p>\n
I designed this class to help undergraduate\u00a0business students<\/a>\u00a0find the skills and confidence they need to develop solutions to better the world around them through business.<\/p>\n Students arrive on campus with energy, ambition and an instinct that business can somehow be a force for good. So I developed a course to help students learn how to be true to themselves when they negotiate business deals. This course teaches them that financial gains are not the only way to measure success in business. Successful negotiators seek to maximize profits and at the same time embrace an inclusive and collaborative approach.<\/p>\n Everything about the course is designed to teach students how to negotiate both\u00a0rationally<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0genuinely<\/a>. Students learn strategies to increase monetary gains. At the same time, they learn how their\u00a0identity<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0emotions<\/a>\u00a0can be aligned with business strategy to fuel ambition and explore creative solutions to challenging environmental and social problems.<\/p>\n Students\u00a0explore new ways of thinking and feeling<\/a>\u00a0when they negotiate. In one of the negotiation reflections, for example, I invite students to describe how feeling angry can help define ethical problems. Another scenario highlights to students how expressions of sadness potentially build empathy and trust needed to resolve conflict. Class discussions motivate learning\u00a0diverse paths for exceptional success<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is a highly interactive educational experience capped at 36 students. The course design invites students to role-play negotiations in teams of anywhere from two to six students. Class experiences open a window to observe personal patterns of competitive and cooperative behaviors.<\/p>\n Role-play exercises and negotiation simulations demonstrate how not to get stuck in win-lose propositions. For example, imagine two manufacturing companies fighting to secure supply of a metallic compound only to discover they have complementary technology that could create a better product. Both companies would make more money and customers would benefit from this new product. It\u2019s a win-win. Now imagine their innovative technology could reduce pollution and create jobs in a region with high unemployment. Students learn they don\u2019t need to choose between\u00a0profits and positive impact<\/a>. They can achieve both.<\/p>\n When faced with challenges such as the recent collapse of banks and massive layoffs, students will broadly consider: What can a person like me do in a situation like this to make things better?<\/p>\n Good negotiators understand how to approach business decisions by asking what is\u00a0appropriate<\/a>\u00a0based on their personal values. Students learn that the way societal problems are framed\u00a0limits how they imagine solutions<\/a>. If people think only about profits, they miss opportunities to do good.<\/p>\n The course introduces\u00a0decision frameworks<\/a>\u00a0that transform the\u00a0competitive nature of business<\/a>\u00a0into collaborative opportunities.<\/p>\n Being yourself in business<\/a>\u00a0means approaching work with the same\u00a0logic<\/a>\u00a0that applies to community, locally and globally.<\/p>\n Every solution starts with oneself, with who you are in relationship to people. Success in business isn\u2019t confined to winning competitive games studied by economists. The course highlights the\u00a0interpersonal<\/a>\u00a0character of human understanding, communication and\u00a0coordination<\/a>. Students learn to build their personal way forward.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cA Primer on Decision Making<\/a>,\u201d by James March<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cGetting to Yes<\/a>,\u201d by Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cNegotiating Genuinely<\/a>,\u201d by Shirli Kopelman<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cThe Mind and Heart of the Negotiator<\/a>,\u201d by Leigh Thompson<\/p>\n Students will learn to see themselves as resources. They will see who they are as an essential part of understanding what is on the negotiation table and how to navigate a discovery process. They will be prepared to perform with dynamic flexibility, dignity and integrity. The experience in class offers a blueprint for engaging collaboratively in diverse professional endeavors. It paves the path for\u00a0negotiating from the inside out<\/a>\u00a0to pursue profits and make the world better.<\/p>\nWhat does the course explore?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Why is this course relevant now?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s a critical lesson from the course?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What materials does the course feature?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What will the course prepare students to do?<\/strong><\/h4>\n