WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY VANCOUVER
Business Program
Spring, 2007
Instructor: Tom Tripp
E-mail: tripp@vancouver.wsu.edu
Class: Monday, Wednesday, 4:15-5:30
Office Location: VCLS 308E
Instructor Home Page: Office Hours: Mon 1:30-2:30pm, and by appt www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/tripp/home.html
Prerequisites: GPA of 2.5
MATERIALS NEEDED
1. MgtOp 485 Course Web Site.
• The address / URL is: www.webct.wsu.edu
o WSU network ID required; login automatically brings up site hyperlink
2. Lewicki, R.J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D.M. (2006) Negotiation . Homewood, IL: Irwin, 5 th ed.
Catalog Course Description with Prerequisites:
485 Negotiation Skills 3 Bargaining skills across a broad range of business settings; experiential work. Credits not granted for both MgtOp 485 and 585.
University Communication with Students:
All email communication from the University will be sent to the student’s wsu.edu address. Be sure that you have set up the link to forward to your personal email address (aol. hotmail etc.) or you will miss announcements and information that is very important to you. If you change your email address, be sure to update again.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
Most of us negotiate every day, though we often do not realize it. We negotiate not only contracts, leases, and purchases, but we also negotiate over less obvious issues. We need analytical skills to discover superior solutions to problems and we need negotiation skills to get others to accept and implement these solutions. Unfortunately, too many of us negotiate poorly.
We often compromise or give in when creative problem solving could lead to a deal that would be better for everyone involved.
The goal of this course is for you to become a better negotiator. That is, you will develop the negotiation skills that produce more creative, satisfying agreements and avoid the worst kind of compromises. In particular, you will learn how to:
• think strategically about negotiation and conflict
• collect information and reveal it tactically
• get a bigger “slice of the pie” through both distributive tactics, where you increase your share of the pie, and integrative tactics, where you increase the size of the pie for everybody
• manage ethical issues involved in deception
• create and neutralize power imbalances
• manage coalitions in multi-party negotiations
• turn unruly mobs of your negotiation party into a negotiation team
COURSE METHOD
Handling conflict well is easier said than done. This class is about learning by doing.
This class uses negotiation simulation exercises, where you and another student act out roles that are assigned and distributed in class. After each exercise, the class will discuss all class members’ performances. The purpose of the discussion is to discover which negotiation approaches worked well and which didn’t. While discussions center on your in-class negotiation experiences, we derive the lessons from more than just students’ reports of those experiences.
That is, we also borrow from the economic, psychological, and behavioral-decision theories, some of which are discussed in the textbook and some of which I present in class.
EVALUATION & GRADES (100 Points Total)
Total course points translate to letter grades as follows:
Points Grade Points Grade
93+
90-92
A
A-
77-79
73-76
C+
C
87-89 B+ 70-72
83-86 B 67-69
C-
D+
80-82 B60-66 D
< 60 F
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Your grade will be based on your performance in the five following categories:
Category____________
Class Contribution
Preparation Memos
Baseline Paper
Reflection Papers
Skill Assessment Paper
Course Points
30 points total
6 points total
15 points total
3 @ 10 points each = 30 points total
19 points total
100 Points Grand Total
A. Class Contribution (30 points).
Class contribution consists of participating in negotiation exercises and participating in class discussion of those exercises.
1. Negotiations Exercises (10 points)
I expect you to negotiate every one of the 10 negotiation exercises. For each exercise you negotiate, you will receive one point. This assumes you have prepared to negotiate, not only by reading the role information, but also by having digested it and mentally prepared a strategy before coming to class. If you are unprepared, you will not receive the one point. Also, note that unprepared negotiators usually end up with embarrassingly bad deals.
How much preparation is enough? That varies by the complexity of the exercise, however, consider this rule of thumb: if, at the beginning of an exercise, you find yourself spending more time reading through your role information than looking your negotiation partner(s) in the eyes, then you have not prepared sufficiently.
For each exercise, you will be assigned another student with whom to negotiate during class meeting time. Students are assigned based on a rotation system such that for each exercise, you negotiate with somebody new. The goal is to give students a variety of negotiation partners throughout the semester. Therefore it is imperative that I have advance notice of any absences to prevent students from being “stood up.” Specifically, I require seven (7) days advance notice of any absence.
Penalty for Missing Exercises w/o Advance Notice: If you do not negotiate an exercise, but give me at least seven days notice, you lose only the one point that the exercise is worth. However, if you miss an exercise and fail to give me seven days advance notice of your absence, there is a penalty in addition to losing the one point. The penalty is that your final course grade will drop by one grade (e.g., A- to B+, B to B-). There are two exceptions to this rule:
• The first absence without prior notice is a “freebie” and there is no grade penalty, only the one-point loss.
• If you can convince your assigned negotiation partner to negotiate with you at his or her convenience, but before the next class meeting then the penalty will be waived.
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2. Class Discussion (15 points)
I like to ask questions and have students provide the answers. I lecture very little. Thus, good participation from students is what makes this course effective, so I expect each student to contribute insights. "Good" discussion includes helpful comments and thoughtful comments. I reward for each.
Helpful comments include: describing your tactics to the class, answering my questions, backing up someone's comment, refuting someone's comment, and clarifying what someone else has said about your negotiation behavior. A couple helpful comments will earn you up to 1/2 point for the day. Numerous helpful comments will earn you the same
1/2 point — i.e., there is no extrinsic reward for piling on helpful comments and dominating discussion.
However, thoughtful comments will earn you additional points for the day. One solid, thoughtful comment can earn you an additional 1/2 point. If you become a discussion leader for the day by making a few very thoughtful comments, you can up to a total of 1.5
points. Those students who make thoughtful comments are those who: o express a viewpoint about what negotiation behaviors are good or bad.
o not only take a stand, but back up your views with original (i.e., not said yet that evening) evidence and logic.
o express views that are relevant (i.e., interesting and useful to classmates).
Class Discussion comments can be made orally in class, or in writing on the class bulletin board. Here you may ask questions and post comments that occur to you after class ends, or that you never got a chance to say during class. I prefer that students answer each other’s questions, but occasionally I may post or answer questions myself.
I grade oral discussion each Wednesday night, immediately after class ends. I grade bulletin board discussion each Monday. Finally, all categories of discussion combined, it is impossible to earn more than 1.5 points for the week, and it is impossible to earn more than 15 discussion points for the course.
3. Reputation Index (5 Points)
Toward the end of the semester, every student will complete an evaluation of every other student’s reputation in class. Reputation is affected by actions one takes during negotiation exercises (e.g., preparation, seriousness, aggressiveness, honesty), how one discusses such exercises publicly during class or on the bulletin board (e.g., candor, insightfulness, relevance), and how much one contributes to other students’ learning (e.g., providing a challenge, providing useful feedback). Every student will be rated by every other student, both on one’s reputation as a negotiator and on one’s reputation as a contributor to class discussion.
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B. Baseline Paper (15 points)
Write a paper that describes and analyzes your approach to negotiation and conflict as it exists prior to January 8th, 2007. The analysis in this paper will give you a baseline for measuring your altered beliefs and improved performance at the end of the term. In your paper, address all of the following questions, in the following order:
1. In your opinion, what actions, attitudes, or approaches differentiate "good" negotiators from "poor" negotiators? (3 points)
2. In your own words, describe your approach to negotiating: about what do you typically think and what do you usually do when faced with a negotiation or with a conflict that could benefit from negotiating? Only describe your approach here; do not criticize it or praise it here. (6 points)
3. In your own words, critique your approach to negotiating: what's right and what's wrong with your approach and why? That is, in what ways does your approach help you achieve important goals, protect you from rotten outcomes, or alternatively, lead you to rotten outcomes or result in missed opportunities? (6 points)
This paper cannot exceed five pages in length. This paper is due January 17 th .
C. Preparation Memos (6 Points)
There will be three (3) preparation memo assignments: “Bullard Houses” on February 5 th ,
“MitiPet” on March 5 th , and “Elmwood Hospital” on April 2 nd . The purpose of the
Preparation Memos is to encourage strategic thinking about the negotiation and to reinforce the value of preparation to successful outcomes. For each preparation memo, answer the following questions:
1. What role are you playing?
2. What are your interests?
3. Of your interests, which does the other party share, and which conflict?
4. What interests might the other party have about which you have no preference?
5. Your BATNA, RP, and Target.
6. Their likely BATNA, RP, and Target.
7. What is your strategy?
You may add other preparation information as you see fit, as long as you answer at least these seven questions. Each preparation memo should not exceed 3 pages. Preparation
Memos are due at the beginning of class.
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D. Individual Reflection Papers (30 points @ 10 points each)
You must write three papers for three of your negotiation exercise experiences. In each paper, address the following:
1. What was your approach to the negotiation (e.g., goals, limits, concession tactics, communication strategies, etc.)? How did your approach help you and how did it hurt you? (4 points)
2. What was the other party’s apparent approach to the negotiation? How did it help them and how did it hurt them? (4 points)
3. What did you learn from this exercise in particular? How might you apply this lesson in future negotiations, both in class exercises and in your own real negotiations? (2 points)
You must write three (3) reflection papers. Each reflection paper cannot exceed five pages.
For each reflection paper, you must deliver multiple copies: I get one copy, and the other copy goes to the other party or parties with whom you negotiated the exercise discussed in the paper. You are responsible for delivering the other copies to the other parties. The first reflection paper will analyze the “Bullard Houses” negotiation, and it is due on February
14 th . The second reflection paper will analyze the “SeaTech” negotiation, and it is due on
March 7 th , Finally, the third reflection paper will analyze the “Alpha-Beta” negotiation, and it is due on March 26 th .
Note that your grade for a reflection paper is not a function of your performance as a negotiator. Rather, it is a function of how well you reflect upon your and the other party's performances. That is, while grading, I look for insightful criticism—both complimentary and critical evaluation of both you and the other party. What tactics worked well? What tactics worked poorly? Say what you really think, and if you can’t think of more than two pages worth of criticism, then you have not thought hard enough.
In writing a reflection paper, one common error students make is to spend several pages describing the negotiation, listing every offer and counteroffer in unbroken sequence. Such pure description leads to little insight and is therefore bad. A combination of description and critique produces the most insight. Description must be included, but only to illustrate or prove insightful points.
The best way to think of the proper mix of description and critique is to think about a sporting event broadcast. Consider how sports announcers cover such contests. One announcer will cover the "play-by-play," describing every single play as it happens. The other announcer(s) will provide the "color commentary," analyzing the strategies, tactics, mistakes, and the players' strengths and weaknesses. A reflection paper's content should resemble the color commentary, not the play-by-play. That is, I want analysis more than storytelling.
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E. Skill Assessment Paper (19 points)
Before beginning this paper, reread your Baseline Paper. In this Skill Assessment paper, you will compare and contrast your current, evolving negotiation approach with your pre-MgtOp
485 approach. The purpose is to analyze how your negotiation skills and knowledge have improved.
1. New Insights: What are the three most important lessons you learned about negotiations? For each lesson, which exercise drove home the lesson? Briefly describe what happened in the exercise that made the point. (8 points)
2. New Behavior: What negotiation behaviors do you still engage in? What behaviors do you no longer engage in? What new behaviors have you already added to your approach? Why is your new approach an improvement? (8 points)
3. Weakness: What is still your single , biggest weakness in negotiations? What specific and active steps could you take to correct it in the future? (3 points)
This paper cannot exceed seven pages in length. This paper is due April 25 th , at the beginning of class.
WRITING STYLE REQUIREMENTS
(Specific to MgtOp 485)
I have very specific writing requirements for this class that are unlike requirements for other classes or for other business contexts. It is very important that not only you read these requirements now, but also that you have them memorized when you write a paper for me. I will grade your papers, explicitly or implicitly, by the seven criteria listed below.
The gist of the seven criteria is that I want you to prove to me in these papers that you are learning and using class concepts. As such, the writing style for me varies from standard business writing in terms of logic, evidence, and jargon. That is, first, don’t just present your conclusions; also reveal the full logic of analysis behind your conclusions. Second, although the design of your papers is constrained by a very specific format, writing for me does resemble standard business writing in that you must be concise (no paper-length adding “filler,” please) and you must follow directions.
1.
Instructions . Follow them. Make sure to address every item listed under the assignment description, in the order listed .
2. Format. Put your names, not student ID numbers, on your assignments. Use headings to separate answers to numbered questions; sub-headings are optional. Print on only one side of a sheet of paper, identify each page with a page number, and use staples - not binders - to attach pages to each other. Use one-inch margins, 12-point font, and double-spacing.
Finally, note that an attempt to make a long assignment fit within the page limits by
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reducing margins, fonts, or spacing is unacceptable. Also, an attempt to make a short assignment appear longer by increasing margins, fonts, or spacing is unacceptable
3.
Apparent Effort . As with most classes, trying counts for something. I favor papers that demonstrate high effort, and I disfavor those papers where the authors merely went through the motions. Effort becomes apparent when you use the assignments as an opportunity to learn class concepts, practice writing skills, and wrestle with personal circumstances.
Apparent effort also means keeping within the page limit, rather than exceeding it.
4.
Clarity . I have a reputation for demanding clearly written assignments. In clear assignments: each point is understood without having to read it twice; the order in which points occur is predictable and flows smoothly; writing is very concise ; and the reader is not distracted by errors of grammar, syntax, punctuation, or spelling .
5.
Insight.
In insightful writing, the intelligence behind an analysis is apparent. What makes it apparent are the following items: a.
Depth : The insights penetrate beyond the obvious, surface issues to the underlying assumptions and causes. Thus, avoid superficial comments and strive to make some of your insights original.
b.
Breadth : Your analyses should be broad as well as deep — i.e., not only make deep insights, but make many insights. How many is enough? For each numbered item in an assignment, a maximum point value is specified. Items worth more points should contain more insights.
c.
Rationale : It is not enough for your insights to be correct; you must provide convincing support for them. Support that convinces is copious , logical , and backed up with evidence . Spell out your logic: how do you get from A to B? Be specific about examples and conclusions.
6. Application of Class Concepts and Principles . The major purpose of these assignments is for you to practice using class concepts and principles to diagnose problems and invent solutions. Thus, you must show that you can use class concepts and principles. Using class concepts and principles means generating insights; it does not mean merely matching jargon with the right examples. In short, make sure that you use class concepts, principles, and jargon correctly and often , and you must produce insight from their use.
Be careful, however, not to use jargon excessively. Excessive jargon litters papers with shallow, incorrect, and distracting references. As long as you focus on insight, and not on labels that have no meaning to you, you probably will include the right amount of jargon and develop interesting or useful observations. As a rule of thumb, do not use a buzzword without applying the concept behind it, and, do not apply a course concept without using its associated buzzword. In short, just don’t “sprinkle” your writing with buzzwords.
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7. Audience. Don’t forget who your audience is: it’s me. Think about what I know, don’t know, and what I want you to demonstrate. This will help you select content and supporting evidence. Also, in your Reflection Papers, you have a secondary audience – your partner(s) for that exercise. Include insights that will help them become better negotiators. Finally, remember that I (and your partners) have read everything assigned to you, and therefore summarizing readings is not necessary, although short quotations and citations help when provided in moderation .
If you follow these requirements, you are unlikely to be surprised with a bad grade from not understanding my expectations. Students who have complained that they didn’t know what I
“ really wanted” usually ignored this section of the syllabus when writing. In sum, do not begin writing until you have something to say; do not finish writing until it has met these requirements.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic Dishonesty: Students are expected to uphold the WSU standard of conduct relating to academic dishonesty (see WSU Student Handbook, WAC 504-25-015). Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that a student’s submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that student’s own work. Students shall be guilty of violating the honor code if they:
1.
Represent the work of others as their own.
2.
Use or obtain unauthorized assistance in any academic work.
3.
Give unauthorized assistance to other students.
4.
Modify, without instructor approval, an examination, paper, record or report for the purpose of obtaining additional credit.
5.
Misrepresent the content of submitted work.
In MgtOp 485, the above actions translate to four (at least) specific, forbidden actions: (1) reading anyone else’s confidential role information for an exercise before or during the negotiation of that exercise; (2) consulting past students of Negotiation Skills about an exercise you have not yet negotiated or even yet discussed in class; (3) consulting the notes of any other instructor at any college anywhere (e.g., through an internet search) about an exercise you have not yet negotiated or even yet discussed in class ; and, (4) making up facts in your papers about your history or experiences. That is, I define these four actions as cheating.
The penalty for violating the honor code is severe .
The first offense will result in a grade of zero on the assignment/exam in question. A second offense will result in a failing grade for the course. I will report all offenses to the Office of Student Affairs. If you are unclear about whether a particular situation may constitute an honor code violation, then you should meet with the me to discuss the situation.
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STUDENT CONDUCT/DEPORTMENT
Per the WSU Student Handbook, students are, “Expected to show due respect for …the rights of others.” For example, “While students have the right to freedom of expression…this expression cannot interfere with the rights of others or disrupt the processes of the University. Any malicious act which causes harm to any person’s physical or mental well being is prohibited.”
Such activities include sexual harassment, discrimination, intimidation (e.g. bullying or belittling fellow students), disruptive behavior (e.g., loud talking in class), or slanderous comments made about other students or faculty (e.g., false and unsubstantiated claims of discrimination made for the purpose of improving grades). Students should be familiar with the Washington State
University standards for student conduct presented in the WSU student handbook (available from student services).
LATE PAPERS
Any paper that is late will have points deducted from it. The deduction will be equal to 10% of the total possible points allowed for that assignment for each business day that it is late. Any exception to this rule must be discussed with me prior to the due date.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Date
1-8
Topic
Class Introduction
1-10 "Competitive Advert."
1-15
1-17 Game Theory & Trust
Activity
Lecture
Exercise
No Class – MLK Holiday
Debrief CA
1-22 “Eazy’s Garage”
1-24 Negotiation Basics Debrief EG
1-29 “Used Cars”
1-31 Distributive Bargaining
2-5 "Bullard Houses"
Exercise
Debrief UC
2-14 Simple Integration
Exercise
2-7 Communication & Ethics Debrief BH
2-12 “Goose Pond" Exercise
Debrief GP
Syllabus
Role Information none
Role Information
Chs. 1 & 10
Role Information
Ch. 2
Role Information
Chs. 6 & 9
Ch. 3
Reading
Role Information
2-19
2-21 Guest Speaker or Video
2-26 “SeaTech”
2-28 Power
3-5
3-7
“MitiPet”
Emotions & Escalation
No Class – President's Day Holiday none
Exercise
Debrief ST
Role Information
Chs. 7, 8 & 18
Exercise
Debrief MP
Role Information
Chs. 5 & 17
No Class – Spring Break 3-12
3-14
3-19 “Alpha-Beta"
3-21 Cross-Cultural Context
3-26 “The Lease”
3-28 Agents
4-2 Elmwood Hospital
4-4 Elmwood Hospital
4-9 Large Parties &
Mediation
4-11 Guest Speaker or Video
Lecture
Debrief AB
Exercise
Debrief TL
Exercise Pt 1
Exercise Pt 2
Debrief EH
Role Information
Ch. 16
Role Information
Ch. 11
Role Information
Role Information
Ch. 19
4-16
4-25
"Harborco"
4-18 Multiple Parties
4-23 Preparation
Course Summary
Exercise
Debrief H
Lecture
Lecture none
Chs. 12 & 13 none
Ch. 4
Ch. 20
Item Due
Baseline Paper
Prep Memo #1
Reflection
Paper #1
Prep Memo #2
Reflection
Paper #2
Reflection
Paper #3
Prep Memo #3
Reputation
Index
Skill
Assessment
Paper
4-30 FINALS WEEK — NO EXAM
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