Lecture Notes | Negotiation and Conflict Management | Sloan School of Management

Many of the negotiation simulations include general instructions, which can be read by all parties, and secret instructions, which are intended for one side only. Also, some simulations offer "instructor's notes" that provide more information on facilitating the exercises or their purpose in the course.

Lecture notes.
SES #	TOPICS
1	Introduction and Course Overview We will discuss topics to be covered in the course, the Journal and the Separate Pages. You should write in the journal every week – see the assignments page for when written work is due – and write "separate pages," which are evaluations of the negotiations of classmates. Major concepts in negotiation will be presented. Negotiation simulations begin to illustrate factors that may affect your choice of strategy and tactics in negotiation. Thinking ahead about the written assignments for session 2... Handouts: Butterfly View of 15.667 (PDF) Thomas-Kilmann Questionnaire: Thomas, Kenneth W., and Ralph H. Kilmann. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. Xicom, Incorporated, 1974. Score Sheet for Thomas-Kilmann Questionnaire, by Prof. Mary Rowe Two Dollar Game: General Instructions (PDF) Instructor's Notes: Description of the Game for Educators (PDF) Secret Instructions for the Two Dollar Game: 50 cents (PDF) 80 cents (PDF) $1.00 (PDF) $1.30 (PDF) $1.60 (PDF) Battle Ax (PDF) Dependent (PDF) High Tension (PDF) Imaginative (PDF) Public Figure (PDF) Say Little (PDF) Tape Recorder (PDF) Untrustworthy (PDF) Ten Minutes (PDF) Another Chance (PDF) Hard Time (PDF) All Secret Instructions (PDF)
2	What Kind of Negotiator am I? Case this Week: Stratego Aero I: General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions (PDF) Instructor's Notes for Parts I-IV (PDF) Handouts: Ethics and Machiavelli Questionnaires and scoring sheets, pp. 264-269 and pp. 261-263, respectively, from: Lewicki, Roy J., David M. Saunders, John W. Minton, and Joseph A. Litterer. Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases (Instructor's Manual). Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1993. Brainstorming Protocol (PDF) Levels of Consensus (PDF)
3	Distributive and Mixed Motive Bargaining In today's class we are concerned with ethics, and with classic, zero-sum negotiating problems – the gain of one is the loss of the other. Chapter 3 – be sure you have read it? – discussed the nature of distributive bargaining. Case: Terry and Josephine at Navigational Systems. Discussion of the role of power in negotiation. General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Josephine McNair (PDF) Secret Instructions for Terry Hardel (PDF) Navigational Systems Policy on Employment of Members of the Same Family (PDF) Video: Film clips from: Sebenius, James K. Negotiating Corporate Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1997. Should change be forced (distributively) or fostered (integratively), or is change a mixed motive process that requires both forcing and fostering? Reframing Positions - An exercise in dealing with difficult tactics, related to the film clips (PDF)
4	Integrative and Mixed Motive Bargaining Role-play: Barrister, Counselor, Solicitor and Avocat, (Hiring/Salary Case): General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for C. H. Wang (PDF) Secret Instructions for Piro Torres (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) The Basis for Integrative "Embellishments" (PDF) Role-play: The Yearly Review (Performance Evaluation Case). Discussion of firing an employee. General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Kaoru Suzuki (PDF) Secret Instructions for Kazumi Montana (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) Handout: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare – Negotiating for Jobs, Salaries, and Everything Else (PDF) Pick up copies of the Aggressive Competitive Negotiator and Tax Books cases to prepare for next week. Choose a partner for next week – the negotiation next week will be two on two.
5	Competitive and Cooperative Styles and Do Gender or Culture Make a Difference? Case: Dealing with an Aggressive Competitive Negotiator Dealing with an Aggressive Competitive Negotiator (PDF) – Paper courtesy of Prof. Mary Rowe and Amos Rogers, MIT Sloan School of Management. Case: The TEAM Case Secret Instructions for Jan Li (PDF) Secret Instructions for Piro Pali – A (PDF) Secret Instructions for Piro Pali – B (PDF) Discussion of dealing with an aggressive competitive negotiator: Notes on Dealing with an Aggressive Competitive Negotiator (Especially If You are Cooperative) (PDF) Negotiating with an Aggressive Competitive Negotiator (PDF) Methods to Change the Game to Collaboration (PDF) – Paper courtesy of Prof. Robert McKersie and Prof. Mary Rowe, MIT Sloan School of Management. Substantive Ideas for Dealing with Mr. Canny (from the ACN case) (PDF) Discussion of the roles of gender and culture in negotiations: Preparing for Negotiations Where Culture and/or Gender Matter (PDF) Are There Discernible Differences Among Negotiators – On the Basis of Gender, Race, Ethnicity? (PDF) Case: Tax Books by Prof. Gerald Williams, Brigham Young University. (negotiated two on two) Pick up your role in Telemachus, for next week. Please prepare with someone who has the same role.
6	Negotiating in Context Discussion of negotiation in a team setting and in coalitions. Case: Telemachus Technology – All parts of this case courtesy of George P. Maxe and Ellen J. Waxman, MIT Sloan School of Management. General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Bill Meese, The Mentor (PDF) Secret Instructions for Jack Youngblood, The Mentee's Manager (PDF) Secret Instructions for Shataya Davis, The Mentee (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) Case: Coalition Game: Susskind, Lawrence. Three-Party Coalition Exercise. Available from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School Clearinghouse. Coalition Exercise: Questions for Reflection (PDF) Coalition Exercise: Instructor's Notes (PDF) Building Coalitions (PDF) Handout: State of the Class Questionnaire (PDF)
7	Origins of Conflict – Dispute Prevention – Delegating Conflict Management to the Disputant Class: Videos on Complaint Handling: The Lab Supervisor by MIT Center for Advanced Educational Services. Discussions of dispute resolution systems, and discussions of "interests, rights and power" in the context of conflict management, raise serious ethical issues. Is it ethical to resolve criminal matters or public safety issues in an informal (problem-solving) fashion – without an investigation and without disciplinary action? At the other end of the spectrum, is it ethical to deal with conflicts involving free expression through disciplinary action? Through problem-solving? Only through problem-solving? Do you believe complainants should have options with respect to harassment and discrimination? If so, should complainants always have options? When yes, and when no? What options should managers have and when? As you read these materials please ask yourself and tell me – is it possible for a manager to prevent reprisal against a whistleblower or other complainant – or a person who strongly dissents from a position taken by an important person in the workplace? Case in Class: Stratego Aero II and discussion: Secret Instructions for Dana Idris (PDF) Secret Instructions for Sandy King (PDF) Instructor's Notes for Part II (PDF) Case in Class: Manager's Dilemma – Eavesdropping. This is a discussion about someone with a painful problem who does not wish to use ordinary grievance channels. General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for the Eavesdropping Manager (PDF) Secret Instructions for the Offended Staff Person (PDF) Discussion of Apologies: Instructor's Notes about Apologies (PDF) Elements of an Effective Apology (PDF) Paper courtesy of Marsha Wagner, Columbia University.
8	Your Employer's Dispute Resolution and Complaint Handling System Class: Case examples and discussion. Case in Class: An Alarming Night. Designing an internal dispute resolution system. General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Dr. Y.T. Links (PDF) Secret Instructions for Piro Pati and Chris Lee (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) Case in Class: Designing an Internal Complaint System: General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Rupert Overween (PDF) Secret Instructions for Robin Stellar and Other Colleagues of Archibald Arrow (PDF) Handout: Anonymous Questionnaire on Sources of Satisfaction and Sources of Disputes in the Workplace (PDF) Options in a Conflict Management System (PDF) Presentation courtesy of Robert A. Fein.
9	Conciliation and Mediation Stratego Aero III: General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for Dana Idris (PDF) Secret Instructions for Sandy King (PDF) Secret Instructions for Chris Harding (PDF)
10	Investigation, Arbitration and Exceptionally Difficult People (Double Class, 6 hours) Stratego Aero IV: Adjudication (PDF) Case: Certified Public Accountants, Inc. (Theft): General Instructions (PDF) Secret Instructions for J. T. (PDF) Secret Instructions for Roo Smith and Dana Petski (PDF) Secret Instructions for Sandy Brown (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) Discussion of Cases Distributed in Class (Drugs, Whistleblowers, and a Convicted Employee): Safekeeping Corp – Drugs (PDF) Global Mobile – Whistleblowers (PDF) Construction International – Convicted Employee (PDF) Handout: Elements of Due Process or Fair Process (PDF) Evening Discussion of violence and the fear of violence in the work place, with Dr. Robert Fein, forensic psychologist.
11	More Negotiating with Difficult People Class: More discussion of difficult people and excerpts from a movie. Case in Class: Getting the Package to the Airport Secret Instructions for Ashley Nonnon (PDF) Secret Instructions for Kim Rising (PDF) Instructor's Notes (PDF) Video: The Story of Qiu Ju, Columbia/Tristar Studios (released with English subtitles), 1993. Questions about Qiu Ju Video (PDF) Handouts: Notes on Options for Managers (PDF) Coping Under Extreme Circumstances (PDF) When is a Difficult Person Not a Difficult Person? – Worksheet (PDF) When is a Difficult Person Not a Difficult Person? (PDF) Strategic Planning for a Negotiation or Dealing With a Dispute (PDF) Class Summaries: A Random List of Basic Points in the Class (PDF) Class Summary: Some Potentially Difficult Situations You Survived in 15.667 (PDF)