MGMT 3302 (NegotiatiNG IN BUSINESS)
Course SYLLABUS
Class Information
Section: 02
Day & Time: Monday & Thursday, 11:45 AM - 01:25 PM
Location: Technically in 150 Dodge Hall, Practically via Zoom meetings
COURSE Materials
Course pack: Dispute Resolution Research Center (look for email/invoice)
Please note: Failure to pay for the course pack by February 1, 2021 will result in exclusion from class activities and a grade of F.
INSTRUCTOR INFO
Office Location: 112D Hayden Hall (via Teams for Spring 2021)
Email Address: p.ellen@northeastern.edu
Office Hours: Monday, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, via Teams
Schedule a Meeting: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17165124
Outside Office Hours: email to request a time
Course Overview
Negotiation is a frequent activity in organizational life. It occurs every time that two or more people are in a situation where their goals and interests differ, at least in part. In addition to what we formally think of as negotiation (e.g., proposals, purchases, recruits, contracts, etc.), organizational members also are engaged in a continuous series of less formal negotiations-with bosses, subordinates, peers, group members, customers, clients, suppliers, etc.
Many feel a bit unsure going into a negotiation. Some worry about the impact to relationships of asking for too much. Others are afraid of looking "weak" by giving concessions. So, we often aren't sure how to proceed. As a result, when we close the negotiation, we don't always feel great about the outcome. Often, we feel we have “left money on the table,” or that our relationship with the other party has been damaged.
Additionally, we need to deal with the fears we have when we negotiate, including the fear that other person has all the power, the belief that bad things will happen if you put your own interests on the table, or the belief that walking away means the negotiation was a failure.
Thus, we need tools, structures, and models to draw from. More than anything, we need practice, feedback, and reflection so that we can develop the negotiation skills that are so critical to success in organizational life (as well as personal life, too).
Whether we realize it or not, we have been negotiating all our lives. As a result, most of us have some skills in negotiation, but limit ourselves to a narrow intuitive repertoire of familiar strategies, tactics, and general responses to conflict. However, today's workplace requires a wide variety of skills and creative techniques. For most, intuition is not enough; we need to broaden our repertoire.
In this course we will cover the basic elements of negotiation. Readings, role playing exercises/simulations, and discussions will provide students the opportunity to develop their negotiation skills. Specifically, by the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to:
Understand what causes many of us to be less effective than we would like to be
Develop skills in gaining better outcomes in your future negotiations
Gain a better understanding of your tendencies and blind spots as a negotiator
Understand the difference between integrative (win-win) and distributive (win-lose) negotiations and develop your skills at both
Develop alternative strategies to being “too hard” or “too easy” as a negotiator; develop skills as a “principled negotiator”
Gain experience in multi-party negotiations
Gain experience in negotiating with a co-negotiator
Understand the importance of planning for a negotiation and how to do it
Understand the psychological dynamics of negotiation including, anchoring, framing, norm of reciprocity
Course Format
Virtually every class will involve a role play / simulation. Class members will be asked to prepare carefully for these negotiations, to fulfill the assigned role to the best of their ability, and to satisfy their assigned interests.
Negotiations in real life can be frustrating and uncomfortable. Similarly, participating in some of the role-play simulations may make you uncomfortable. It is unlikely that the material itself will create discomfort, but the process of discussing and resolving the situations presented in the activities could create some anxiety. By enrolling in this class, you are accepting this fact and expressing your commitment to take the negotiation (and its relation to the learning of others) seriously.
Additionally, the highly experiential nature of this course means that we will constantly be impacting each others’ learning experience. Our school attracts students from a wide range of geographic and cultural backgrounds, which means we are likely to be interacting with people dissimilar from us throughout the semester. This diversity is a resource from which we are fortunate to draw and it benefits improve the learning experience. However, mutual respect is necessary to capitalize on this, and the expectation is that we will all work together to provide a learning environment that is welcoming, open, and inclusive for all.
Expectations
Nearly every class will focus on planning for or engaging in role plays and simulations designed to demonstrate different aspects of negotiations. Attendance is critical to learning in this format, which means attendance is mandatory. You need to attend all classes barring an emergency or university-sanctioned absence. I understand this may seem overly strict. However, it is extremely impractical to make up a simulation or role play, and the nature of this course means that one student's absence directly impacts another student's learning. Thus, students are asked to provide advance notice (at least 24 hours) for any absences to allow me time to adjust the simulations. Additionally, please note that the penalty for absences is severe, such that each unexcused absence will essentially result in a +/- decrease in your final letter grade.
Similarly, arriving to class on time is important, as delays impact the flow of class and execution of the simulations. Also, if students are late, I have to assume they are going to be absent and adjust simulation pairings accordingly. Thus, students not present within 5 minutes of the class start time will be considered absent and excluded from the day’s simulation.
Attendance
For each simulation/role play, you will be assigned a role and given a case with instructions and information. You will be asked to use this information to prepare and carry out a negotiation exercise for which you will be paired with one or more counterparts. It is critical for you and your classmates' learning that you conscientiously prepare for and carry out these exercises. You can imagine how you will feel if after carefully preparing for a negotiation, you are paired with someone who has not prepared. It is a waste of time and negatively affects learning.
You will receive confidential instructions for most of these exercises. In your negotiations, it is entirely up to you as to how much - if any - of this information to disclose to the people with whom you are negotiating. Under no circumstances, however, may you show the actual instruction sheet to anyone else. As a practical matter, this rule largely mirrors reality. After all, in most situations, you cannot simply show the full set of your real underlying values and information to your negotiating counterparts, but you can selectively reveal information about them during discussions.
In-Class Activities
Although much of the simulation prep will occur during class time, there will occasionally be a need for you to use out of class time to prep for a simulation in an upcoming class. The expectation is that assigned material for preparation will be digested (i.e., read, thought about, possibly even discussed with friends) prior to the class meeting for which it is associated, as it contains information that is critical for the upcoming simulation. Additionally, you will be expected to complete a physical (or digital) PLAN for each negotiation (unless otherwise specified). Some of these plans will need to be completed outside of class time and turned in prior to the negotiation. Under no circumstances are you to share confidential information about your role with others prior to the negotiation.
Prepping for Class
The use of laptops and tablets is permissible in preparation for simulations, and during simulations as deemed necessary or appropriate by the professor. The use of laptops and tablets during the debrief is frowned upon. If you choose to take digital rather than analog notes during debrief sessions, it is your responsibility to convince me that you are engaged in the discussion (i.e., through your active participation) and not simply surfing the web or doing other work. Failure to do so could negatively affect your participation grade.
Technology Policy
ASsessment of Learning
As much as I would love it if we could just skip the whole grade thing, the formal nature of your degree program (and my employment) requires that some quantitative and qualitative evaluation of learning take place throughout the semester. The assessments of learning will include a reflection journal, negotiation plans, a core content exam, and an end of semester assignment. Additionally, because this course is so interactive, contribution to learning will constitute a large portion of the final course grade. The following sections provide more detail.
Reflection Journal
Following each exercise and associated class discussion, you should reflect on the exercise via a digital journal. Entries should be completed as soon as practical after class (while the experience is fresh) and always submitted prior to the next class period. Each entry should address the following questions:
What, specifically, did you learn about [the topic of the day] through the simulation?
What, specifically, did you learn about yourself, as a negotiator, through the simulation?
This is not a formal writing assignment (i.e., they are intended to be relatively brief, and grammatical errors will not be as costly); however, the task is "for credit." You will not receive a letter or number grade for individual entries, and they will not be graded after each entry. Instead, I will assess the level of effort/thought for the entries throughout the semester when determining the overall credit earned.
You will submit your journal entries via text entry in Canvas. The process for the first entry should be fairly intuitive. However, the second might not be. This is because when you return to the Reflection Journal for future entries, you will see an option to "Re-Submit Assignment." Despite what this seems to indicate, it will not overwrite your previous submission. So, please select "Re-Submit Assignment" and record a new entry.
Negotiation Plans
Students are expected to complete a plan for each negotiation. Some of these plans might be very simple, while others might be much more complex. Regardless, a copy of each negotiation plan is to be turned in (unless otherwise specified) via Canvas prior to the negotiation. These will be graded with a check-mark system, based primarily on perceived effort.
Exam
There will be one exam given. It is designed to assess your knowledge of the negotiation fundamentals and will consist of between 10 and 15 open-ended questions. You will have an entire class period to complete it (but honestly shouldn’t need that much time).
Final Reflection
This is a summary reflection that should take the form of a 2 to 3-page paper assessing your development as a negotiator throughout this semester, as well as things you feel you should be particularly mindful of in the future. Don't feel pressured to try to cram something from every negotiation into this summary, and don't worry as much about demonstrating content knowledge here. The focus here is on you.
Quick Reference Guide
My hope with this assignment is for your demonstration of learning to also produce something that might be valuable to you in the future. Thus, I want you to create a "Negotiation Quick Reference Guide." This guide should be a one-page summary of the negotiation content you have learned this semester, presented in a format that will be useful for you (and perhaps others) to look back on in the future as you prepare for negotiations. There is a creative element to this assignment, so please don't just provide text and bullet points. For examples of what I’m looking for, please see these quick reference guides for the iPad (Links to an external site.) and the Slow Carb Diet (Links to an external site.). You can create this using whatever software is most convenient for you, but please upload it here as a PDF.
Contribution to Learning
Because this course is so interactive, your contribution to others’ learning will constitute a large portion of the final grade. A portion of your contribution assessment will come from your peers based on their experience negotiating with you, and a portion will come from me based on your engagement during simulation debriefs.
Peer Evaluation
Because this class is simulation-based, much of your “work” will be through engagement other students. Thus, a portion of your grade will come from a peer assessment. After each simulation, the other student(s) with whom you negotiated will rate you on a scale of 1 (I would never want to negotiate with them again) to 10 (I would always want to negotiate with them), and provide comments about their experience as your simulation partner. At the end of the semester, your composite rating will dictate the peer evaluation portion of your final grade. Additionally, I will provide you with the anonymized comments as a form of peer feedback designed to aid your development as a negotiator.
My assessment of your contribution to the learning environment will be based on my assessment of your engagement during the simulations, as well as the quality of your contributions to the class discussions (e.g., sharing insights during debriefs). This assessment will translate to a letter grade, based on the following standards:
A: I make major, substantive contributions to the learning of other students and have added unique insights to, or have made a significant impact on, the class discussion. I draw on my own experience where relevant. I listen carefully to others, balancing advocacy (i.e., restatement or agreement of views) and inquiry (i.e., building on and/or exploring others’ ideas) in order to further our collective understanding of the issues being discussed.
I am very well prepared and have read assignments carefully and thoughtfully so that I am familiar with the facts, ideas, and concepts and can draw on them when I participate. I contribute to and am focused on the discussion in every class. My pattern of contribution has been steady; my participation frequency has not fallen off. Even when I have nothing substantive to add verbally, I stay engaged in the discussion, actively listening and following the flow of ideas.
B: I often contribute to class discussions, typically volunteering to answer questions. Most of my contributions have been fairly brief responses to straightforward questions. However, I am clearly prepared, have read through the materials before class, and am able to give appropriate answers that are helpful to the class discussion. The frequency and quantity of my participation have been steady, or have increased as I became familiar with the class.
C: I contribute infrequently to class discussions. I don’t volunteer often, and I have spoken primarily on straightforward topics. When called on, I may not have been well prepared to answer the question, or my answer may have been weak or insufficient.
D: I rarely participate in class discussions. It is likely that when I have spoken, I was called on when my hand was not raised.
F: I have not spoken in class and appear unprepared. If called upon, I have declined to contribute.
My Evaluation
Assessment Summary
Negotiation Plans: 100 points
Journal Entries: 100 points
Quiz: 100 points
Quick Reference Guide: 100 points
Final Reflection: 100 points
Peer Contribution Evaluation: 250 points
My Contribution Evaluation: 250 points
Total 1,000 points
Final Grades
Final grades for the course will be calculated based on the total number of points accrued for the assignments. Point ranges for each letter grade are as follows:
A 930 – 1000
A- 900 – 929
B+ 870 – 8999
B 830 – 869
B- 800 – 829
C+ 770 – 799
C 730 – 769
C- 700 – 729
D+ 670 – 699
D 630 – 669
D- 600 – 629
F below 600
NOTe
In my effort to foster many areas of educational and personal growth, I use several different methods of assessment and teaching. I hope and expect that many of you will welcome the full variety of methods. However, I also realize that what may be fun for someone may be fearful for another, and that some of you may find a few methods to be particularly challenging (perhaps even uncomfortable). If you find (or anticipate) yourself struggling with any component of the course, I encourage you to set an appointment to speak with me. While I cannot change the requirements, I can work with you on the area(s) of struggle (which are frequently also opportunities for growth) and/or help you connect with campus resources.
The “Fine Print”
“On my honor, I pledge to uphold the values of honesty, integrity, and respect that are expected of me as a Northeastern student” (https://www.northeastern.edu/registrar/courses/cat1213-univ-proc.pdf).
Honor Code
Northeastern University places utmost value on academic integrity. All students are expected to understand the University’s expectations and guidelines for what constitutes, as well as what violates, academic integrity (http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academicintegrity/.
The D’Amore-McKim School of Business takes the University’s Academic Integrity Policy and student Honor Code very seriously: “Essential to the mission of Northeastern University is the commitment to the principles of intellectual integrity. Academic integrity is important for two reasons. First, independent and original scholarship ensures that students derive the most from the educational experience and the pursuit of knowledge. Second, academic dishonesty violates the most fundamental values of an intellectual community and depreciates the achievements of the entire university. Accordingly, Northeastern University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a student can commit while in college. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, participation in academically dishonest activities, and facilitating academic dishonesty. All members of the Northeastern University community—students, faculty, and staff—share the responsibility to bring forward known acts of apparent academic dishonesty. Any member of the academic community who witnesses an act of academic dishonesty should report it to the appropriate faculty member or to the director of the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. The charge will be investigated and if sufficient evidence is presented, the case will be referred to the Northeastern University Student Judicial Hearing Board.”
The increased use of the internet has caused many cases of plagiarism and insufficient credit attribution to arise. Students using the Internet for research must be very clear when citing their sources. There are formal citation guidelines you are expected to follow that go beyond citing just the web address. The University Libraries website provides tips for avoiding plagiarism (http://library.northeastern.edu/get-help/research-tutorials/avoid-plagiarism, and a list of resources to assist students in citing sources (http://library.northeastern.edu/get-help/citations-bibliographies).
Student conduct for written assignments, presentations, projects, exams, or other work that violates University policies for academic integrity will result in zero points for the assignment and may be brought to the attention of the OSCCR. If there is any confusion about what is expected of you, please address the issue with me prior to turning in an assignment.
Academic Integrity
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects individuals from sex or gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on gender-identity, in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
Northeastern’s Title IX Policy prohibits Prohibited Offenses, which are defined as sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship or domestic violence, and stalking. The Title IX Policy applies to the entire community, including male, female, transgender students, faculty and staff.
If you or someone you know has been a survivor of a Prohibited Offense, confidential support and guidance can be found through University Health and Counseling Services staff (http://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/) and the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy members (http://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/). By law, those employees are not required to report allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the University.
Alleged violations can be reported non-confidentially to the Title IX Coordinator within The Office for Gender Equity and Compliance at: titleix@northeastern.edu and/or through NUPD (Emergency 617.373.3333; Non-Emergency 617.373.2121). Reporting Prohibited Offenses to NUPD does NOT commit the victim/affected party to future legal action.
Faculty members are considered “responsible employees” at Northeastern University, meaning they are required to report all allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator.
In case of an emergency, please call 911.
Please visit http://www.northeastern.edu/titleix for a complete list of reporting options and resources both on- and off-campus.
TITLE IX
Advanced notice and appropriate documentation are required for any special accommodations. Contact the staff at the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in 20 Dodge Hall (tel. 617.373.2675) for support: http://www.northeastern.edu/drc/aboutus/index.html. I encourage you to see or email me in the first week of classes if you know you would benefit from special accommodations that need alternative arrangements.