TUNGHAI UNIVERSITYDepartment of International Business - Taichung

Business Negotiation and it’s Evolution in the US

History and Evolution of Negotiation Pedagogy

Goals/Challenges of Teaching Negotiation

To Address market needs…

– Increase analytical sophistication / expertise of managers

– Increase effectiveness, presumably in business.

Critics argue that it can’t be taught…you either have it or you don’t.

Can Negotiation be Taught?

• Boston area:– >150 courses

• Introduction• Specific disciplines (e.g.

labor, government, business, family)

– Doesn’t include EMBA or corporate training courses

• Required courses in MBA programs such as Harvard – Often the most popular course.

• Extrapolate to the US and #’s > 10,000

Chinese Culture Center, Intl Expo, Beijing, 2008

Can Negotiation Be Taught?

• Some people think:– Negotiation is more an Art that cannot be

systematically analyzed or taught.– Necessitates a change in one’s behavior– The theoretical models lack empirical

testing• Positional bargaining• Principled bargaining

What has happened?

Dr. Roy Lewicki, initiated the 1st applied negotiation courses in the US (1973, Dartmouth) - also the main author to our custom text.

1. Formative (Developmental) Decade (1975-1985)

- Dynamics of Bargaining

2. Development (Maturity) of the Field (1985-1995)

- Active participation, skill development

3. Third Generation & Challenges (1995-2005)

4. Return to Humanist Factors (2005+)

I Formative Decade: 1975-1985

• No managerial or applied teaching of negotiation

• Mainly drawn form social psychology: Boom in 1960’s– Theory of bargaining and conflict behavior– Classroom aid’s (cases) were primitive– Examples:

• Game theory (Luce & Raffia, 1957)

• International Relations (Schelling, 1960)

• Labor relations (Douglas, 1962)

• Real estate (Karrass, 1974)

I Formative Decade Continued: 1975-1985

• Early 1980’s: Negotiation courses expanded to other schools

• Small group of scholars collaborated (Max Bazerman, Roy Lewicki)

• Momentum of interest increasing:– Books (GTY, Art & Science of Negotiation) 1982 & 1983

– Professional organizations (Power, Negotiation & Conflict Management Interest Group,1983)

– Research funding (National Institute of Dispute Resolution 1984, Hewlett Foundation,1986)

• Faculty developed role plays, simulations, doctoral programs, cases, workshops.

• Result: From a few courses to 100 in 1985,

200 by 1989.

Early Course Curriculum (1975-1985) :

Recognizing Experiential Learning & Skill Development

1. Concrete experiences (real situations)

2. Reflection of experience (journal)

3. Derivation of concepts & tactical principles4. Planning for active experiments (readings) and

application to new settings (changing situations)

Sequence: Flow was varied; no standard approachtypically a balance of theory and application plus “Reflection Papers” to connect theory to practice.

Two Branches of Negotiation Theory Emerged (1975-1985)

1. Negotiation as a decision-making process

-Rational game theory, chess game

-“Logic” driven, lowest cost or highest value

2. Interpersonal dynamics between negotiators

-Social – psychological thrust

-Interpersonal dynamics, contextual factors

Major Course Elements of Both Approaches (1975-1985)

• Intro to Conflict & Negotiation Theory• Intro to Game Theory & Decision Making• Strategy & Tactics of Competitive, Distributive

Negotiations• Strategy & Tactics of Cooperative, Integrative,

Principled Negotiation• Time-Series (Stage) Model (Planning) of Negotiation

Process• Assessment of Individual Differences (Cultural, Cognitive &

Communication)

• Negotiation Within and Between Groups (Coalitions)• Advanced issues: Procedures for Deadlocked

Negotiations, Difficult Negotiators

II Development of the Field (1985-1995)

Success in Business Schools• Participation was welcome and enjoyable

– Focus changed from “Abstract Theory & Discussions” to the “Real, actual experiences with one another”

• Included both Skill Development & Theory– Often cited as models of active listening, participant centered.

• Students remembered the experience much more

Content, Curriculum & Method’s Remained Stable– Growth of textbooks, cases & role-play’s– Teaching pans and delivery matured

Innovations: Videotape & Computers– Video: See yourself in action, 100X feedback– Computer: Negotiator Pro, Step-by-Step planner– Integration: McGraw Hill Negotiator Pro (Virtual opponent, video)

III Third Decade (1996-2005)

A. Emphasis turned to Interpersonal Relationships– Versus one-time, calculated, economic, transaction

oriented negotiating– Reflects changes in the dynamic business environment– Stress collaboration within & across teams, business units,

joint ventures

B. Identified Weakness: the practice of distributive bargaining is likely to kill long-term relationships

C. Research from rational and calculated game theory, Decision Making towards the Emotional

context of personal relationships.• Identify that time in relationships is complex: trade something

today for something else tomorrow.

III Third Decade Continued (1996-2005)

A. Emphasis on Individual Interpersonal aspects:– Trust: How it is developed & destroyed?– Emotion: Often treat as a negative factor, must

be better understood.– Feelings & Attachments effect the negotiators

performance & decisions.– Decision Making = Cognitive Process + Emotion

B. Recognize Most Models developed from a Western, Male perspective– Lack of literature into culture and gender factors that are present

throughout the world See further: Goleman (1995) “Emotional Intelligence”

Ethics: What did we Learn from the New MBA Generation?

• 1980’s: Many negotiation course’s were poorly rated

• MBA Programs taught people how to “Get what they want” E.g. Gordon Geiko, “Wall Street”

• Faculty were criticized for being too soft (easy) on management issues (conflict, power, authority)

• Faculty were previously trained in the applied social sciences (1960’s) valuing a humanistic, cooperative orientation.

• Today(~2000) : Thankfully that period ended & cooperation is now the focus of management– Though we still see many of the victims.

Looking Ahead (2006+): What’s Still

Needed: Focus on negotiation as a system of skills…

measurable, trainable, practiced in an overall negotiation program.

• Issue Definition, Understanding & Re-definition

• Identify Interests, Values, Preferences

• Argument Construction• Organization & Persuasion

• Effective Questioning & Listening

• Understanding Big Picture• Packaging of Issues &

Concessions• Brainstorming Creatively• Final Agreement Drafting &

Communication

Global Focus

Based on: “Teaching Negotiation and Dispute Resolution in Colleges of Business: The State of Practice and Challenges for the Future”. (2000)Roy Lewicki, Teaching Negotiation, Ideas and Innovations, Michael Wheeler, editor Harvard PON, 2000.