MGMT 3721 Negotiation Skills

Some reminders for Plan 3, semester 2, 2014

On the whole, the quality of the Plans 2 (Job Terms) that you handed in were the best
we have ever seen in this course. (Yes!!) There was a lot of really excellent work and
the general standard showed most of you are really thinking through things well, both
in planning and explaining your planning.

The Worksheet
The biggest single weakness in Plan 2 was that some of you did not respond to all of
the criteria in the Evaluation Sheet we provided to you. If there is an item on that
table, we expect you to respond. As a result, we have modified the evaluation form by
adding an additional column, after poor for each criterion. Its called missing
Some people still need to work much harder on how to lay out their worksheet (plan)
to make it focused, explicit, comprehensive and concrete and hence more usable.
Do not explain things here. Leave that to the Explanation. Do not use full sentences
except for chit-chat and other questions. Use dot points.
As this negotiation is much more complex, using a Landscape layout should work
better than Portrait. In Landscape, a Worksheet might take about 4 to 6 pages. Some
students are trying to squeeze too much into tight spaces. In your Worksheet, try to
leave spaces to help with quick and easier re-reading while negotiating. There is no
need to try and push it all into 1 or 2 pages.
In evaluating your own Worksheet (plan), you should be able to answer yes to the
simple question: Can I use this plan to help me negotiate better? Any other answer
means you need to revise your plan. In answering the question, you should consider
content and layout of the plan. It should also help you go into and stay in role.
Carefully proofread and edit your writing. Presentation is your responsibility and says
something about you. Electronic spell/grammar checks help but are not sufficient.
You are answerable for the quality of your work, not Microsoft.
As with previous plans, include the following:
State your role upfront on the worksheet.
Identify your interests.
Prioritise them and indicate that they are listed in priority order. Include tangible and
intangible interests.
Try to do the same for the other party. (This involves estimation based on careful
reading of briefs.)
Interests are not the same as goals. They are broad preferences about needs. For
example, for Leslie Lee, interests included passion to do more scientific research, a
strong preference for security of employment and income, and the desire for
interesting, challenging work. These then shaped his/her goals (and then objectives
and targets) for the negotiation with Frances Reclutamento.
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For Goals
List them in priority order
Set specific goals (that lead to precise objectives)
Who is your constituency?
What are you responsible to them for?
This responsibility should be evident in your overall goals and how you
prioritise them clearly including intangible ones.
Are there goals for you as a team? Which ones?
What about for you individually?
If possible, you should weight them for example out of 10 to help your planning
and decision making and negotiation. From that weighting, you might try to develop a
points schedule to guide your concessions.
If you have a points schedule, you will still need to work out your resistance point and
target (in points) as well as your opening offer.
Try to estimate (and in priority order too) the goals of the other side.
Identify your BATNA. Too many students still do not understand what this is. If in
doubt, check up in lecture notes and/or textbook. Also identify whether it is strong or
weak. Use it set your resistance point. State this in an easy-to-read format e.g. in a
table format or line diagram in your worksheet.
Think about its implications and what you might do to strengthen it. Try to identify
the other sides BATNA (and implications).
Strategies and tactics
Whichever strategy or combination of strategies you choose, your chosen tactics must
match each strategy. List those tactics and give very brief examples of how/where
you would use them. For example: bogey on issue x; open questions and active
listening for
Whatever you do, once you choose your strategy and tactics, go back and check if
they match your interests and goals (particularly the intangible ones). And if you think
that there is integrative potential in this negotiation, think which integrative tactics
you might need to use. Too many students say they plan to use a mixed motive
approach and only explicitly plan distributive tactics.
Team dynamics
You should briefly list the sorts of teamwork issues you wish to address in your Week
10 team discussion. Think team roles, team processes, team dynamics in terms of
personalities, strengths and weaknesses.
Frames and framing statements or questions
How will you frame your arguments? How will you persuade the other party to see
things your way? At the same time, for this negotiation to be successful, you need to
"put yourself in their shoes".

Idle chit-chat in role

Too many students are not meeting this requirement fully:
five questions you ask the other side PLUS
five questions you would prefer the other side NOT to ask PLUS
responses to those five unwelcome questions.
Plan your chit-chat in role. In Plan 2, too many students asked chit-chat questions
suitable for Used Car (how long did it take you to get here? Did you drive or take
public transport?) in their Plan 2 (Job Terms Interview). And too many just asked
generic questions like How has your day been? which do not count for idle chitchat in role questions.
For better marks, we would like to see a follow-up question or two to the ones you
ask in chit-chat; e.g. for Frances: Leslie, how are you planning to wind down after you
finish your final exams? Oh, you are planning to travel? Really, where are you
guys going to go? How long do you plan to stay away?
You must also anticipate and plan for some of the more uncomfortable questions and
answers from your opponent. Plan for the 5 worst questions you can think of (in that
role) and plan answers that are plausible and maintain your frame. Many of you still
get caught off-guard by your opponents.
In general, plan to start with broad, open questions and do NOT focus in on the
substantive issues to be negotiated. Plan to take the opportunity to learn something
more (in role) about the people you are negotiating with. This comes through
planning for this and using your questions.
Your negotiation with the other side goes over 2 weeks. Time spent early clarifying
issues by asking good questions (and good follow-up questions) is time invested well
in terms of outcomes and relationships.
Identification of the important negotiation numbers:

Target,
Opening Offer and
Resistance Points.

Your bargaining mix (with issues listed by priority) -> concession plan.
Some students are reducing the number of issues they negotiate compared to those
presented in the briefs. This is VERY BAD practice. You should be widening the
bargaining mix as much as possible. This involves careful reading of general and role
briefs.
Negotiation agenda. What should you include under this?
Audiences and constituencies
Who are your audiences and constituencies? Do they have an impact on your plan?
How many negotiations have you been involved in over this matter?
Question formulation is important.
What questions will you ask, and what questions will the other party?
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Points to consider:
This negotiation is different from others as hints about each sides BATNA are public
knowledge (in the general brief). Therefore you must have a good understanding of
your own BATNA and make an effort to understand the other party's BATNA.
The Board (really its financial controller under Board supervision) created the budget
and its "projected budget". What does "projected" mean in this situation?
Remember:
You and the other side do not have equal information. Some of it is common,
some not. Read your specific role brief very carefully and try to think about what it
is telling you and the various options or opportunities it seems to present. Are they all
pointing in the same direction? Is your role brief trying to frame you in a particular
direction? How might you suspect this?
The general brief contains very important information as well. Read it
thoroughly. Think carefully about why that information is common to both sides,
why some matters are repeated. Assume that ever word has a purpose either
literal or by inference.
Information in the smaller font - including in the footnotes - also requires careful attention and
consideration.

There are a lot of numbers in the budget. Set aside extra time to understand
the budget figures. If you arent good with numbers, find someone who can help
you. However, it isnt hard to do the basic additions and subtractions. Assume that
all the numbers provided have a purpose either literal or by inference.

The Explanation.
This is where you answer the question why did I choose to plan this way? regarding
each of the things you put in the Worksheet. For example, why are these interests
listed in this order; or why have I chosen this strategy; why have I chosen this frame?
Better answers also explain the rationale behind each planning point e.g. why
have I set my resistance point on this issue at point x? Students get fewer marks for
not providing reasoning for their choices.
You must provide references as specified in the course outline. Failure to do so
will bring a marks penalty. And you must reference carefully and with
consistent style.
Good marks reflect how you apply negotiation theory in planning for your role,
not how many theories you cite or how well you can summarise role play information.
** Please include, at the end of your Explanation, your expectations of
consequences if this negotiation is not successful. What will it mean for you
personally, your side, the other party and the community?**
Peter Sheldon 30 September 2014.