POWER, INFLUENCE AND NEGOTIATIONS

HRM 3501, 001

Spring 2017
Temple University
MWF 1:00-1:50

Prof. Stuart M. Schmidt

Office: Alter 351 [Main Campus]
MWF 2-4:00 & by Appointment
Voice: (215) 204-1621
Virtual Office: schmidt@temple.edu
twitter@SchmidtStuart1

PREREQUISITE: HRM1101, Leadership and Organization or equivalent

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Learn the fundamentals of gaining power
2. Learn guidelines for using influence in organizations
3. Ability to engage in principled negotiations
4. Ability to use negotiation for conflict management

LEARNING RESOURCES
READINGS BOOK and CASES: Power and Negotiation in Organizations: Readings,
Cases, and Exercises [3rd edition]. Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-75754923-6
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES: Posted on Blackboard site [Bb]
Optional: Fischer & Ury. GETTING TO YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving
In. New York: Penguin Books (Widely available from online and physical booksellers)

COURSE STRUCTURE
Students will work in project teams to prepare a Negotiation Plan for a real client that they will
obtain. Each project team will produce a Negotiation Plan for their client; meetings will be
required outside of class in addition to virtual online meetings. Team members should be
prepared for the team meetings otherwise everyones time will be wasted.

COURSE PROCESS
Students assume the role of consultants in a consulting firm that will consist of several project
teams. Students will become members of a project team. Each team will prepare a real
Negotiation Plan for a real client that the team will need to obtain.
During the course, project teams will work on negotiation problems, cases, analyses, and
simulations. Negotiating working relationships among project team members is an integral
course component. Students will need to apply their newly acquired knowledge about
exercising influence, negotiating relationships, and conflict management to working within
their project teams. Productive team performance is a requirement. Therefore students will
need to set aside nonproductive emotional baggage and concentrate on negotiating
productive working relationships. This means applying course material to negotiating
productive working relationships among project team members. If a student is unable to
work in a team, he/she will not be able to complete a negotiation plan.
Participation in this course should be considered the same as employment in a job;
meaning attendance and engagement in the class process. Therefore class attendance is
mandatory but not sufficient for class participation that will be assess by the professor.
There will be class participation and team performance evaluations of teams and each team
member by the professor, and team members. A sample peer performance evaluation form is
attached at the end of this syllabus. The items indicate the important performance expectations
for project team members.
Telecommunication Devices (Screens)
Please request permission to have a hot screen in class due to your status as a first responder
or family situation. Otherwise, all electronic communication devices (screens) should be closed
or turned off during class unless required for in-class activities. Class note taking may be
accomplished with paper and pen that research has found to enhance learning. Listening and
communicating are essential career and life skills that are learned practiced in class.
ASSIGNMENTS
Reading. Assignments from the readings book or the articles on Blackboard [Bb] are to be
completed before each designated class. These assignments will serve as a foundation upon
which we will develop each class.
Quizzes. There will be a quiz during the first class of almost every week based on the assigned
readings for that week. The ten best quiz scores will be used in calculating the course grade.
Talk-the-Walk. Talk-the-Walk assignments are designated as TALK-THE-WALK (TtW) on the

syllabus. The questions are to be answered in one page, single spaced essay that explicitly uses
the vocabulary and concepts from the relevant assigned articles and class. Your citations in the
form of footnotes should be on your second page. Completing each of these assignments is a
requirement for passing the course. Talk-the-Walk [T-t-W] essays will be graded (Grades will be
posted on Blackboard) on both substance and form, therefore they are expected to:
1. Have a complete and thoughtful thesis statement in the first paragraph,
2. Support the thesis statement with information and from readings and class,
3. Integrate the relevant concepts from the articles and class consistently and accurately,
4. Be written in coherent paragraphs that are logically structured and organized,
5. Be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
Negotiation Plan.
Each project team will prepare a Negotiation Plan for their real client who will do the actual
negotiating. This plan should be suitable for use by the clients negotiators in a real forthcoming
negotiation.
Each team will have to select a client who will be entering into commercial negotiations. These
may involve negotiations such as negotiating a lease, buy-out, bargaining with suppliers, buying
commercial property, job promotion, or bargaining for budgets. Labor collective bargaining
negotiations are excluded due to the legal context within which these negotiations occur.
Project teams will need to do extensive work with their clients and apply the technology of
Power, Influence, and Negotiations to their situations. Teams will take the side of their client in
preparing their Negotiation Plans. The situations must be real and involve actual forthcoming
negotiations. Clients and negotiations to be used for the Negotiation Plan need to be approved by
Dr. Schmidt.
Organization of the Negotiation Plan
The following topics at a minimum should be covered in the NEGOTIATION PLAN: (1) who is
negotiating (organizations and individual negotiators; their motivations, preferences, experience,
and relevant background), (2) what are each sides interests, (3) analysis of the balance of power
(sources and forms of power) for each side, (4) how your clients relative power can be
increased, your clients initial positions (what they want/need, (5) what trade-offs your client
could make, (6) the other sides expected positions, (7) initial influence strategies and tactics to
be used by your client and expected to be used by the other side, (8) expected forms of resistance
from the other side, (9) Back-up strategies and tactics, and (10) what are the consequences of
reaching and not reaching an agreement?

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Evaluation: Each person's performance evaluation will be based on (a) Negotiation Plan, (b)
Professors and Teams performance and participation evaluations (completed by team members,
and Dr. Schmidt), (c) quizzes based on assigned readings, (d) Talk-the-Walk assignments.
1.
2.
3.
3.

Class Engagement, Asking Questions, Team Contribution* ... 15 points

Talk-the-Walk: ......40 points
Quizzes[10 highest scores] ...20 points
Negotiation Plan........................................ ............................................. 25 points
Total Possible Course Points.. . 100 points

* During the semester, students are allowed three (3) absences. If you are not here,
you cannot participate and no points will be accrued for other classroom activities.
Students are expected to attend the entire class Late arrivals and early departures are
not condoned.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Students who have a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact

Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable
accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
ACADEMIC RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of
academic freedom. The University has a policy on Student and
Faculty and Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy #03.70.02)
which can be accessed through the following link:
http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?policy_no=03.70.02.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
This class will be conducted in accordance with Temples Plagiarism & Academic Cheating
policy. Violations of this policy can result in a grade of F and/or dismissal from Temple
University.

ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK of

TOPICS and READINGS_____________________

1/18/17
1/23/17

INTRODUCTION & NAVIGATING ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE

Dialogue: Facts of Organizational life
Organizational Life: There is more to work than working pp. 3-8.
Power Sickness [Bb]
Playing Hardball in Business Organizations [Bb]
CASE: Jerry and Dave, pp.29-31.

1/30/17

GAINING POWER
Dialogue: Can honest/decent people become powerful?
Power is the Great Motivator [Bb]
The Effective Use of Power, pp. 65-70.
Power Dependence and Power Paradoxes in Bargaining, pp.51-58.
CASE: The Boss of the Little Congress [Bb]

2/6/17

INFLUENCE WITH CONFIDENCE

Dialogue: Does being strong gain the day?
POIS Influence Instrument and Explanation, pp. 387-394.
An Influence Perspective on Bargaining within Organizations,
pp. 359-369.
Listening Skills, pp. 371-377.
The Power of Talk: Who gets heard and why pp. 337-348.
Harnessing the Science of Persuasion, pp349-359.

2/8/17
Talk-the-Walk #1 [Gaining Power]
Using the relevant concepts and vocabulary from the articles and class, explain in a one-page,
single spaced essay format how you could, in the future, increase your power at work, or in
another organizational setting such as family, team, etc. You should demonstrate your command
of the relevant concepts from the articles and class. Hardcopy due in class
2/13/17

THE PRICE OF POWER AND INFLUENCE

Dialogue: Why may decent people become abusive and corrupt?
The View from the Top: Successful use of power corrupts how we see
those we control, pp. 71-76.
Why Power Corrupts [Bb]
Intimidation Rituals: Reactions to Reform [Bb]
CASE: Fiorinas Confrontational Style At Hewlett Comes to a Close,
p. 79-82.

2/20/17

MANAGING CONFLICT
Dialogue: Can we manage conflict with negotiations?
SMR Forum: Managing Conflict, pp.135-142.
Communication as Changing the Negotiation Game [Bb]
Why Do Americans Hate Negotiating with their Enemies? [Bb]
CASE: Bargaining with the Devil: Mandela and Apartheid [Bb]

2/22/17
Talk-the-Walk #2 [Being Influential] Essay:
Using the relevant concepts and vocabulary from the Profiles of Organizational Influence
Strategies, analyze in a one-page, single spaced essay format your influence style with someone
at work, or in another organizational setting such as family, team, etc. Hardcopy due in class
2/27/17

3/6/17

PLANNING FOR NEGOTIATIONS

Dialogue: Is negotiation an art or science?
Prologue: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare pp.165-172
Should You Make the First Offer, pp. 183-188.
Self-Assessment
Nice Girls Dont Ask, pp. 95-98.
Reputations in Negotiation, pp. 99-110.
Assessing Others
Stubborn or Irrational? How to Cope with a difficult negotiation partner,
pp. 115-118.
Risky Business: Trust in Negotiations pp. 119-123.
The High Cost of Low Trust pp. 125-128.
SELF-ASSESSMENT: Negotiator Sensitivity Scale, p. 129.

3/13/17

SPRING BREAK

3/20/17

NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES
Dialogue: Does how we negotiate make a difference?
COMPLETE: Bargaining Confidence Inventory p. 33
Competitive (Distributive)
Distributive Negotiation: Slicing the Pie pp. 203-218

3/27/17

NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES
Dialogue: Does how we negotiate make a difference?
Cooperative (Integrative)
Integrative Bargaining, pp. 223-244
How Can I Win If You Dont Lose? pp. 262-264.
Mediation
The Uses of Mediation, pp. 278-286.

4/3/17

CULTURE TRAPS
Dialogue: Are we all different but the same?

The Importance of Culture and Bargaining in International

Negotiations [Bb]
How Do I Talk with These People? pp. 303-316.
4/5/17
Talk-the-Walk #3 [What Worked] Essay:
Using the relevant concepts and vocabulary from the articles and class analyze in a one-page,
single spaced formal essay how you negotiated a deal using either a distributive/competitive
or cooperative/integrative strategy. Hardcopy due in class
4/10/17

Dialogue: Are we all different but the same?

Negotiations, Chinese Style [Bb]
Negotiating with the Complex, Imaginative Indian, pp. 325-332.

4/17/17

ETHICAL IMPERATIVE
Dialogue: Can we be ethical and successful?
Ethics in Negotiation: Does Getting to Yes Require Candor? [Bb]
Haggle Properly [Bb]
When is Legal to Lie in Negotiations? pp. 421.
Ethics in Negotiation: Oil and Water or Good Lubrication? pp. 407-420.

4/17/17

ASSESSMENT: Ethical Tactics Instrument p.433-445

After completing the assigned ethical tactics instrument, answer the
following questions using concepts and terms from the assigned readings:
1. What factors led you to decide which tactics are more or less ethical?
2. What might be circumstances that would determine if specific tactics
are ethically wrong or acceptable?
CASE: Heaven Help Her? Pp. 431

4/19/17
Talk-the-Walk #4 [What I Did] Essay:
Using the relevant concepts and vocabulary about culture from the articles and class analyze in a
one-page, single spaced formal essay a cultural difficulty/misunderstanding that you had in
relating to someone at work or a non-work situation and how you dealt with it [either
successfully or unsuccessfully.]
Hardcopy due in class
4/24/17

NEGOTIATION PLAN TEAM PRESENTATIONS

5/1/17

LAST DAY OF CLASS

NEGOTIATION PLAN DUE
(1) HARD COPY with a Title page signed by each team member who
contributed to the project and assumes responsibility for the Plan,
(2) ELECTRONIC COPY sent to Schmidt@temple.edu by e-mail attachment in
MS Word

PEER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION [SAMPLE FORM]

PROJECT TEAM:
TEAM MEMBER BEING RATED:
RATER:
TEAM PARTICIPATION CRITERIA
Using the scale below, please rate this team member on the performance dimensions indicated
below (write the appropriate letter in the space following each item).
S
Superior

AA
Above
Average

A
Average

B
Below

P
Poor

PERFORMANCE DIMENSIONS

RATING

1. Works effectively with others toward common goals; Sensitive to others .................
2. Demonstrates reliability in meeting deadlines and completing responsibilities ...........
3. Performs work assignments with minimum need for supervision and guidance .........
4. Expresses ideas and information clearly and concisely in written form.......................
5. Makes quality contributions to assignments in a timely fashion..................................

6. Identifies problems, secures relevant information, generates alternative solutions

based on analysis and reasoning...............................................................................
7. Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary for effective performance of
responsibilities ........................................................................................................
EXPLAIN OR QUALIFY ABOVE RATINGS IF YOU WISH:

NEGOTIATION PLAN EVALUATION MATRIX

Excellent

Good

Deficient

Poor

Writing Mechanics
[Grammar, Organization
& Spelling]
Clearly instructs the
negotiator through the
negotiation process
Explicitly applies
specific course concepts
and language
Sophistication in
applying negotiation
concepts
Explicitly identifies and
describes how the
negotiation process is to
be managed from the
clients perspective and
in the clients interest
Overall perceived
usefulness of the Plan for
the client negotiator
maximum of 25 points will be awarded for the negotiation plan based on the evaluation criteria
shown below.

Team: ___________________________________