MGMT 566-01

Negotiation in Workplace
Spring 2020

Professor: Wencang Zhou, Ph.D.

Class Time: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm, Mondays
Classroom: SBUS 211
Office: SBUS 430
Office hours: By Appointment
E-mail: zhouw@montclair.edu

Course Description
Negotiation occurs in our daily lives and is the art and science of securing agreements between
two or more interdependent parties. This course will examine the fundamentals of negotiating
within today’s business world. Topics include both distributive and integrative bargaining.
Additionally, time will be spent on facilitating the best practices for communication.

Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will:
CLG1: Learn how to effectively negotiate and communicate with others.
CLG2: Understand the cross-cultural differences involved in negotiations.
CLG3: Understand when and why misconceptions occur.
CLG4: Learn how to behave ethically while negotiating.

Course Materials
Textbook: Thompson, L.L. (2014). The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator (6th Ed.), Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Cases and Exercises: Five exercises from Dispute Resolution Research Center (DRRC) at
Northwestern University and two cases from Harvard Business Publishing will be required.
Instruction for purchase of the cases will be available on Canvas.
Note: Because of the interactive nature of this class, you MUST have the exercises in hand
before each class. If you don’t have the cases and exercises, you will have to drop the class.

Evaluation and Grading

Your grade will be made up of:
o Attendance, surveys and participation 20%
o Planning documents 20%
o Post-negotiation analysis on Canvas / Case Analyses (30%)
o Quiz on Fundamental Concepts (10%)

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 o Project (20%)

Grades will be determined as indicated below.

Grade Percentage
A 93.00% – 100%
A- 90.00% – 92.99%
B+ 88.00% – 89.99%
B 83.00% – 87.99%
B- 80.00% – 82.99%
C+ 78.00% – 79.99%
C 73.00% – 77.99%
C- 70.00% – 72.99%
D+ 68.00% – 69.99%
D 63.00% – 67.99%
D- 60.00% – 62.99%
F 0.00% – 59.99%

1. Attendance, Surveys and Participation (20%)

Because negotiation exercises are critical to the learning process in this course, attendance will be
mandatory. Your absence will negatively affect not only your performance but also your
negotiation partner’s performance. If you are not able to make it to a particular class, please let me
know ASAP.

Your participation in class discussion will be evaluated on the quality of your contributions and
insights. After each negotiation exercise, a debriefing session will include sharing information
about results, sharing information about strategies attempted, and sharing reactions to the process.
Quality comments possess one or more of the following properties:
o Offer a different, unique, but relevant, perspective based on analysis and theory.
o Contribute to moving the discussion and analysis forward.
o Build upon the comments of your classmates.
o Transcend the ― “I feel” syndrome; that is, include some evidence or logic.
o Link relevant concepts to current events or past class discussions.

You will also be required to complete several online surveys inside or outside of class. The survey
will ask about topics relevant to negotiations and many of the topics we will discuss in class.
Results of these surveys will help you complete your project.

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2. Planning Documents (20%)
Preparation for a negotiation is a critical step in negotiations and an important part of your learning
process. The planning documents serve to help you structure your negotiation experience,
understand the nature of the particular negotiation exercise, and develop strategies that will
maximize your outcomes. Specifically, the planning documents will help you be well prepared
for the role you will play in each negotiation exercise.

You are required to submit a negotiation planning document before each negotiation
exercise except Negotiation Exercise #1. All planning documents you prepare must be typed.
The planning document should be submitted through Canvas before the deadline. You should also
bring one hard copy of your planning document to class so that you can use it as a reference
during your negotiation.

3. Post-Negotiation Analysis/Case Analysis on Canvas (30%)

This assignment will allow you to reflect on your in-class negotiation exercises. It helps you
identify both successful and failed strategies and allows you to better prepare for future
negotiations. In the analysis, you will describe your perceptions and significant insights gained
from negotiation exercises. The discussion should focus on analysis and insights rather than
narrative (i.e. what happened). Discuss questions will be given for each exercise or case; when
discussion questions are not given, here are a few examples of the type of issues that you could
address:
o Who controlled the negotiation and how did they do it?
o What were the critical factors that affected the negotiation situation and outcomes and
what can you say about these factors in general?
o How did the negotiation context differ from other exercises, and what new factors did
this context highlight?
o What did you learn about yourself from this experience?
o What did you learn about the behavior of others?
o What did you learn about bargaining and conflict from this situation?
o What would you do the same or differently in the future, or how would you like to
behave in order to perform more effectively?
All the post-negotiation analysis/case analysis should be submitted through Canvas before the
due date. Late submission will not be accepted. You are also required to respond to your peers’
analysis Three times for each exercise.

4. Quiz on Fundamental Concepts (10%)

Adequate preparation is crucial for deep learning and insightful discussion with your peers. This
assignment tests how well you have learned the fundamental concepts in each module.

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Therefore, you need read the assigned chapters and readings before you take the quiz. The
quizzes are online and open book. No make-up quiz will be given if you miss the deadline.

5. Project (20%)
To improve your negotiation skills needs a high level of self-awareness and disciplined practices.
This project will help you accomplish this goal. You can choose either Option #1 or Option #2
depending on your preference and personal needs.

Project Option #1: Personal Negotiation

This assignment requires you carry out and analyze a real-world negotiation, which encourages
you to think about the many everyday situations in which you can negotiate, and challenges you
to improve your negotiating skills. For this negotiation you should negotiate something of
personal value to you. You should report on your plan, your strategy, and the negotiation results.
You can negotiate for anything you would like—a good or service from a merchant, a salary
from a potential employer, etc. This paper should be approximately 5 double-spaced pages. At
the end, please review the most important lessons that you learned in this course (including
insights from the readings), your key strengths as a negotiator, and how you hope to improve
moving forward. The rules are as follows:
o Do not reveal the assignment: You are not allowed to resort to a plea of “Please help me
out, this is for a class....” You may not disclose this information until the negotiation is
completed.
o No purchase necessary: You do not have to buy anything to complete this assignment.
You may choose to be the seller or enter a negotiation that does not involve financial
terms or a purchase.
o Boundaries: You cannot use negotiation tactics that may be considered unethical, illegal,
or potentially harmful to yourself or others.
o Not required to settle: You do not need to succeed in the negotiation in order to
complete the assignment. The purpose of this exercise is to facilitate your learning.
Often, we learn as much or more from negotiations that fail as from those that succeed.
However, if you do fail, please seek feedback from your counterpart on how you could
have negotiated more effectively, and write about what you learned from the feedback.

The paper should be no more than 5 pages in length (double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman
font, 1” margins). The final reflection paper is graded upon:

o Depth of analysis: Have you correctly employed key concepts to analyze the negotiation?
How well have you applied your learning from the course to your analysis of this case?
o Introspection: Have you linked your experiences with your goals for the course and your
strengths and weaknesses? What have you learned about your negotiating style and skills
from this negotiation experience? What would you do differently in the future?

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 o Creativity: How unique was the context? How inventive was your strategy? How did you
meet expected and unexpected challenges?
o Quality of writing: Have you included the relevant details? Is it interesting and well
written?

Project Option #2: Negotiation Consulting

Working in pairs, you will provide your partner with a professional negotiation consultation
report, which highlights his/her negotiation styles, strength and weakness, and future action plan
for improvement.
Materials that should be used for the analysis include but are not limited to:
(1) Survey results
(2) Interviews
(3) Video clips of in-class negotiation exercises
(4) Post-negotiation analyses

Final Consultation Report should include but not limited to:

(1) Negotiation Style
(2) Strength and Weakness
(3) Recommended Action Plan

The report should be no more than 5 pages in length (double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman
font, 1” margins). The final report is graded upon:

o Depth of analysis: Have you correctly employed key concepts to analyze the negotiation?
How well have you applied your learning from the course to your analysis of this case?
o Breadth of Support: Have you used a variety sources of information to support your
analysis?
o Creativity: How unique was the context? How inventive was your strategy? How did you
meet expected and unexpected challenges?
o Quality of writing: Have you included the relevant details? Is it interesting and well
written?

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 MGMT 566-01 Spring 2020 Tentative Schedule*

Topic Negotiation Exercise/case

Session 1 What Should We Know about Negotiations? Exercise #1: KuKui Nuts
(Jan. 27) Basics of Negotiation

Session 2 How to Prepare for a Negotiation? Exercise #2: Coffee Contract

(Feb. 03) Preparation

Session 3 How to Claim Values? Exercise #3: BioPharm - Seltek

(Feb. 10) Distributive Negotiation

Session 4 How to Create Values? Exercise #4: El - Tek

(Feb. 11) Integrative Negotiation

Session 5 How to Build Trust in Negotiations? Case Study #1: FIJI vs. Fiji
(Feb. 24) Power, Trust, Ethics, and Relationship

Session 6 How to Win Multiparty Negotiations? Exercise #5: Aussie Air

(Mar. 02) Multiparty Negotiations

Session 7 How to Negotiate Your Job Offer? Case Study #2: Name Your Price
(Mar. 16) Employment Negotiation

* The schedule is tentative and subject to change.