Negotiations: Making Business Deals

Course Description

This course is designed to help executives and other potential deal-makers learn the essential strategies and skills to conduct successful business negotiations. Learners in this course will explore the fundamentals of deal-making with the help of games, videos, interactive exercises, case studies, and other engaging content. The course begins by comparing and contrasting the two major types of negotiation—Dispute Settlement Negotiation (DSN) and Deal Making Negotiation (DMN)—and exploring the difference between negotiation and bargaining. Key topics covered in the course include the stages of the negotiation process; the importance of preparation and realistic goal-setting; the five basic approaches to negotiation; when to make (and when to avoid) commitments; the relative importance of relationships and outcomes; the decision to walk away from a negotiation; and the unique challenges posed by multiparty, international, and cross-cultural negotiations.

Learning Outcomes

• Distinguish between Dispute Settlement Negotiation (DSN) and Deal Making Negotiation (DMN)
• Explain the importance of BATNA in Deal Making Negotiation
• Describe the relationship between bargaining and negotiation
• Distinguish between interests and positions, and describe the importance of each
• Explain the five steps of the negotiation process
• Identify the types of information that should be assembled prior to negotiation
• Describe the five principal approaches to negotiation
• Identify the two types of commitments, and explain how they affect negotiating flexibility
• Explain the importance of the opening position
• Describe Leigh Thompson’s mental models of negotiation
• Explain the importance of active listening in the context of Deal Making Negotiation
• Identify the challenges posed by multiparty negotiations, and describe strategies for meeting those challenges
• Describe the circumstances under which a negotiator should call for a timeout, and when she should walk away from a negotiation
• Explain the additional preparations needed before undertaking international or cross-cultural negotiations
• Apply the principles of Deal Making Negotiation to real-world examples