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Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School;

Today's Post

Mediation in Transactional Negotiation

We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining breaks down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations.

So-called multi-door courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs – and risks – of going to trial.

Scott R. Peppet, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, Colo., … read more »

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Recent Posts

What is a “Brokered Ultimatum”?

May 15, 2012
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Mediation
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What is a

Researchers Aleksander Ellis, Stephen Humphrey, and Donald Conlon of Michigan State University and Catherine Tinsley of Georgetown University have studied this new transactional form, which they call brokered ultimatum games, or BUGs. They define a BUG as any transaction involving an intermediary in which one side offers an ultimatum price that the other side either accepts or rejects.

These researchers are … read more »

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Team Building and Your Negotiations

May 14, 2012
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Mediation
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Team Building and Your Negotiations

During his years as George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of State, one of James A. Baker, III’s, goals was to encourage the free-market reforms that Communist Party of the Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had launched in the late 1980s. One day during his tenure, a high-level Bush administration official commented in the press that Gorbachev’s efforts were sure to … read more »

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Mediation in Transactional Negotiation

We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining bogs down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations. So-called multidoor courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs – and risks – of going to trial.

Scott R. Peppet, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, … read more »

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Cultural Notes

May 10, 2012
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: International Negotiation
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Cultural Notes

As members of organizations and families, we all know from experience that even people with identical backgrounds can have vastly different negotiating styles and values. Nonetheless, we continue to be intrigued by the idea that distinct patterns emerge between negotiators from different cultures.
Researchers do confirm a relationship between national culture and negotiation style and success. An ongoing research project … read more »

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Your Own Worst Enemy

Why do some people get under our skin? Something they do or say pushes our hot buttons. Annoyance doesn’t foster productive negotiation, of course, but it’s not our fault that they’re getting on our nerves. Or is it?

Psychologists caution that when we have strong visceral reactions to other people, we should examine our own feelings and attitudes, not just theirs. … read more »

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Sacred Issues in Negotiation

In a classic New Yorker cartoon, a dinner guest shows up for the party, hands the host a $20 bill, and announce that this was the amount he had planned to spend on a bottle of win before he ran out of time. Negotiation buffs might admire the guest for making an efficient tradeoff that saved him the effort of … read more »

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The Pulitzer Board Stands in Judgment

On April 16, the Pulitzer Prize board announced its annual writing prizes, with two notable omissions: the board chose not to award Pulitzers in the categories of fiction and editorial writing. The reaction from the publishing industry to the Pulitzer’s fiction snub, in particular, was swift and hostile. “If I feel disappointment as a writer and indignation as a reader, … read more »

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Speaking the Same Language

Negotiators can find themselves talking past each other for hours, even days. Then suddenly something happens – a breakthrough. The parties begin conversing on a different plane, one that reveals solutions to problems that had seemed intractable. … read more »

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Being Fair and Getting What You Want

Imagine that you and your business partner agree to sell your company. You get an offer that pleases you both, so now you face the enviable task of splitting up the rewards.

Some background: Your partner put twice as many hours into the firm’s start-up as you did, while you worked fulltime elsewhere to support your family. Your partner, who is … read more »

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Negotiating Systems

May 2, 2012
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Negotiation Skills
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Negotiating Systems

While most negotiation research aims to sharpen individual managers’ skills, there is growing scholarly and professional interest in an organizational approach to negotiation.A systemic perspective evaluates the training, authority, procedures, and resources that manager need to improve their companies’ “return on negotiation,” as consultant Danny Ertel puts it. Looking at negotiations broadly reveals important design questions. … read more »

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Frank Sander Honored at American Bar Association 14th Annual Spring Conference

With beautiful weather outside and the cherry blossom season in full bloom, over 1000 attendees filled the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section’s conference halls as it held its 14th annual conference in Washington, D.C.

On Saturday, April 21, the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution honored Frank Sander, A.B., LL.B., Bussey Professor of Law Emeritus and Program on Negotiation at Harvard … read more »

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Preparing for Negotiation

Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for negotiation.  In this video, Professor Guhan Subramanian discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success.  This discussion was held at the 3 day executive education workshop for senior executives at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

 

Guhan Subramanian is the Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School.

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