agent

A person who acts on a principal’s behalf in a negotiation. Agents – such as lawyers, sports agents, or diplomats – may have special training or be able to assert the principal’s interests more effectively than the principal. (Michael L. Moffitt and Robert C. Bordone, eds., Handbook of Dispute Resolution [Program on Negotiation/Jossey-Bass, 2005], 189). Also see “principal-agent theory.”

The following items are tagged agent.

Make a Bump Plan

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations, Daily.

Adapted from “When the Only Constant is Change,” by Michael Wheeler (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Regrouping from the cancellation of the 2004–2005 season due to failed labor negotiations, National Hockey League (NHL) teams and players faced the challenge of radically restructuring their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in July 2005. The

To Get Ahead, Grab Their Coattails

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “Want to Pull Ahead of the Competition?” by Michael Wheeler (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Lots of people have great ideas for new products and services, but most lack the imagination and doggedness to actually get them launched. Darren Rovell is a notable exception. As a college student, he

Don’t Just Do the Math

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “Do the Numbers Get in Your Way?” by Brian J. Hall (professor, Harvard Business School) and P. Trent Staats (vice president, Verenium Corp.), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Consider the customer support center that sought to increase the number of calls it could process per hour without increasing its capacity. When the call

Reconciling differences for a joint venture

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

The PON Clearinghouse offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises.The following role simulation is a two-party, four-issue negotiation between representatives of two companies with different national and corporate cultures regarding a possible joint venture.

Scenario: MedDevice, a U.S.-based Fortune 500 company that manufactures high technology medical equipment, and Lee Medical

Securities fraud plea bargain

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

The Clearinghouse at PON offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises. United States v. Dunlop is a four-person, three-issue, two-round exercise between U.S. prosecutors, an executive charged with securities fraud, and defense counsel over the terms of a possible plea bargain; attorney-client interviews are followed by

Job termination and age discrimination

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

The Clearinghouse at PON offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises. Termination Tempest is a four-person, two-team settlement negotiation between a terminated employee and counsel, and the former employer and counsel, regarding possible settlement of an age discrimination lawsuit.

Overview: Pat Thibideau had worked at Kane Restaurant Supply

Negotiating in translation

Posted by & filed under Daily, International Negotiation.

Adapted from “Negotiation in translation,” by Jeswald W. Salacuse, first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

“The language of international business,” a British executive once said to me, “is broken English.” Fortunately for American negotiators, who usually don’t speak a foreign language well, if at all, much of global business is conducted in English-an English with a

When women make good agents

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “When Does Gender Matter in Negotiation?” by Dina W. Pradel (vice president, Y2M), Hannah Riley Bowles (professor, Harvard Kennedy School), and Kathleen L. Mcginn (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Businesspeople often wonder whether men or women are better negotiators. According to research, gender is not a reliable predictor of

Pick the Right Agent

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

So, you’ve decided to use an agent in your next negotiation. Now what?

It’s important not to rush headlong into the process of choosing an agent—picking the first one you speak to, for example, and sending him off to talks the next day. You need to choose your agent carefully, then establish a clear, detailed understanding of each other’s responsibilities and expectations. The following are critical steps in picking an agent and negotiating his contract.

Compare and contrast

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “What Makes Negotiators Happy?” First published in the Negotiation newsletter.

We all know that people have a strong need to compare their outcomes with those of others. So a negotiator’s mostly likely target of social comparison is her opponent, right?

Maybe not. Nathan Novemsky of the Yale School of Management and Maurice E. Schweitzer of