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.
Robert H. Mnookin is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, the Chair of the Executive Committee, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and the Director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project. A leading scholar in the field of conflict resolution, Professor Mnookin has applied his interdisciplinary approach to negotiation and conflict resolution to a remarkable range of problems, both public and private.
Looking for yet another way to build your power at the negotiating table? Examine the incentives of your counterpart—and then consider whether they align with those of the group she represents.
Sometimes in negotiation, we’re forced to deal not only with the issues on the table but also with concerns about status. One famous instance took place in the late 1980s, when Robert Campeau, head of the Campeau Corporation, tried to acquire Federated Department Stores, the parent company of the prestigious department store Bloomingdale’s. A bidding war over Bloomingdale’s escalated between Campeau and R.H. Macy. Campeau won with an irrationally high offer—and had to declare bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
You’ve found a beautiful condo that you’d like to call your own. You conduct a thorough assess¬ment of its value and identify several other ap¬pealing properties in the same neighborhood and price range. Believing you’ve found the magic bid, you phone your real-estate agent.
Adapted from “Walk the Line: Ethical Dilemmas in Negotiation,” by Roy J. Lewicki (Professor, The Ohio State University), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.
After buying a new car, you’re eager to sell your old car. It looks well kept, but you had problems with the engine last winter. Now it’s late summer. Should
An Experiment: Exploring Interdisciplinary Linkages between Negotiation and Communication Studies
What would negotiation pedagogy look like if we focused more on the core meanings and practices of communication? How can understanding the underpinnings of communication – the components of conversation and the exchange of meaning – help us understand and improve our negotiations? The weekend of
Adapted from “Should You Make the First Offer?” by Adam D. Galinsky (Professor, Northwestern University). First published in Negotiation Newsletter.
Whether negotiators are bidding on a firm, seeking agreement on a compensation package, or bargaining over a used car, someone has to make the first offer. Should it be you, or should you wait to
Top executive pay attorney Joseph Bachelder was representing a client who’d just been chosen as a company’s next CEO. After a first session with the board’s representative to hammer out a compensation package, Bachelder took his client aside and informed him that he would get everything he wanted from the negotiation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The benefits of hiring an agent are well known. Yet negotiation experts often overlook the ways in which you can use the other side’s agent to your advantage.
Negotiation (2240)
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
FALL 2012
Instructors:
Deepak Malhotra
(617) 496-1020
Andrew Wasynczuk
(617) 495-8043
Michael Luca
(617) 495-8382
WINTER 2013
Instructors:
Michael Wheeler
(617)-495-6747
Francesca Gino
(617) 495-0875
Intensive Course Instructor:
James Sebenius
(617) 495-9334
Career Focus & Educational Objectives
Managerial success requires the ability to negotiate. Whether you are forging an agreement with your suppliers, trying to ink a deal with potential customers, raising money from investors, managing a conflict inside
Taught by world-renowned professors, distinguished thought leaders and best-selling authors.
BATNA
Business Negotiations
Conflict Management
Conflict Resolution
Crisis Negotiations
Dealmaking
Dispute Resolution
International Negotiation
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Negotiation Skills
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Pedagogy
Sales Negotiations
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Women and Negotiation