Psychologists Bruce Darby and Barry Schlenker at the University of Florida have defined apologies as “admissions of blameworthiness and regret for an undesirable event.” In negotiation, such undesirable events might include betraying a counterpart’s trust, making a disparaging remark about him, or falling through on a promise.
crisis
The following items are tagged crisis.
Great Negotiator Lakhdar Brahimi Travels to Syria as United Nations and Arab League Envoy
Great Negotiator Award recipient for 2002, Lakhdar Brahimi, is traveling to Damascus within the next couple of days to attempt to mediate the escalating conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and more than 30 different opposition groups. Describing his mission as “nearly impossible,” Ambassador Brahimi stressed the need for the international community to display unity in grappling with the Syrian crisis.
Resolving Conflicts on the High Seas
In negotiation over a limited pool of resources, conflicts often spring up over what constitutes a fair agreement. If two business partners are going their separate ways, they might have different ideas about how their shared assets should be divided, for example. Currently, such a dispute is playing out between China and four of its Southeast Asian neighbors over claims to the South China Sea. According to a report issued by the research organization International Crisis Group (ICG), recapped by Jane Perlez in the New York Times in late July, the disputes have reached an impasse that could lead to an open conflict.
Crisis Negotiations in Europe
On June 5, another casualty in the European debt crisis emerged, as Spain announced that it soon would be unable to borrow in the bond market without assistance from other European Union nations. Emilio Botin, the chairman of Banco Santander, said about 40 billion euros, or $50 billion, in European funds would be needed to repair Spain’s banking sector, according to Bloomberg News.
Crisis Negotiations – Rolling the Dice in Court
Going to trial, it’s said, is like rolling the dice. That proved true when an exasperated federal judge, the Honorable Gregory A. Presnell, ordered litigants to play a game of Rock Paper Scissors if they could not privately resolve their differences over a procedural issue. The lawyers were stalemated on where to depose a witness in the case, despite the fact that their offices were located just four floors apart in the same building. The judge didn’t want to waste public resources resolving such a trivial matter.
Many took the order as yet another exhibit in the case against shortsighted lawyers – and an attempt to shame them and their clients into more constructive behavior. Judge Presnell’s ruling also established a new best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA, for the parties: The matter would be decided by chance rather than on its merits, an unsettling prospect if each side was convinced of the righteousness of its position.
Announcing the 2012 PON Summer Fellows
About the PON Summer Fellowship Program:
PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between
Learning from International Negotiations: The Chen Guangcheng Crisis
The Obama administration’s powers of diplomacy were put to the test in recent weeks when Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng made a dramatic escape from house arrest to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on the eve of the United States’ and China’s annual negotiations on strategic and economic issues.
Negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials involving Chen’s fate were conducted under top secrecy, at the Chinese government’s insistence. “Face is more important in Asian society than any contract,” one senior American official told the Times, emphasizing China’s need to keep the sensitive negotiations under wraps.
Did the Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Meet Its Goals?
In early February, following months of difficult negotiations, the attorneys general of 49 states (all but Oklahoma) and the Obama administration reached a settlement agreement with five of the nation’s largest banks aimed at improving the stability of the U.S. housing market and punishing the banks for foreclosure abuses, the New York Times reports.
The deal was rooted in an investigation into mortgage servicing following revelations that banks were evicting borrowers based on false or incomplete documentation. The settlements gives financial relief to nearly 2 million current and former American homeowners hurt by the 2008 housing crisis through reductions in mortgage debt, home refinancing, and cash payments. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial must pay about $5 billion in fines and spend at least $20 billion in borrowers assistance.
PON faculty member Daniel Shapiro takes part in panel discussion reflecting on the World Economic Forum
In a panel discussion on February 3 at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard faculty members shared their reflections on this year’s annual summit of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Panelists included Dr. Daniel Shapiro of the Harvard Negotiation Project, as well as Kennedy School faculty Charles W. Eliot
Negotiating Performance-based Pay
Imagine that you are a sales rep with a company that is getting hit hard by the current financial crisis. No one has been laid off yet, but everyone is nervous about that possibility. In an effort to save jobs, your sales manager has quietly proposed that everyone take lower base salaries, along with more
New Summer Programs
Taught by world-renowned professors, distinguished thought leaders and best-selling authors.
Stay Connected to PON
Articles & Insights
BATNA
- Business Negotiations
- Conflict Management
- Conflict Resolution
- Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Across Cultures
- “Confronting Evil” Panel Videos Now Available Online
- Conflict Resolution Lessons from the Home: How Conflict Management Skills Transform Discord Into Harmony
- Working with Your Agent – and Someone Else’s – In Negotiation
- Confronting Evil: Interdisciplinary Perspectives Conference underway
- Crisis Negotiations
- PON co-sponsored conference addresses the challenges of “Confronting Evil”
- Finding the Right Process in India
- The Fiscal Cliff and the Debt Ceiling: Program on Negotiation Chair Robert Mnookin Discusses Recent and Future Negotiations Between Congressional Republicans and the White House
- Robert Mnookin Joins Panel to Discuss the Fiscal Cliff Negotiations on NPR’s Forum
- BATNA for the Holidays? Program on Negotiation Co-Founders Bruce Patton and William Ury Discuss the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ with NPR
- Dealmaking
- Dispute Resolution
- International Negotiation
- Tips for Navigating Negotiations in China
- Negotiating in China: The Gold Rush Mentality
- PON panel discusses Track II Negotiations, Islands of Coordination and Unilateral Moves in the New Middle East
- Complexity Personified: International Standards Negotiations from a Microsoft Manager’s Perspective
- An International Negotiation for an All-American Brand
- Mediation
- Mediating Tragedy: Managing the Boston Victim’s Compensation Fund
- What’s Wrong with Traditional Arbitration?
- Hiring a Mediator: A Checklist
- Social Perceptions at the Crossroads: Why Sex (Still) Impacts the Perception and Evaluation of Other Status-Linked Identities
- Dispute Resolution Using Online Mediation
- Meeting Facilitation
- Negotiation Skills
- Negotiation Training
- Register Now for the Program on Negotiation’s Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Seminar!
- Negotiate Relationships
- Negotiation Training: What’s Special About Technology Negotiations?
- For Better Negotiation Training, Study the U.S. Government’s Mistakes
- Negotiating for Continuous Improvement: Use a Negotiation Preparation Worksheet
- Pedagogy
- Sales Negotiations
- Win Win
- Women and Negotiation