In 1995, a new government came into power in the Indian state of Maharashtra and canceled a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Dabhol Power Company, a joint-venture formed by Enron, General Electric, and Bechtel. Claiming that the deal was improper and even illegal, the government declared publicly that it would not renegotiate.
negotiators
The following items are tagged negotiators.
Metaphorical Negotiation
Negotiators talk about building agreement, bluffing the opposition, and volleying offers back and forth. According to mediator Thomas Smith, careful attention to such metaphors can reveal deeper meaning beneath the explicit words that people use, notably regarding how they view the negotiation process and their relationship to one another.
Negotiation Skills: Identifying the Winner’s Curse in Negotiation
There are two main reasons the winner’s curse is a common and dangerous trap in negotiations.
April 2013
Will Your Negotiations Get Sidetracked?
Coping with Negotiator Emotion, Both Fake and Fleeting
Dear Negotiation Coach: Dealing with an Uninformed Buyer
The Dictator Game: Justifying Selfishness in Negotiation
In a recent study of selfishness in negotiation, Fei Song of York University and C. Brian Cadsby and Tristan Morris of the University of Guelph had participants play the “dictator game,” adapted from experimental economics literature. In this game, Party A is given a sum of money to allocate between himself and Party B. Because Party B has no power, Party A’s allocation goes into effect without debate. The dictator game captures the essence of negotiations in contexts with an extreme power differential.
A Cash-Out Transaction: Cox Communications
On August 2, 2004, Barbara Cox Anthony and Ann Cox Chambers, two sisters who together owned 73% of Cox Communications, announced that they wanted to cash out the minority shareholders of their company. Their initial offer was $32 per share, or a 14% premium to the preannouncement trading price of approximately $28 per share.
Power Failure
In 1992 as part of efforts to privatize its energy sector, the Indian government chose energy-trading firm Enron, in conjunction with General Electric and the Bechtel Corporation, to build the world’s largest electricity-generating plant in Maharashtra, one of the poorest states in India. Possessing significant financial, intellectual, and reputational capital, Enron had to have been a formidable opponent in those initial negotiations. Enron was then on top of the business world, with sky-high stock prices and a reputation for innovation and growth.
Grant Strother (HLS 2012) Wins Conflict Prevention and Resolution Award for Best Original Student Article
Recent Harvard Law School Graduate Grant Strother ’12 was selected to receive The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) Outstanding Original Student Article Award for his paper, “Resolving Cultural Property Disputes in the Shadow of the Law.” This award recognizes a student article or paper that is focused on events or issues in the field of ADR.
Accountability and Negotiation: An Overview
Based on current research, the following is a summary of the information you need to set up an optimal accountability system for negotiators in your organization.
Fall 2013 Seminar Program Guide
Join us September 16-18, October 14-16, December 9-11, for this three-day negotiation seminar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Designed to accelerate your negotiation capabilities, Negotiation and Leadership (formerly known as the Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives) examines core decision-making challenges, analyzes complex negotiation scenarios, and provides a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies.









