Join the Program on Negotiation for a discussion on major challenges facing the U.S. as it tries to improve relations with key Muslim countries embroiled in regional conflicts. Key questions include whether and how to negotiate with armed non-state groups, how to engage effectively with fractious and failing governments, and how to manage influential constituencies … Read More
Negotiating the Financial Crisis
Panelists will discuss the negotiation challenges presented by the banking crisis, GM’s restructuring, and the policy making process.
Moderator:
Robert Mnookin, Chair of the Program on Negotiation and Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Panelists:
Howell Jackson, Acting Dean and Professor, Harvard Law School
Robert Pozen, Chairman of MFS Investment Management and Senior Lecturer of Business Administration … Read Negotiating the Financial Crisis
Negotiating Financial Strategies that Work: Adding Third Parties to Seal the Deal
As negotiation experts, David Lax and Professor James Sebenius find that many negotiators focus on process and substance. Whether in person, over the phone, or through email, business outcomes seem determined by how well parties can establish trust, communicate, and put the best deal on the table. These are the first two and best known … Read More
Negotiating on Behalf of Others: Are Women Better Agents?
Under certain conditions, women may work harder than men when negotiating on behalf of others, suggests a study by Harvard professors Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen McGinn, and Carnegie Mellon University professor Linda Babcock. … Read More
Business Negotiations: Representing Others at the Bargaining Table
You may be negotiating for others, but that doesn’t mean they should be looking over your shoulder. Negotiators often have trouble bargaining effectively in the presence of onlookers, according to researchers Karen Jehn and Lindred Greer of Leiden University in the Netherlands. … Read More
The Post-Election Message to the World: What’s the New Agenda?
A discussion with:
Ambassador Nicholas Burns: Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He served in the United States Foreign Service for twenty seven years until his retirement in April 2008. He was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005-2008, the nation’s highest ranking … Read More
Think Like a Hostage Negotiator
Upset by a delay in the delivery of one of your products, a longtime buyer threatens to turn to the media unless you meet his extreme demands. Not only is the relationship in jeopardy, but your company’s reputation seems to be as well. What should you do?
Let’s explore another relm of negotiation advice for an … Read Think Like a Hostage Negotiator
Practice taking risks
The Clearinghouse at PON offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises. Win as Much as You Can is a four-person, simplified, iterated prisoner’s dilemma exercise.
SCENARIO: This exercise is analytically similar to both the Oil Pricing and Pepulator Pricing exercises. Participants’ sole objective is to maximize their … Read Practice taking risks
Keeping Your Cool when the Negotiations Get Hot
On the heels of an intricate negotiation, conditions change for the worse. Crops fail, the price of oil skyrockets, one side issues an earnings restatement, or the market as a whole is a lot less promising than it was when you negotiated the initial terms. Suddenly your agreement has lost its luster. How should you … Read Keeping Your Cool when the Negotiations Get Hot
You Want How Much for the Mug?!
Common psychological barriers lead us to overvalue our possessions. That can be a problem when it’s time to get rid of them. Some possessions truly are priceless—we wouldn’t part with them for any amount of money. Others are virtually priceless, or “pseudosacred,” according to Harvard Business School professor Max Bazerman. We might claim that these … Read You Want How Much for the Mug?!
Negotiating When Business and Family Collide
Basic negotiation skills may seem easy to apply in business situations but what about when business and family collide?
For example, a 69-year-old CEO of a large financial firm that has been in his family for three generations is considering retirement. He has three children who may be interested in taking over the business in addition … Read Negotiating When Business and Family Collide
How to Defuse a Strike
The recent dispute between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) West and East and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) illustrates how a disagreement at the negotiating table can lead to a long and costly strike. As the two sides battled back and forth, AMPTP member companies laid off support staff, and … Read How to Defuse a Strike