Conflict Resolution

Adapted from “Blind Justice? Think Twice Before Going to Court,” by Chris Guthrie (professor, Vanderbilt University Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, April 2007.

Planning to resolve a personal or business dispute in court? Consider that judges don’t make decisions based on a thorough accounting of all the relevant and available information.  Instead, like … Read Avoid judicial bias with negotiation

Adapted from “The Mediator as Team Adviser,” by Stephen B. Goldberg (professor, Northwestern University), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, May 2006.

When faced with a trial, a corporation sometimes engages one law firm to represent it in court and a second law firm to explore settlement possibilities. According to conventional wisdom, the second law firm … Read Involving mediators in settlement talks

Negotiations over raising the debt ceiling limit for the United States remain contentious, leading some to speculate that a deal will not be reached until the 11th hour, if at all. Professor Robert Mnookin, chair of the Program on Negotiation’s Executive Committee, noted in a recent ABC News article that the negotiations resemble a … Learn More About This Program

Tufts Magazine: Negotiating Life

By Jeswald Salacuse (Henry J. Braker Professor of Law, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University)

When involved in conflict, it is often difficult to decide whether or not to negotiate with an adversary. In this article, Professor Salacuse discusses five questions that can help you decide when negotiating is in … Learn More About This Program

Adapted from “Break Down ‘Sacred’ Barriers to Agreement,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, April 2009.

As negotiators, we’re trained to believe that almost every issue is ripe for tradeoffs and concessions. At the same time, most of us hold core values that we believe to be non-negotiable. Your family’s welfare, your personal code of ethics, … Read Negotiating ‘Sacred’ Issues

Negotiation skills are a critical, although often overlooked, aspect of water management, especially in situations where water crosses boundaries. Conflicts arise when water is managed as a fixed or scarce resource, and allocated in a way that assumes some parties will gain while others lose. In a recent blog post, Professor Lawrence Susskind examines … Learn More About This Program

Adapted from “The Robin Hood Effect in Negotiation,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, March 2009.

Business transactions often occur between people of different socioeconomic levels, and our choice of clothing, cars, and other material possessions can signal such differences. We may attempt to treat everyone equally in our negotiations, but do we always succeed?

Just as … Read How Subtle Favoritism Harms Negotiators

Adapted from “Mediation in Transactional Negotiation,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, July 2004.

We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining bogs down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations. So-called multidoor courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs—and risks—of going to trial.

Scott … Read Bringing Mediators to the Bargaining Table

Adapted from “Disappointed by Results? Improve Accountability,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, January 2009.

How satisfied are you with the outcomes that negotiators in your organization achieve? Most likely, you can think of a few successes worth crowing about, a few you’d like to sweep under the carpet, and many more that turned out just … Read How Accountable are Your Negotiators?

Max H. Bazerman (Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School) and Dolly Chugh (Assistant Professor, Department of Management and Organizations, New York University Stern School of Business )

What causes even highly intelligent, focused professionals to miss glaring warning signs and render bad, risky or unethical decisions? In this article, the authors discuss … Read Decisions Without Blinders