Glossary

An approach to conflict that sees negotiation as combat; the tougher and more aggressive negotiator wins, and the more conciliatory one loses. The adversarial approach lends itself to competition between negotiators. (Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet and Andrew S. Tulumello, Beyond Winning [Belknap Press, 2004], 169) … Read adversarial approach

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). … Read agent

The range of possible things you can do away from the table without the other negotiator’s agreement. (Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet and Andrew S. Tulumello, Beyond Winning [Belknap Press, 2004], 19) … Read alternatives

An attempt to establish an initial position around which negotiatiors will make adjustments. (Richard Luecke, Harvard Business Essentials: Negotiation [Harvard Business Press, 2003], 49) … Read anchoring

An adjudicative process by which a private third-party neutral renders a binding determination of an issue in dispute. (Michael L. Moffitt and Robert C. Bordone, eds.,
Handbook of Dispute Resolution [Program on Negotiation/Jossey-Bass, 2005], 318-19) … Read arbitration

An impartial third party with the coercive power to impose terms on the disputants. An arbitrator is not biased in favor of either party and subordinates personal preferences to some set of rules or values. Nor does a pure arbitrator have a sufficient stake in the outcome to bargain with the disputants. (Michael Watkins and … Read arbitrator

Outcome to which you aspire that would serve your interests much better than your best alternative. Your aspiration value should aim high (much research has shown that negotiators with high aspirations on average do better), but also be supportable by arguments about why this value is reasonable. (Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet and Andrew … Read aspiration value

Advocacy of one’s own needs, interests, and perspective. (Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet and Andrew S. Tulumello, Beyond Winning [Belknap Press, 2004]) … Read assertiveness

An inter-personal bargaining tendency for resolving a group-action problem in distributive negotiation whereby the final agreement is roughly the average amount of the initial offer and any subsequent counteroffers. (Howard Raiffa, The Art and Science of Negotiation [Harvard University Press, 1982], 300-01) … Read averaging

An approach to negotiation that emphasizes neither assertiveness nor empathy. Avoiders shy away from conflict, and disengage in the face of explicit disagreement. (Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet and Andrew S. Tulumello, Beyond Winning [Belknap Press, 2004], 52-53) … Read avoiding