$0.00 – $6.00
Mark Drooks, Andrew Tavel, Kenneth Hyatt, Mark Gordon, and Bruce Patton
Two-party, multi-issue integrative negotiation between brothers over the settlement of their father’s estate
SCENARIO:
James Carter, husband of Rosie Carter and father of Chris and Terry Carter, recently died after a four year battle with an undisclosed illness. Having plenty of warning, Mr. Carter (also head of the successful family cosmetic business) carefully planned for the disposition of his assets upon his death. The majority of issues surrounding the settlement of his estate have been resolved, however, a few minor issues remain unresolved and have led to dispute between his two children. The first dispute concerns Mr. Carter’s lakeside retreat. Secondarily, there are concerns over the distribution of some of Mr. Carter’s personal effects. The personal effects include: a stamp collection, a diamond ring, a pocket watch, a membership in the Metropolitan Club and the award-winning, family dog, Bonzo.
MAJOR LESSONS:
- This exercise presents the opportunity to use a careful analysis of the interests of the parties to craft an agreement to solve a dispute.
- This exercise illustrates the danger of single-issue bargaining. Should participants limit the negotiation to a monetary dispute, Chris and Terry will be locked in a contest of wills. Hard bargaining may well emerge, resulting in a situation in which one party’s gain means a corresponding loss to the other party.
- Good negotiators put the distributive issues in this case in perspective and reduce their importance by dovetailing interests with creative options that expand the pie. This case has an enormous potential range of such creative options.
MECHANICS:
This exercise is best one-on-one. Allow approximately 30 minutes for preparation and 30-45 minutes for negotiation. Debriefing should last at least 30 minutes.
TEACHING MATERIALS:
- For all parties:
- General Information
- Role specific:Confidential Instructions for:
- Chris Carter
- Terry Carter
- Teacher’s Package:
- All of the above
PROCESS THEMES:
BATNA; Communication; Competition v. Cooperation; Emotions; Fairness; Interest, dovetailing; Joint gains; Legitimacy; Options, generating
Carter Estate Problem, The Attributes
Time required: | 1-2 hours |
---|---|
Number of participants: | 2 |
Teams involved: | No |
Agent present: | None |
Neutral third party present: | None |
Scoreable: | No |
Teaching notes available: | No |
Non-English version available: | Spanish |