When a conflict looms, it can be tempting for each side to try to make unilateral decisions on key issues because of the belief that negotiations with the other side will be a dead end. This dispute resolution strategy may pay off in the short term, but it’s important to factor in the long-term costs … Read Union Strikes and Dispute Resolution Strategies 
In this FREE special report from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, Dispute Resolution, Working Together Toward Conflict Resolution on the Job and at Home, the editors of Negotiation Briefings cull valuable negotiation strategies and curate popular content to provide you with a concise guide on how to improve your dispute resolution skills.
dispute resolution
What is Dispute Resolution?
Dispute resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests.
Whether a conflict erupts at work or at home, we frequently fall back on the tendency to try to correct the other person or group’s perceptions, lecturing them about why we’re right—and they’re wrong. Deep down, we know that this dispute resolution approach usually fails to resolve the conflict and often only makes it worse.
Dispute resolution strategies aim to settle these conflicts by fostering a rapport, considering interests and values separately, appealing to overarching values, and indirect confrontation.
Dispute resolution is often a multistep process that can start with negotiation, move on to mediation, and, if necessary, end in arbitration or litigation. This progression allows parties to start off, quite naturally, with less-expensive, less-formal procedures before making bigger commitments of money and time.
One of the most important conflict negotiation strategies you can adopt is to listen actively to your counterpart’s concerns. To do so, you will need to resist the urge to interrupt and defend yourself.
It’s also important to recognize when a dispute resolution effort isn’t working. In that case, it’s often smart to enlist a mediator or other unbiased third party to help manage the conflict.
Remember, too, that the areas where you and your counterpart do not see eye-to-eye are areas of growth and opportunities for value creation.
You can improve your dispute resolution skills, and have more confidence in solving personal and professional conflicts by downloading a complimentary copy of our special report, Dispute Resolution: Working Together Toward Conflict Resolution on the Job and at Home, from Harvard Law School, right now! We will send you a download link to your copy of the report and notify you by email when we post new business negotiation advice and information.
The following items are tagged dispute resolution:
Semester Negotiation and Dispute Resolution — Spring 2025
SEMESTER NEGOTIATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION – ONLINE
Course Dates: Wednesdays, beginning February 26, 2025 and ending on May 21, 2025 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET (Note: There will be no class the week of April 23, 2025) Faculty: Toby Berkman and Betsy Fierman Enrollment: Register Now – Spring 2025!
Learning Objectives
In this highly interactive, semester-length online course, you’ll explore … Read More
The New Conflict Management: Effective Conflict Resolution Strategies to Avoid Litigation
This report reveals how wise negotiators extract unexpected value using an indirect approach to conflict management. An aggressive management style can set you up for repeated failure. Direct conflict management approaches can be overly combative and counter-productive. Experienced negotiators know that compromise seldom succeeds. Win/lose is really lose/lose. The best negotiation strategy results in … Read More
Business Conflict Management
In the business world, workplace disputes are all too common. Consider these real-life conflict scenarios: a group of employees who, working overtime to make up for staff shortages, complain to their manager that they aren’t getting paid enough for the extra time. A colleague confides about his boss’s verbal abuse. Two employees argue openly about … Read Business Conflict Management
Overcoming Resistance: The Influence Equation
Through breakout sessions, exercises, role plays, and other hands-on experiences, Carlebach will explain what to do when you encounter resistance. This session will introduce you to the Influence Equation—a simple, high-impact framework that will help you diagnose and overcome three major factors that fuel resistance in any given negotiation.
… Read Overcoming Resistance: The Influence Equation
Mediation Secrets for Better Business Negotiations: Top Mediator Techniques
In this Special Report, the experts and editors from Harvard’s Program on Negotiation offer a sampling of advice from past issues of Negotiation to help you learn the techniques you need to resolve your disputes through mediation. You will learn to select the right dispute-resolution process, choose a mediator with appropriate expertise, learn the steps … Read More
The Best New Simulations
Looking to update your curriculum with innovative new simulations? Check out these new simulations from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC).
Discord at the Daily Herald – New Simulation
This two-party, three-hour, multi-issue negotiation is between the co-owners of the Daily Herald newspaper over how to resolve ongoing management issues and implement structural reforms in the face … Read The Best New Simulations
Harvard Negotiation Master Class: Advanced Strategies for Experienced Negotiators – November 18–20, 2024
Strictly limited to 60 participants who have completed a prior course in negotiation, this first-of-its-kind program offers unprecedented access to experts from Harvard Law School, MIT, and the Harvard Kennedy School—all of whom are committed to delivering a transformational learning experience.
… Read More
What Is the Difference Between Leadership and Management?: Successful Leadership Strategies From Harvard’s Program on Negotiation
In this FREE special report, we offer advice to help you improve your leadership and negotiation skills.
… Read More
Negotiation in Business: Apple and Samsung’s Dispute Resolution Case Study
For two days in late May 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Gee-Sung Choi met with a judge in the U.S. District Court of Northern California in an attempt to reach a settlement in a high-profile U.S. patent case, a sobering example of negotiation in business.
… Read More
NEW! Harvard Mediation Intensive
Led by mediation experts Audrey Lee and Alain Lempereur, the Harvard Mediation Intensive delves into mediation principles and processes through interactive presentations and hands-on exercises. From employment and business disagreements to public and international conflicts, you will discover effective ways to enable parties to settle their differences across a variety of contexts.
… Read NEW! Harvard Mediation Intensive
Teaching Negotiation: Understanding The Impact Of Role-Play Simulations
Negotiation can be challenging. And so can teaching it! At the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School, we help educators, scholars and practitioners like you learn how to more effectively teach negotiation.
Notably, role-play simulations are a particularly useful way to facilitate experimentation and introduce participants to new dispute resolution tools, techniques and … Read More
Power Asymmetry and the Principal Agent Problem
This video simulation on power asymmetry and principal agent dynamics by Professor Lawrence Susskind and Robert Wilkinson was designed to give students insights into the challenges surrounding difficult conversations, both with people across the table, as well as with people on their own side.
… Read Power Asymmetry and the Principal Agent Problem
Semester Negotiation and Dispute Resolution — Fall 2024
SEMESTER NEGOTIATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION – ONLINE
Course Dates: Tuesdays, beginning September 24, 2024 and ending on December 10, 2024 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET (Note: There will be no class the week of November 26, 2024) Faculty: Toby Berkman and Betsy Fierman Enrollment: Sold Out!
This course wasn’t just theory; it was serious experience. We actually applied the … Read More
How Mediation Works When Both Parties Agree They Need Help Resolving the Dispute
Negotiations have reached an impasse, but both sides agree on one thing: you need help resolving the dispute. You engage a neutral mediator to do just that. Rather than acting as a judge who decides who “wins” or “loses,” a third-party mediator assists parties in reaching an agreement.
… Read More
Semester Mediation and Conflict Management – Spring 2025
SEMESTER MEDIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT – ONLINE
Course Dates: Mondays, beginning January 27, 2025 and ending on April 7, 2025 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET (Note: There will be no class the week of February 17, 2025) Faculty: David Seibel and Stevenson Carlebach Register Now – Spring 2025!
After years working on Wall Street and on the launch team … Read More
Check Out the All-In-One Curriculum Packages – Available for Some of Our Most Popular Simulations
Introducing a new way to go in-depth when teaching the most important negotiation concepts and to measure learning outcomes.
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on teaching key concepts, the All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center has created All-In-One Curriculum … Read More
Semester Mediation and Conflict Management – Fall 2024
SEMESTER MEDIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT – ONLINE
Course Dates: Mondays, beginning September 16, 2024 and ending on November 25, 2024 from 6 to 8 p.m. ET (Note: There will be no class the week of October 14, 2024) Faculty: David Seibel and Dan Green Sold Out!
After years working on Wall Street and on the launch team of a Cambridge … Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution Examples: Restorative Justice
Alternative dispute resolution examples often highlight relatively cheap, quick, and efficient alternatives to litigation, such as mediation. Within the criminal justice system, cases increasingly are being resolved through a form of alternative dispute resolution called restorative justice. A recent news story has prompted discussion of how restorative justice is defined—and how it can be implemented … Read More
What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?
Organizations often establish elaborate business crisis management plans. Through a rapid, centralized response, an organization can shift swiftly and efficiently from day-to-day operations into crisis-management mode, whether that crisis involves a building evacuation, a tumble in the company’s stock price, or a product recall.
… Read What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?
How to Negotiate a Business Deal
In late 2016 and early 2017, news stories abounded of companies that were having second thoughts about planned mega-mergers. Abbott Laboratories began looking for ways to exit its acquisition of Alere, citing investigations of the medical test maker, for example. And Verizon started rethinking its acquisition of Yahoo! following a data breach at the tech … Read How to Negotiate a Business Deal
Conflict Resolution Examples in History: Learning from Nuclear Disarmament
What lessons can we learn from conflict resolution examples in history? The world of nuclear nonproliferation can be a valuable place to start, as few negotiations throughout history have had higher stakes.
… Read More
Labor Relations: Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements
Contract bargaining in labor relations is one of the most complex areas of negotiation and dispute resolution. There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be, so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, often find themselves at odds. Furthermore, contract bargaining in a … Read More
What is Med-Arb?
When parties find themselves involved in a serious conflict, they often try to avoid the expense and hassle of litigation by turning to one of the two most common alternative dispute resolution processes: mediation or arbitration. Disputants who are concerned about these drawbacks might want to consider a hybrid mediation-arbitration approach called med-arb.
… Read What is Med-Arb?
The Ladder of Inference: A Resource List
The ladder of inference describes how a negotiator, or any decision maker, relies upon her personal knowledge, or observable data, up the ladder of inference to the next stage, which is selected data.
… Read The Ladder of Inference: A Resource List
Teach Your Students to Take Their Mediation Skills to the Next Level
Mediation is a critical conflict resolution skill for students in a variety of fields: business, international relations, law, and public policy, to name a few. Once students have mastered mediation basics, they can hone their skills by trying to mediate more complex conflicts as well as by learning the key differences between facilitation and mediation. … Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Training: Mediation Curriculum
In 2009, we collected many types of curriculum materials from teachers and trainers who attended the Mediation Pedagogy Conference. We received general materials about classes on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as well as highly specific and idiosyncratic units like Conflict Resolution through Literature: Romeo and Juliet and a negotiating training package for female managers … Read More
Asynchronous Learning: Negotiation Exercises to Keep Students Engaged Outside the Classroom
Asynchronous role-play simulations teach valuable negotiation skills outside of a typical class format.
Asynchronous learning is a term used to describe education, instruction, or learning that does not occur in the same time or place. Asynchronous learning uses resources that facilitate knowledge sharing outside the constraints of time and place among a group of people. Using … Read More
How to Negotiate with Friends and Family
“Never do business with friends,” the adage goes. But should you always stay away from an opportunity to negotiate with friends and family? A strict policy of keeping friends and family members out of our business lives would be impractical, and it could cause us to pass up potentially valuable negotiating opportunities.
… Read How to Negotiate with Friends and Family
How Does Mediation Work in a Lawsuit?
No one likes to go to court. Not only is it expensive and time-consuming, but it often leads to frustrating results and damaged relationships. So, how does mediation work in a lawsuit and is legal mediation a better route?
… Read How Does Mediation Work in a Lawsuit?
Negotiation Journal Now Open Access, New Issue Just Released!
The Negotiation Journal – a multidisciplinary publication focused on negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution – celebrates 40 years, joins MIT Press, and is now fully open access.
The Negotiation Journal is an international, multidisciplinary journal devoted to the publication of works that advance the theory, analysis, practice, and instruction of negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution. Now … Read More
Top 10 Negotiation Skills You Must Learn to Succeed
Increasingly, business negotiators recognize that the most effective bargainers are skilled at both creating value and claiming value—that is, they both collaborate and compete. The following 10 negotiation skills will help you succeed at integrative negotiation.
… Read More
Teaching the Fundamentals: The Best Introductory Negotiation Role Play Simulations
Introductory negotiation courses are taught in law and business schools around the world, but are also increasingly taught to undergraduates and in all types of corporate settings. No matter the context, though, the basic elements of negotiation are roughly similar. Teaching interest-based negotiation, the Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA), the Best Alternative to a Negotiated … Read More
Cultural Barriers and Conflict Negotiation Strategies: Apple’s Apology in China
When dealing with a difficult counterpart, it helps to take a conciliatory approach to the bargaining table. While apologies necessarily involve moments of vulnerability, they can also open doors to value creation and strengthen the relationship you have with your bargaining counterpart. Let’s look back at Apple’s apology in China for its maligned warranty policies … Read More
International Arbitration: What it is and How it Works
Disputes—whether between individuals, companies, or governments—become all the more complicated when they cross national borders. It’s no surprise, then, that a variety of forms of international arbitration, in addition to other dispute-resolution processes, including mediation, are now available to resolve them.
… Read More
Teach Your Students to Negotiate a Management Crisis
How do you negotiate an internal management conflict in the face of looming crisis and a deep loss of trust? In Discord at the Daily Herald, a new simulation from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), the co-owners of the Daily Herald must grapple with these issues or face the complete dissolution of their partnership … Read More
3 Types of Conflict and How to Address Them
In the workplace, it sometimes seems as if conflict is always with us. Miss a deadline, and you are likely to face conflict with your boss. Lash out at a colleague who you feel continually undermines you, and you’ll end up in conflict. And if you disagree with a fellow manager about whether to represent … Read 3 Types of Conflict and How to Address Them
Settling Out of Court: Negotiating in the Shadow of the Law
When disputes arise, negotiators face the difficult question of whether to try to reach a settlement on their own or hand decision-making power over to a judge, a jury, or an arbitrator.
… Read More
What are the Three Basic Types of Dispute Resolution? What to Know About Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation
When it comes to dispute resolution, there are so many choices available to us. Understandably, disputants are often confused about which process to apply to their situation. This article offers some guidance.
… Read More
Four Conflict Negotiation Strategies for Resolving Value-Based Disputes
In many negotiations, both parties are aware of what their interests are, and are willing to engage in a give-and-take process with the other party to come to agreement. In conflicts related to personal identity, and deeply-held beliefs or values, however, negotiation dynamics can become more complex and require alternative dispute resolution tactics for conflict … Read More
Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator Case Studies
No one can provide perspective on conflict resolution like experts who have been involved in some of the world’s most complex negotiations. Since 2001, the Program on Negotiation (PON) has bestowed the Great Negotiator Award upon distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution have had compelling and lasting results. The … Read More
Streaming Toward Win-Win Negotiation: Spotify Upgrades Its Negotiating Strategy
Win-win negotiation proved elusive for Spotify in 2006 negotiations with Taylor Swift. Seeming to have learned from that episode, the streaming service recently negotiated changes to its revenue-sharing model that content providers widely praised.
… Read More
How to Manage Conflict at Work
Sooner or later, almost all of us will find ourselves trying to cope with how to manage conflict at work. At the office, we may struggle to work through high-pressure situations with people with whom we have little in common. We need a special set of strategies to calm tempers, restore order, and meet each … Read How to Manage Conflict at Work
Check Out the Three-Party Coalition All-In-One Curriculum Package
A new way to go in-depth on the fundamental negotiation concepts and measure learning outcomes.
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on the fundamental negotiation concepts, the Three-Party Coalition All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need to teach negotiation.
Three-Party Coalition, one of the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center’s most popular simulations, … Read More
5 Dealmaking Tips for Closing the Deal
What should you do when you’ve done everything right, but you still aren’t closing the deal? Here are some dealmaking tips.
… Read 5 Dealmaking Tips for Closing the Deal
How to Negotiate Mutually Beneficial Noncompete Agreements
If you’re looking to get more leverage out of your next job negotiation, the noncompete agreement that may very well be tucked inside your employment contract could provide an opportunity to achieve the mutually beneficial win-win situation you desire.
… Read More
Camp Lemonnier: Negotiating a Lease Agreement for a Key Military Base in Africa
Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base located in Djibouti and is the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa. Djibouti, bordering Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, has been home to Camp Lemonnier since the September 11, 2001 attacks prompted the United States to seek a temporary … Read More
Why is Negotiation Important: Mediation in Transactional Negotiations
We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining breaks down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations. So-called multi-door courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs – and risks – of going to trial.
… Read More
Famous Negotiations Cases – NBA and the Power of Deadlines at the Bargaining Table
It’s a classic famous negotiations case. In the summer of 1988, National Basketball Association (NBA) team owners and players were at loggerheads over their new contract. At midnight on June 30, the owners declared a lockout, halting preparations for the start of the 1998–99 NBA season. The players and owners negotiated for six long months, … Read More
Teaching with Multi-Round Simulations: Balancing Internal and External Negotiations
Whether in business, law, or international diplomacy, many negotiations are actually comprised of a multi-round process with negotiations internal to the organization preceding external ones. Using multi-round negotiation simulations can help students understand the connection between internal and external negotiations, handle more complex scenarios, and better get into their roles. Engaging in a multi-round negotiation … Read More
How Mediation Can Help Resolve Pro Sports Disputes
Worldwide, mediation has become a common means of resolving conflict, ranging from divorce to workplace disputes to broken contracts. Yet mediation remains an underused tool for resolving disputes in U.S. professional sports leagues.
… Read More
New Great Negotiator Case and Video: Christiana Figueres, former UNFCCC Executive Secretary
The Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School periodically presents the Great Negotiator Award to an individual whose lifetime achievements in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution have had a significant and lasting impact. In 2022, PON selected Christiana Figueres as the recipient of its Great Negotiator Award for her efforts to build … Read More
What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?
So, you’re stuck in a serious dispute, but you’re desperate to avoid the hassle and expense of a court case. You’ve heard about alternative dispute resolution but are not sure what it entails.
… Read What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?
What Is an Umbrella Agreement?
Business negotiators tend to want the best of both worlds. When reaching an agreement, they want to pin down parties’ respective rights and responsibilities, but they also want to retain the flexibility they need to deal with ever-changing business conditions. One solution to this apparent dilemma is to craft an umbrella agreement.
… Read What Is an Umbrella Agreement?
Check Out the International Investor-State Arbitration Video Course
Master Class on International Investor-State Arbitration: What is it? How Does it Work?
This two-hour video course is intended to teach students, legal practitioners, business executives, and government officials the essentials of international investor-state arbitration, an area of increasing concern for legal practice, business strategy, and government policy.
In the video Master Class on International Investor-State Arbitration: … Read More
Negotiating Identity and Values-Based Disputes
How Do Parties in Conflict Negotiate Core Beliefs?
Identity and values-based disputes are particularly challenging to resolve, as identities are naturally inflexible and values are typically much less elastic than interest-based issues. In conventional interest-based negotiation, parties often do give up one thing in exchange for getting something they want more. This is often not possible … Read Negotiating Identity and Values-Based Disputes
The Mediation Process and Dispute Resolution
As compared with other forms of dispute resolution, mediation can have an informal, improvisational feel. Mediation can include some or all of the following six steps.
… Read The Mediation Process and Dispute Resolution
Conflict Resolution in the Ebook Era
New technologies bring new business models—and often, lawsuits follow. Various disputes involving ebooks in recent years highlight the need to approach negotiations carefully so that you can minimize the need for conflict resolution.
… Read Conflict Resolution in the Ebook Era
Does Using Technology in Negotiation Change Our Behavior?
Technology has infiltrated almost every element of our negotiations, as it has almost every aspect of our lives. Negotiation scholars have studied how negotiating via technological media affects the way we negotiate—concluding, for example, that doing business via email can increase misunderstandings and heighten conflict as compared to face-to-face meetings. But the ubiquity of technology … Read More
Teach by Example with These Negotiation Case Studies
Negotiation case studies use the power of example to teach negotiation strategies. Looking to past negotiations where students can analyze what approaches the parties took and how effective they were in reaching an agreement, can help students gain new insights into negotiation dynamics.
… Read More
Conflict Negotiation Strategies: When Do Employees Choose to Negotiate?
How does the desire to negotiate stack up against other workplace decision-making procedures? Negotiation seems to be the preferred decision-making mechanism when employees are seeking individually tailored solutions.
… Read More
Mediation and the Conflict Resolution Process
It’s often the case that when two people or organizations try to resolve a dispute by determining who is right, they get stuck. That’s why so many disputes end up in court. There is a better way to resolve your dispute: by hiring an expert mediator who focuses not on rights but on interests—the needs, … Read Mediation and the Conflict Resolution Process
Teach Your Students to Negotiate Cross-Border Water Conflicts
With the south-western United States experiencing a years-long drought which has dramatically depleted the Colorado River, there are many signs that water conflicts will become more frequent. Negotiating cross-border water conflicts requires balancing political interests, power dynamics, scientific research, and legal parameters. Success in water negotiations hinges on prediction and monitoring arrangements as well as … Read More
What is an Arbitration Agreement?
If you have ever owned a cell phone or been issued a credit card, odds are you’ve signed an arbitration agreement. You also may have signed an arbitration agreement when you started your current job or a past one, whether you remember doing so or not.
… Read What is an Arbitration Agreement?
Top Ten Posts About Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Conflict resolution sometimes requires both a power-based and an interest-based approach, such as the simultaneous pursuit of litigation (the use of legal power) and negotiation (attempts to reconcile each party’s … Read Top Ten Posts About Conflict Resolution
Employment Contract Negotiation: Morals Clauses
Employment contract negotiation in some industries involves the negotiation of morals clauses—an increasingly common way for organizations to protect themselves from employee misbehavior.
… Read Employment Contract Negotiation: Morals Clauses
Negotiation Case Studies: Google’s Approach to Dispute Resolution
Here’s a great example on how to avoid litigation by pursuing negotiation with your counterparts. In the face of antitrust charges, Google’s guiding principle for dispute resolution is “Don’t litigate, negotiate,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
… Read More
Planning for Cyber Defense of Critical Urban Infrastructure
Save Fairport: Planning for Social Cyber Defense of Critical Urban Infrastructure
Cybersecurity for critical urban infrastructure is a major public safety issue for cities. Cyber-attacks can cause major physical damage, as well as sow chaos and undermine public faith in government. Cyber criminals constantly develop new types of malware, which may not be detectable by current … Read More
Negotiating the Good Friday Agreement
Retired US Senator George Mitchell played a critical role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. In an interview with Susan Hackley, Managing Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, in the February 2004 Negotiation newsletter, he describes how he was able to facilitate an agreement between these long-warring parties.
… Read Negotiating the Good Friday Agreement
Top 10 Dispute Resolution Skills
Too often, dispute resolution can be an acrimonious and unproductive process. The following 10 negotiation and conflict resolution strategies can help you find creative ways to reach mutually satisfactory agreements.
… Read Top 10 Dispute Resolution Skills
To Break Impasse, Move Beyond Concerns about Fairness in Negotiation
Think about the last time you engaged in an otherwise cordial bargaining session that reached an impasse. Maybe you were far apart on price or disagreed about who was responsible for a serious problem. In such cases, parties often have different views about what constitutes fairness in negotiation.
That’s what happened in 2014, when negotiators from … Read More
What is Negotiation?
Many people dread negotiation, not recognizing that they negotiate on a regular, even daily basis. Most of us face formal negotiations throughout our personal and professional lives: discussing the terms of a job offer with a recruiter, haggling over the price of a new car, hammering out a contract with a supplier.
… Read What is Negotiation?
Emotional Triggers: How Emotions Affect Your Negotiating Ability
Imagine you’re about to negotiate with a competing firm about a possible merger, but will need to combat emotional triggers. You enter the conference room and find a reasonable and fair representative from the other company, someone you’ve reached mutually beneficial agreements with in the past. But you’re in a terrible mood.
… Read More
3 Negotiation Strategies for Conflict Resolution
When a dispute flares up and conflict resolution is required, the outcome can be sadly predictable: the conflict escalates, with each side blaming the other in increasingly strident terms. The dispute may end up in litigation, and the relationship may be forever damaged.
… Read 3 Negotiation Strategies for Conflict Resolution
Teach Your Students How to Have Difficult Conversations Over Email
Negotiating over email has its own unique challenges and opportunities. For example, people often assume that the emails they have sent are read immediately and so experience anxiety when there isn’t a prompt response, failing to account for reasonable delays. Email negotiations also provide a permanent record of what is discussed which can be a … Read More
AI Mediation: Using AI to Help Mediate Disputes
AI mediation is on the rise, with chatbots increasingly assisting human mediators in resolving disputes. Here’s what AI mediation is capable of—and where it falls short.
… Read AI Mediation: Using AI to Help Mediate Disputes
Mediation Training: What Can You Expect?
Organizations have long recognized the value of hiring professional mediators to help resolve disputes. More and more, managers have begun to also see value in securing mediation training for themselves and their employees. Although there are times when the services of an unbiased, professional mediator are needed, there may also be instances in which employees … Read Mediation Training: What Can You Expect?
Types of Mediation: Choose the Type Best Suited to Your Conflict
When parties involved in a serious conflict want to avoid a court battle, there are types of mediation can be an effective alternative. In mediation, a trained mediator tries to help the parties find common ground using principles of collaborative, mutual-gains negotiation. We tend to think mediation processes are all alike, but in fact, mediators … Read More
Choose the Right Dispute Resolution Process
What is dispute resolution? There are three basic types of dispute resolution, each with its pros and cons. The first two, mediation and arbitration, are considered types of alternative dispute resolution because they are an alternative to litigation.
… Read Choose the Right Dispute Resolution Process
M&A Negotiation Strategy: Missed Opportunities in Musk’s Twitter Deal
Would Elon Musk buy Twitter or wouldn’t he? In mid-2022, that was the $44 billion dollar question at the heart of a legal battle between the Tesla and SpaceX founder and the social media platform now known as X. But a deeper question was largely overlooked: From the mess the parties got themselves into, was … Read More
Teaching Contract Negotiation: Using the Mutual Gains Approach
How do you use the mutual gains approach in contract negotiations?
In contract negotiations, parties can often resort to positional bargaining instead of using the mutual gains approach. Teaching students to generate creative options in contract negotiations can help them avoid positional bargaining and achieve more beneficial and sustainable agreements. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) … Read More
5 Win-Win Negotiation Strategies
Business negotiators understand the importance of reaching a win-win negotiation: when both sides are satisfied with their agreement, the odds of a long-lasting and successful business partnership are much higher. But concrete strategies for generating a win-win contract often seem elusive. The following five, from experts at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, … Read 5 Win-Win Negotiation Strategies
Emotional Intelligence as a Negotiating Skill
The concept of emotional intelligence burst into the cultural imagination in 1995 with the publication of psychologist Daniel Goleman’s bestselling book of the same name. Experts have predicted that scoring high on this personality trait would boost one’s bargaining outcomes and have found many successful negotiation examples using emotional intelligence in their research.
… Read Emotional Intelligence as a Negotiating Skill
Employee Mediation Techniques – Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflict with These Mediation Skills
If you manage people, disputes will show up at your door. Here are some mediation techniques from the world of alternative dispute resolution to help you resolve conflicts with employees in the workplace.
… Read More
Teaching Mediation: Exercises to Help Students Acquire Mediation Skills
Often, disputing parties are unable achieve satisfactory or sustainable outcomes on their own through direct negotiation, and require the assistance of a mediator or facilitator. Mediators can help parties involved in a dispute through examining the issues at hand, uncovering the parties’ underlying interests, and identifying creative solutions. To act as mediator requires a great … Read More
In Contract Negotiations, Agree on How You’ll Disagree
During the course of a complex negotiation, the last thing we want to think about is the possibility that a serious disagreement or contract breach will arise during the implementation stage. Yet we also know that such conflicts are common.
… Read More
Redevelopment Negotiation: The Challenges of Rebuilding the World Trade Center
In the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center more than 20 years ago in New York City, there were difficult questions and challenges facing those who were involved in the redevelopment negotiation. For instance, how do we build consensus around complex solutions when there are emotionally charged issues at stake?
The Teaching Negotiation … Read More
What is the Multi-Door Courthouse Concept
As a collaboration between UST School of Law and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the following is the transcript of a conversation between the creator of the multi-door courthouse, Harvard Law Professor Frank E.A. Sander, and the executive director and founder of the University of St. Thomas (UST) International ADR [Alternative Dispute … Read What is the Multi-Door Courthouse Concept
Bidding in an International Business Negotiation: Euro-Idol
Euro-Idol is a four-party, two-round international business negotiation over the selection of the host country and city for the upcoming Euro-Idol music competition. In this bidding simulation from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), cities must place bids to host the Euro-Idol competition, and therefore gain the economic benefits that come with hosting such a … Read More
Using E-Mediation and Online Mediation Techniques for Conflict Resolution
Suppose you want to hire a mediator to help you resolve a conflict that you’re having with an individual or a company, but for various reasons, meeting face-to-face would be difficult. That’s where online mediation comes in.
… Read More
Check Out Videos from the PON 40th Anniversary Symposium on Negotiation Pedagogy, Practice, & Research
The PON 40th Anniversary Symposium featured presentations on the latest innovations in negotiation scholarship, pedagogy, and practice.
On December 9th, 2023, negotiation teachers, trainers, and practitioners from around the world gathered with PON faculty to reflect on the evolution of the program over the last 40 years, as well as learn about the latest developments and … Read More
Crisis Negotiation Skills: The Hostage Negotiator’s Drill
Here are some negotiating skills from the world of crisis negotiations: Hostage negotiators stress the importance of discussing the “drill”—goals, ground rules, and operating principles—with their team before beginning talks with a hostage taker.
… Read More
Undecided on Your Dispute Resolution Process? Combine Mediation and Arbitration, Known as Med-Arb
The choice: arbitration vs. mediation. You’re not sure which of two common dispute resolution processes, mediation or arbitration, to use to resolve your conflict. Mediation is appealing because it would allow you to reach a collaborative settlement, but you’re worried it could end in impasse. You know that arbitration would wrap up your dispute resolution … Read More
Three Questions to Ask About the Dispute Resolution Process
Dispute resolution is often a multistep process that can start with negotiation, move on to mediation, and, if necessary, end in arbitration or litigation.
… Read More
New Simulation: International Business Acquisition Negotiated Online
New from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), Ren the Robot is a one-and-a-half hour, two-party, multi-issue negotiation between a Tokyo-based robotics company, Grubotics, and a U.S.-based tech company, Delivered, over a potential acquisition deal. It is designed to be conducted using online video conferencing. The use of online video conference technology highlights the conveniences … Read More
How to Win at Win-Win Negotiation
Win-win negotiation, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t require us to choose between collaborating and competing. Here’s how to get the best of both worlds.
… Read How to Win at Win-Win Negotiation
Download Your Next Mediation Video
Use Video Examples to Teach Your Students to Become Better Mediators
Parties engaged in disputes are often unable to reconcile their differences alone, or fail to reach outcomes that are adequate for everyone. Mediators can add a great deal of value by helping parties to efficiently and effectively examine the issues at hand, take the interests … Read Download Your Next Mediation Video
Advice for Peace: Ending Civil War in Colombia
Check out this freely available video of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Peace Advisory Team as they discuss lessons learned from the Colombian peace process negotiations with the FARC guerrillas.
The civil war in Colombia lasted 52 years, taking the lives of at least 220,000 people and displacing up to seven million civilians. In … Read Advice for Peace: Ending Civil War in Colombia
Teach Your Students to Negotiate Climate Change
How Can Communities Negotiate Climate Change Risks?
With ocean temperatures rising and hurricanes growing more frequent and severe, the impacts of climate change are dramatically affecting many communities. The severe flooding brought on by repeated storms has forced the impacted communities to confront a range of public health risks, as well as evaluations of drainage and … Read Teach Your Students to Negotiate Climate Change
Managing Emotions in Negotiation: Teaching Students to Turn Emotions into an Opportunity for Mutual Gain
How do you move from an emotionally charged moment in a negotiation to a mutually beneficial agreement? In negotiations of all types, whether buying a house or negotiating a company acquisition, emotions naturally manifest. Left unaddressed, emotions can derail a negotiation and make agreement seem impossible.
… Read More
Negotiating with Colleagues: Training for Collaborative Human Resources Negotiations
Human resources representatives are often involved in a wide array of internal company negotiations, including one-on-one disputes between colleagues as well as inter-department budgeting and overall staffing plans. To deftly handle this wide array of negotiations, human resources representatives must balance the various stakeholder concerns, financial assessments, and competing interests with fairness, consideration for relationships, … Read More
10 Popular Business Negotiation Articles
Here are ten popular business negotiation articles on the Program on Negotiation website. Drawn from a variety of negotiation case studies as well as negotiation research, the following articles offer strategies for engaging in integrative negotiations aimed at creating win-win scenarios for each party at the negotiation table.
… Read 10 Popular Business Negotiation Articles
Value Creation in Negotiation: Capitalize on Multiple Issues
Between 2017 and 2019, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the European Union (E.U.) negotiated the terms of Brexit, the U.K.’s official departure from the E.U. The talks were contentious and stalled often, ultimately being extended by six months.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution on Facebook: Using a Negotiation Approach to Resolve a Conflict
For several years, Facebook has been working with social scientists to bring traditional methods of dispute resolution to cyberspace. The site has begun to offer users tools to resolve disputes with one another over offensive or upsetting posts, including insults and photos.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution: The Advantages of a Neutral Third-Party Mediator
In an article, “Beyond Blame: Choosing a Mediator,” Stephen B. Goldberg advised business negotiators involved in a dispute to seek out an interests-based mediator to assist both sides in reaching a mutually satisfactory dispute resolution.
… Read More
Mediation Process and Business Negotiations: How Does Mediation Work in a Lawsuit?
How does mediation work in a lawsuit? What benefits can mediation offer businesses that deal with multiple contractual agreements, some of which may end in disputes? These questions were answered by Harvard Law School Associate Professor and negotiation expert Dan Greiner in an “Ask the Negotiation Coach” segment from our Negotiation Briefings newsletter.
… Read More
How to Portray Confidence in Negotiation So You Don’t Look Desperate
In our negotiations, we all regularly cope with counterparts who try too hard—such as salespeople who pester us with phone calls or show up at our office or home unannounced. Their desperation to reach a deal comes through loud and clear, making them seem not only annoying but also potentially ripe for exploitation. At the … Read More
High Stakes Negotiations in the Healthcare Industry
Teach Your Students to Negotiate One of the Most Critical Global Industries
With the COVID-19 pandemic devastating communities around the world, the acute importance of the healthcare industry to community welfare has become even more apparent. Healthcare is one of the biggest economies in the world, with billions of dollars spent on treatments and associated research. … Read More
Dispute Resolution Example: The Chicago Symphony’s Contract Dispute
A 2019 contract dispute between the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and its musicians led to a disruptive seven-week strike, the longest in the venerable orchestra’s 128-year history. The unlikely intervention of Chicago’s mayor just before he left office managed to draw this thorny dispute resolution example to a mutually satisfactory finale while also highlighting the … Read More
Arbitration vs Mediation: The Definition of Mediation as a Problem Solving Process
Mediation is often thought of as a last step to adjudicate disputes. In this article, professor Lawrence Susskind spells out the hidden advantages of using mediation early in the process to solve problems and reach voluntary compliance agreements.
… Read More
Register Now for the PON 40th Anniversary Symposium and Gala! Space is Limited
Celebrate our past, present, and future on Saturday, December 9th at two very special events for the Program on Negotiation 40th Anniversary
What began in 1983 as a small research project is now recognized as the world’s premier hub for negotiation training, pedagogy and scholarship. And that’s something to celebrate. Please join us in Cambridge to commemorate … Read More
Negotiation Logistics: Best Practices for Better Deals
Negotiators are often so intent on preparing for the substance of a negotiation—researching the other party, analyzing their alternatives, and so on—that they neglect to devote adequate time to critical negotiation logistics, such as where to negotiate, how formal or informal talks should be, and even the shape of the negotiating table.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution: Building Momentum through Small Wins
Sometimes disputes are left to fester for years, even decades, until parties decide there is something to be gained from reaching agreement. In 2015, the nations of Bangladesh and India seized on an opportunity to push the “restart” button on a contentious border disagreement through dispute resolution. Such international conflict resolution examples can illustrate how … Read More
Save the Date: 40th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate our past, present, and future on Saturday, December 9th at the PON 40th Anniversary Symposium & Gala (registration info to follow)
What began in 1983 as a small research project is now recognized as the world’s premier hub for negotiation training, pedagogy and scholarship. And that’s something to celebrate. Please join us in Cambridge to … Read Save the Date: 40th Anniversary Celebration
Negotiator Toolbox: Using E-Mediation to Resolve Disputes
You want to hire a mediator to help you resolve a conflict that you’re having with an individual or a company, but meeting face-to-face would be difficult. Perhaps you and the other party are located in different geographic areas, or social-distancing guidelines are keeping you apart.
… Read More
Planning Your Syllabus for Next Semester? Check Out the Brief Course Outlines from the TNRC
Planning a new course for next semester or looking to reinvent a current one? Check out our brief course outlines to get started planning your syllabus.
The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) now offers brief outlines for eleven different course types which include recommended simulations and books and highlight key teaching points. While all teaching materials … Read More
Using Online Dispute Resolution and E-Mediation to Resolve Workplace Conflict
When their employees get into disagreements with one another, managers have various ways of coping. For example, they can try to mediate the dispute themselves; they can make use of in-house procedures and systems set up for managing disputes, if they exist; or they can refer the case to a professional mediator.
… Read More
Secret Negotiations: How to Keep Your Talks under Wraps
Secret negotiations are rare, as parties and outsiders often have incentives to leak details to the outside world. But a trio of government negotiations offers tips on how to keep negotiations quiet.
… Read More
Repairing Relationships Using Negotiation Skills
Negotiation is not only something we do at work; often the toughest negotiations we encounter are in our personal lives. Some of the most successful negotiation examples of the power of negotiation skills in dispute resolution is when they repair relationships between friends.
… Read Repairing Relationships Using Negotiation Skills
Arbitration vs Mediation: What’s Wrong with Traditional Arbitration?
Arbitration vs mediation: Traditionally, the arbitrator is not limited to selecting one of the parties’ contract proposals but may determine the contract terms on his own. If negotiators know that impasse will lead to traditional arbitration, they typically assume that the arbitrator will reach a decision that’s an approximate midpoint between their final offers.
… Read More
A Business Negotiation Case Study: Ending the NHL Lockout
How can negotiators overcome impasse and achieve win-win negotiated agreements at the bargaining table? This example illustrates the power of expanding the focus of the negotiations by looking for tradeoffs.
… Read More
The Negotiation Journal Wants to Hear From You!
The Negotiation Journal would like your feedback on their Fall 2022 issue.
The Negotiation Journal is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The journal publishes articles that expand theoretical and practical knowledge in the realms of negotiation, mediation, other forms of alternative dispute resolution, and conflict resolution in … Read The Negotiation Journal Wants to Hear From You!
Patience is a Winning Negotiation Skill for Getting What You Want at the Negotiation Table
On April 9, 2012 the hearts of internet entrepreneurs everywhere must have skipped a beat at the news that Facebook was paying $1 billion in cash and stock to buy Instagram, a San Francisco-based start-up.
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Teach Your Students to Negotiate the Technology Industry
Technology is a pervasive feature of modern life, providing countless benefits ranging from new cancer treatments to smart phones. Especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has been embedded in many parts of our everyday lives. Technology can also be a source of disruption and is at the root of many disputes. Parties … Read More
Conflict Management Skills When Dealing with an Angry Public
When negotiators get along well, creative problem solving is easy. When they become upset, however, they seem to forget everything they know about finding joint gain, to the point of giving up tangible wins simply to inflict losses on the other party. This is especially true in high-profile negotiations that turn nasty.
… Read More
Group Decision Making: Best Practices and Pitfalls
When engaged in a complex group negotiation or dispute, how should you come to agreement? Members might separate into factions and fight to have their voices heard. They might take a vote and let the majority rule. Or they can try to negotiate their way to consensus.
There are almost as many forms of group decision … Read More
Negotiation Research on Mediation Techniques: Focus on Interests
There is a better way to resolve your dispute: by hiring an expert mediator with a focus on interests – the needs, desires, or concerns that underlie each side’s positions according to negotiation research on mediation techniques.
… Read More
Mediation vs Arbitration – The Alternative Dispute Resolution Process
Many negotiation researchers debating the merits of mediation vs arbitration wonder why alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are not more popular than they currently are.
… Read More
Difficult Situations at Work – Negotiation Skills for Dealing with Difficult People
Here are a few examples of difficult situations at work and some negotiation skills for dealing with difficult people we encounter in every area of life. First, negotiators should ask themselves: Why do some people get under our skin?
… Read More
Self-Analysis and Negotiation
“Separate the people from the problem,” advises the best-selling negotiation text Getting to Yes. That’s certainly good counsel when tempers flare and bargaining descends into ego battles, but it’s a mistake to ignore the psychological crosscurrents in negotiation. Unless they are addressed, a deal may never be reached.
… Read Self-Analysis and Negotiation
Negotiation Challenges for Family Business Relationships
Communication in business negotiations is important – but even more so when your counterparts and negotiating partners are family members. In this article drawn from negotiation research, the negotiation strategies for avoiding conflict and crafting win-win negotiated agreements are outlined.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh
Sometimes in international negotiation, disputes are left to fester for years, even decades, until parties decide there is something to be gained from reaching agreement. In an example of a cross cultural negotiation case study, the nations of Bangladesh and India seized on an opportunity to push the “restart” button on their bumpy relationship by … Read Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh
When Lose-Lose is the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
As the famous tale “The Gift of the Magi” illustrates, sometimes the best outcomes in negotiated agreements is a lose-lose situation for both parties.
… Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution In-House: Mediation, Arbitration, or Med-Arb?
The three most common alternative dispute resolution techniques are mediation, arbitration, and med-arb. However, it can often be difficult to determine which method is best for your particular situation. Here are four possible objectives you may have as a leader in your organization and suggestions for which type of ADR may be most appropriate in that … Read More
Hardball Negotiation Tactics: Time Pressure in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) games are known for their leisurely pacing. In recent years, off-season negotiations between teams and free agents have sometimes proceeded at a similarly glacial rate, to the consternation of players. Changing power dynamics have led teams to resort to hardball negotiation tactics, such as dragging out talks. As a result, players … Read More
Dispute Resolution, NHL style
The deal suggests a valuable way for business negotiators in all realms to break through thorny disputes: expand your focus by looking for tradeoffs that cut across time periods.
… Read Dispute Resolution, NHL style
Team Building Using Negotiation Skills
To avoid conveying weakness to the other side, rather than calling for a break at the first sign of trouble, some negotiation teams devise secret signals they can use to bring wayward members in line—for instance, someone might stretch out her arms to communicate to another member that he’s getting off track.
… Read Team Building Using Negotiation Skills
VIDEO: William Ury on “Getting to Yes with Yourself”
At the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, William Ury, a founding member of the Program on Negotiation and co-author of the seminal book Getting to Yes, spoke about his latest book, Getting to Yes with Yourself (and Other Worthy Opponents). Over 250 community members, students, and faculty members filled Austin Hall to hear Ury … Read More
The Role of Leadership in Negotiation: The Case of the U.S. Rail Negotiations
When a negotiator or team is attempting to reach a deal or engage in dispute resolution on behalf of their organization, the question of whether and when to involve top leaders in the discussion often looms large. Should leaders be involved in the early stages? Take a hands-off approach and swoop in to close the … Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Negotiating for the Right Mediator
Knowing what to look for in a mediator is key to successful dispute resolution. Know what qualities to look for, the purpose of the mediator, and how alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes like mediation can benefit even the most entrenched disputes.
… Read More
We Want Your Feedback!
Your opinion really matters. Please take a moment to complete our short survey.
Dear TNRC Community,
We want to be sure that the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is meeting your needs.
We regularly develop new role play simulations, case studies and teaching videos, as well as host pedagogy-focused … Read We Want Your Feedback!
Parker-Gibson All-In-One Curriculum Package is Now Available!
New to Teaching Negotiation?
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on the fundamental negotiation concepts, the Parker-Gibson All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need to teach negotiation.
Parker-Gibson, one of the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center’s most popular simulations, is a two-party, single-issue, distributive negotiation between two neighbors regarding the potential sale … Read More
Harborco All-In-One Curriculum Package Now Available!
Introducing a new way to go in-depth when teaching the most important negotiation concepts and to measure learning outcomes.
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth in teaching key concepts about multiparty negotiation, the Harborco All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need.
Harborco, one of the Teaching Negotiation … Read More
The Collective Leadership Approach to Negotiating Climate Action
Former UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres received the Program on Negotiation’s 2022 Great Negotiator Award.
On April 14, 2022, the Program on Negotiation (PON) presented its Great Negotiator Award to Christiana Figueres, formerly the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and one of the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. … Read More
Sally Soprano All-In-One Curriculum Package is Now Available!
New to Teaching Negotiation?
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on the fundamental negotiation concepts, the Sally Soprano All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need to teach negotiation.
Sally Soprano, one of the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center’s most popular simulations, is a two-party negotiation between the agent … Read More
Bakra Beverage All-In-One Curriculum Package is Now Available!
New to Teaching Negotiation?
If you are new to teaching negotiation or are looking to go in-depth on the fundamental negotiation concepts, the Bakra Beverage All-In-One Curriculum Package will provide you with everything you need to teach negotiation.
Bakra Beverage, one of the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center’s most popular simulations, is a two-party negotiation between a beverage manufacturer and a … Read More
Teaching Critical Leadership Skills
Running a multinational corporation, starting a small business, or leading a diplomatic mission all require critical leadership skills. Being an effective leader necessitates negotiating both within your organization and with external partners. In Real Leaders Negotiate, author Jeswald Salacuse explains that leaders can increase their effectiveness by using negotiation in each of the three phases … Read Teaching Critical Leadership Skills
How Serious is Your Agent’s Conflict of Interest?
The television industry has undergone seismic changes in recent decades, first with cable TV joining broadcast TV, followed by the rise of digital streaming companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. In today’s “peak TV” era, companies are producing hundreds of shows to fill viewers’ binge-watching appetites. In some ways, it’s a golden age … Read More
In Business Disputes, Conflict Resolution Styles Can Make All the Difference
Business disputes don’t have to be antagonistic. Nor does litigation need to be the go-to method of solving conflicts. Thoughtful negotiation can often often result in an amicable solution. To see the difference between two different conflict resolution styles, take a look at two real-life copyright cases in the music industry.
Imagine that you’re an up-and-coming … Read More
Dear Negotiation Coach: Is There Promise in Online Negotiation?
In this edition of Dear Negotiation Coach, Harvard Business School professor Max H. Bazerman describes how online negotiation could increase efficiency and trust in many realms.
In-person negotiations can offer advantages over electronic negotiations—for example, in terms of rapport building and value creation. But what advantages might online negotiation have over face-to-face negotiation?
Max H. Bazerman: Online … Read More
Negotiation Research You Can Use: Moving from In-Person to Online Mediation
Laptops, smartphones, databases, and project-management software have become common tools of the negotiation trade. Meanwhile, even as online dispute resolution has risen in popularity, online mediation remains elusive, with mediation being a largely technology-free zone, with smartphones often turned off and tucked away.
“The field of mediation has proved surprisingly resistant to technological influence, an island … Read More
Digitally Enhanced Simulation Packages – With Live Data Analytics
In-depth Teaching Materials with Real Time Data Analytics Designed to Enhance Teaching Negotiation
From the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at PON, and iDecisionGames: digitally enhanced simulation packages designed to take your teaching to the next level.
The Enhanced Simulation Package from the TNRC and iDecisionGames brings a new, interactive learning experience to teaching negotiation. This easy … Read More
What Are Our Students Actually Learning? Gauging Effectiveness in Teaching Negotiation
Ways of Gauging Effectiveness in Teaching Negotiation
Most instructors aspire to do more than simply teach students about negotiation. They want to teach students how to negotiate more effectively. That’s an ambitious goal, given the complexity of the process. Negotiation success requires keen analysis and deft social skills, along with a mix of confidence and humility. … Read More
New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics
With the spread of a global pandemic, climate crisis, and the war on terror, resolving international conflicts has become increasingly complex. Training to address these difficult global conflicts must also reflect the modern issues and dynamics that face the international community. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has several new international negotiation simulations that reflect … Read More
Negotiating Organizational Development
Teach Your Students to Promote Organizational Development and Build Leadership Skills
Efforts to impact change in any kind of organization usually involve multiple kinds of negotiations or consensus-building efforts. Organizational development is most effective when the participants in the organization, whether public, private or civil society, are directly engaged in deciding what might need to change, … Read Negotiating Organizational Development
New Simulation on Negotiating the Future of Dams
Pearl River is a seven party, facilitated, multi-issue negotiation over the management of dams in a coastal basin.
Pearl River is a facilitated, multi-issue negotiation simulation for eight or nine participants about the management of five dams in the hypothetical Pearl River basin. This science-based negotiation simulation provides an opportunity for learning about and discussing larger-scale … Read New Simulation on Negotiating the Future of Dams
Dear Negotiation Coach: International Cultural Differences Around Trust
When choosing new business partners, we size them up to decide whether they are trustworthy. Interestingly, international cultural differences can influence the way in which we make such determinations, Jeanne Brett, Professor Emeritus of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and Louisiana State University professor Tyree Mitchell found in a new … Read More
Pedagogy in a Pandemic: Teaching Negotiation to a Masked Room
How can instructors teach students to interpret facial expressions and body language while masked in negotiation?
As teachers and students prepare to return to the classroom in the fall, it is likely going to look a lot different. With social distancing and masks, students face new challenges when trying to read facial expressions in negotiation simulations. … Read More
Negotiating with Governments: How to Deal with Government Officials
Whether at the local, federal, or international level, negotiations with governments often involve unique pressures and constraints. Does the official at the table actually have decision-making authority? What kinds of regulatory or policy constraints are they operating under? Governments often pursue very different interests in negotiations from those of a private company. In Seven Secrets for … Read More
New Simulation: Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding Water Shutoffs in Older American Cities
Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding Water Shutoffs in Older American Cities, newly available from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), is a six party, multi-issue negotiation involving environmental, political, economic and social interest groups, in a shrinking American city, where the water infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. This role-play simulation illustrates the ethical, financial and … Read More
Plan Your Curriculum for Next Semester
How do we utilize lessons learned from teaching online when returning to the classroom and planning a curriculum?
After more than a year of remote learning, students and teachers alike are eager to return to classrooms in the fall. During the pandemic, however, many instructors made significant investments in online teaching resources, lesson plans, and … Read Plan Your Curriculum for Next Semester
Negotiating Public Disputes
How Negotiation Can Impact Public Perceptions
Companies and governments alike can experience strong public resistance to new initiatives, or fierce public backlash to mistakes. How should they deal with an angry public? Incorporating a public relations perspective into a problem-solving or public dispute resolution processes can make the difference between success or failure. Adopting a mutual … Read Negotiating Public Disputes
Dear Negotiation Coach: To Get Unstuck, Hire a Mediator
Most business people understand the value of using mediation to resolve conflicts, but did you know that professional mediators can help you reach an agreement during the dealmaking phase? Stephen Goldberg, professor emeritus at Northwestern School of Law, describes how you can hire a mediator to aid both parties in creating value at the negotiating … Read More
Q&A with William Ury, author of Getting To Yes With Yourself
Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?
We interviewed William Ury, co-founder of the Program on Negotiation, one of the world’s leading experts on negotiation, and bestselling author of Getting to Yes and Getting Past No, about his book, Getting To Yes With Yourself.
Great negotiators know that the path to resolution is not always linear but rather … Read More
Methods of Dispute Resolution: Building Trust in Online Mediation
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, mediators and other negotiation practitioners often insisted on meeting in person, convinced that online methods of dispute resolution lack “the human touch”—the warmth, energy, body language, and other subtle factors that build essential ingredients in conflict resolution, including trust, empathy, and rapport.
But when lockdowns and social-distancing restrictions took hold in the … Read More
The Best Negotiation Exercises, Simulations and Videos
Have you planned your curriculum and purchased your teaching material for next semester? We’re here to help you to find the best negotiation exercises and teaching aids for your negotiation classes.
… Read More
Lessons Learned from Teaching Online: Pedagogy in a Pandemic
The exercises and videos developed for teaching online can also help improve in-person courses.
As teachers and trainers around the world are working to transition their courses online and wondering about how their approach to teaching will be altered moving forward, the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) asked some of our experienced online teachers to share … Read More
Teach Your Students Value Distribution with a Simulation on Solar Power
Do your students really understand the difference between value distribution and integrative negotiation, and have you given them a chance to practice their distributive bargaining skills? Do they understand that every negotiation includes elements of both value creation and value distribution? To help teach these key negotiation skills the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has developed a … Read More
The Abraham Path: A Thousand Miles on Foot
The Abraham Path is a cultural route tracing Abraham’s footsteps across the present-day Middle East. The path offers hikers the opportunity to engage with the peoples and landscapes of the region firsthand, and to see the region from a new perspective. The path offers an intriguing case of very challenging, long-term negotiations to establish a contiguous … Read The Abraham Path: A Thousand Miles on Foot
Teaching Community Dispute Resolution: Exercises to Facilitate Positive Change
Community dispute resolution provides communities with a forum to address conflict, uncover and resolve the underlying issues, and thereby achieve positive change. Community dispute resolution provides an alternative to the judicial system and facilitates collaborative community relationships. Community dispute resolution processes can include training and educational activities, and may involve a mediator from within the … Read More
Tips for Teaching Simulations Online: Q&A with David Seibel
Check out the video from our recent session on teaching simulations online to pick up tips for running negotiation exercises remotely!
Apprehensive about using role-play simulations in your remote or online blended course? Pick up tips on how to make simulations run smoothly over video, including how to best manage breakouts, run multiparty simulations, report results, … Read More
Dealing with Difficult Employees
When dealing with difficult employees, leaders often feel overwhelmed and frustrated by a task that can seem like a distraction from broader organizational goals. But managing personnel issues, including conflict among employees, is a pivotal leadership task—and one that can be improved with knowledge and practice. The following solutions for dealing with difficult employees will … Read Dealing with Difficult Employees
Dispute Resolution Strategies for Managing Internal Conflicts in Organizations
How can dispute resolution skills in negotiation help manage internal conflicts within an organization? This article draws from negotiation research to present some bargaining tips on how you can insure satisfaction within and outside of an organization.
… Read More
Mediation Checklist: 5 Questions to Ask When Hiring Mediators
Are you hiring a mediator? When considering a potential mediator, create a mediation checklist and ask the following questions of those who have worked with him in the past.
… Read More
Casino Two: Updated Version of Casino Now Available from the TNRC
Gender can play a complex role in workplace dynamics, and so teaching students about how to approach these issues is critical. The Casino simulation, available from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), has been widely used to teach participants about the role gender can play in the workplace. Now there is a new, updated version which … Read More
Conflict Resolution in the Family
In Lessons in Domestic Diplomacy, the New York Times’ Bruce Feiler, drawing on family conflict resolution negotiation examples in his past, offers a case study of conflict management by focusing on disputes in the home, asking, “how do we break out of negative patterns of conduct and proactively approach problems encountered in our everyday lives?”
… Read Conflict Resolution in the Family
Teaching Online: Negotiation Pedagogy in a Pandemic
How do we adapt learning objectives to online instruction?
As the Coronavirus spreads around the world, many universities have moved to a remote learning structure with online classes. This raises a very crucial question for instructors: how do you transition a course designed to be in-person into an online format while ensuring students remain engaged and … Read More
A Win Win Negotiation Case Study Using Mind Mapping Negotiation Skills
A win win negotiation case study using mind mapping to discover your counterpart’s interests for collaborative, integrative negotiations can occur.
… Read More
In Contract Negotiation, Wise Business Negotiators Sweat the Small Stuff
What are business negotiators responsible for in contract negotiation? Many would say they’re in charge of building relationships and new business, crafting creative solutions, and fighting for the best deal possible. Few, however, would say they’re responsible for ensuring that the deal holds up well over time.
… Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Techniques: Negotiating Conditions
A married couple was debating whether their four-year-old daughter should attend public or private elementary school. It was a difficult issue, and Mike had a tendency to walk out when the conversation got heated. Frustrated, Lisa turned to negotiating terms and conditions just as a negotiator would in a business deal.
… Read More
Negotiation Research on Organizational Approaches to Negotiating Systems
While most negotiation research aims to sharpen individual managers’ skills, there is growing scholarly and professional interest in an organizational approach to negotiation.A systemic perspective evaluates the training, authority, procedures, and resources that manager need to improve their companies’ “return on negotiation,” as consultant Danny Ertel puts it. Looking at negotiations broadly reveals important design … Read More
Running Simulations Online: Zoom Tips and Tricks
Negotiation simulations, while incredibly useful teaching tools, can be difficult to orchestrate logistically, especially with large groups of participants. Moving classes online has made running simulations even more complex. Zoom, as well as many other video chat platforms, has lots of features to assist with running simulations online. To help educators prepare for this unpredictable … Read Running Simulations Online: Zoom Tips and Tricks
Employee Grievances: Are Most Legal Disputes Resolved in Litigation or Arbitration?
A common question asked is, “If most legal disputes are resolved in litigation, is there room for arbitration or mediation?”
… Read More
New Conflict Management Skills: Understand How to Resolve “Hot Conflicts”
Negotiating effectively with colleagues can be more challenging than dealing with outsiders. Conventional wisdom advises addressing team conflict by staying focused on tasks and avoiding relationship issues. Yet a case study of conflict management by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson and Diana McLain Smith of The Monitory Group concludes that this approach to dispute … Read More
How Hardball Negotiation Tactics Can Backfire
In negotiations and disputes, punishment and threats often seem like the only way to win concessions. But business negotiators would do well to remember how Time Warner’s gambit unfolded.
… Read How Hardball Negotiation Tactics Can Backfire
International Negotiation Role Playing: Understanding the Theory and Practice of Systemic Peacebuilding
Policymakers, practitioners, and academics have seized on the need for peacebuilding negotiation strategies in international negotiation to be as complex and adaptive as the societies within which they work.
As a result, there are loud calls for “whole of government” or “whole of community” approaches that cross traditional sectoral boundaries. The problem is that these approaches are … Read More
Negotiation Ethics: How to Navigate Ethical Dilemmas at the Bargaining Table
After buying a new car, you’re eager to sell your old car. It looks well kept, but you had problems with the engine last winter. Now it’s late summer. Should you tell prospective buyers about the engine, which might or might not act up when the weather turns?
… Read More
Teaching with Video-Based Negotiation Scenarios
Access to multimedia content has rapidly increased throughout the world, with videos and short clips permeating our daily life. We are consuming, producing, and interacting with videos more now than ever before. In light of increasing video fluency and interest in using videos in education, the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching Negotiation Resource Center is creating … Read Teaching with Video-Based Negotiation Scenarios
Nagorno-Karabakh: Decades Old Conflict Resurfaces Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
The brutal conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has resurfaced in recent weeks, bringing devastation to many communities in the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh, located in the Caucasus Mountains, is internationally recognized to be part of Azerbaijan, but is politically controlled by an Armenian ethnic majority. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over … Read More
Know Your BATNA: The Power of Information in Negotiation
Knowing when to walk away in a negotiation is some of the most powerful information in negotiation a negotiator can bring to the bargaining table – and this means a negotiator should know her BATNA or best alternative to a negotiated agreement.
… Read More
Check Out Our Advanced Search Tool! Find New Teaching Materials in Seconds
The Advanced Materials Search feature allows you to search for teaching materials based on nine different categories, including time required, number of parties, and the negotiation concepts you want to teach.
The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) is pleased to announce the launch of our new Advanced Materials Search, which allows you to quickly find the … Read More
Win Win Negotiation Example – Change the Name of the Game
Suppose that two businesses have similar sounding names. The similarity is confusing to customers or could be down the line. One of the businesses decides to do something about it. How can they engage in a successful dispute-resolution negotiation process?
… Read More
Internal Negotiation: How to Set Up For Success
U.S. Federal Agency Personnel Negotiate Inter-Agency Issues to Better Collaborate with Host Government Officials and Combat HIV/AIDS
Most negotiations between companies, organizations, or governments are broken down into internal negotiation and external negotiation. Internal negotiation occurs between members of the same company, organization, or government in preparation for negotiations with an external entity. There is a … Read Internal Negotiation: How to Set Up For Success
Negotiation Case Study: Sincerity’s Power in Negotiation
Most of us have had the experience of delivering an apology that fell on deaf ears. When apologies fail to achieve their aims, poor delivery is usually to blame. The importance of sincerity in such a situation cannot be overstated, because if the recipient thinks your apology is less than sincere, she is unlikely to … Read More
Boosting Active Engagement while Teaching Online: Pedagogy in a Pandemic
How do you combat Zoom fatigue with your students when teaching online? How do you encourage students to participate in group discussions when they are physically removed from their peers? Now that teachers and trainers have had their first taste of remote learning, and might be facing another semester of virtual classes, the Teaching Negotiation … Read More
How Fast-Food Workers Used Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to Demand Higher Wages
Labor unions are the most obvious example of negotiating coalitions. If an individual employee made demands of its employer, the company could threaten to hire someone else.
… Read More
15 Things You Need to Know About Environmental Dispute Resolution
Here are 15 things about dispute resolution in environmental negotiations that Program on Negotiation faculty member Lawrence Susskind published on his website, Consensus Building Approach.
… Read More
New Simulation on Science Diplomacy
Teach Your Students to Incorporate Scientific Findings into International Policy Decisions
Science diplomacy elevates the role of science and technology in addressing global challenges. While science diplomacy has a long history of bringing nations together through sharing technological innovations, it has becoming increasingly important in the face of global pandemic, and as climate change and environmental … Read New Simulation on Science Diplomacy
Prepare for the Semester: Negotiation Pedagogy Articles from the Negotiation Journal
Whether you are going to be teaching negotiation next semester for the first time, or are a seasoned negotiation instructor, insightful research in negotiation pedagogy can help you approach your course in more effective and innovative ways. The Negotiation Journal, from the Program on Negotiation (PON), has a collection of articles on negotiation pedagogy that … Read More
Advanced Negotiation Techniques: Online Dispute Resolution
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, negotiators are increasingly making deals and resolving disputes online. But a trend toward online dispute resolution (ODR) was already in the making before we all began to quarantine. On July 15, experts discussed how technology can help us effectively and efficiently resolve disputes in a roundtable discussion, “AI Agents Negotiating Deals … Read More
Register Now for the Online Fall Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Seminar!
This virtual and highly interactive semester-length seminar explores how people negotiate to create value and resolve disputes.
Designed to improve understanding of negotiation theory and build negotiation skills, the curriculum integrates negotiation research from several academic fields with experiential learning exercises. All sessions will be delivered live via Zoom. Emphasizing both theoretical and practical insights, this … Read More
When deals fall apart
For investors and employees of office-space company WeWork, the April 1 news was no joke: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, WeWork’s dominant shareholder, was reneging on an agreement to buy $3 billion of the company’s stock from them. A longtime financial backer of WeWork, SoftBank had agreed to the purchase as part of a bailout of the … Read When deals fall apart
Check Out Videos from the PON Working Conference on AI, Technology, and Negotiation
PON Working Conference on AI, Technology, and Negotiation On May 17th and 18th, 2020 the Program on Negotiation (PON) hosted a virtual working conference on AI, technology, and negotiation. The PON Working Conference on AI, Technology, and Negotiation was designed to:
Convene scholars, teachers, and practitioners to share insights, experiences, tools, and their expectations for further developments.
Inform PON … Read More
Negotiation Skills: Reducing Political Polarization
Excerpted from the June issue of the Negotiation Briefings newsletter, a publication of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
In our era of political polarization, collaboration and compromise can seem like impossible goals within our governments and our own communities. In his book Negotiating the Nonnegotiable: How to Resolve Your Most Emotionally Charged … Read More
Staying Adaptive through Crisis
How do we stay adaptive through challenging times?
It is common and understandable to feel deflated at a time of crisis. But in these difficult situations, it can be important to embrace our inner rebel and help others do the same. At a recent virtual event hosted by the Program on Negotiation (PON), Francesca Gino, the … Read Staying Adaptive through Crisis
Negotiated Change During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic
Professors Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld and Kimberlyn Leary led a virtual discussion on negotiating change during COVID-19
How do industries and societies negotiate and manage momentous change during the COVID-19 pandemic? Professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and Editor of the Negotiation Journal, and Professor Kimberlyn Leary, of Harvard … Read More
Using Online Dispute Resolution to Resolve Workplace Conflict
Many people are working from home these days, but that doesn’t mean disputes between employees have evaporated. In fact, the inability to hash things out in person might exacerbate long-simmering conflicts and leave people feeling even more alienated from one another. The stress we’re all facing from the threat of COVID-19 and disruptions to daily … Read More
Operating Short-Term to Long-Term through the COVID-19 Pandemic: Negotiating a Global Renaissance with Science Diplomacy
In case you missed it, Paul Berkman, Professor of Practice in Science Diplomacy and Founding Director of the Science Diplomacy Center at Tufts University, recently gave a Zoom talk about science diplomacy in the age of COVID-19, hosted by the Program on Negotiation (PON).
We now are in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when … Read More
Moving Online: Pedagogy in a Pandemic
While teachers and trainers around the world work to transition their courses into remote formats, we asked some of our experienced online teachers to share their experiences with the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) so as to provide insights to those who might be working to teach online for the first time.
Samuel “Mooly” Dinnar is … Read Moving Online: Pedagogy in a Pandemic
Check Out Video Highlights from the 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference
On November 15th, 2019, the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) hosted a conference on excellence and innovation in negotiation pedagogy.
Negotiation and dispute resolution teachers and trainers from around the world came to Cambridge to learn about new approaches and share their experiences. Speakers at the conference spotlighted innovative instructional techniques in many diverse fields of … Read More
2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference
Join us in Cambridge on Friday, November 15th, 2019 for a conference on excellence and innovation in teaching negotiation.
The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at the inter-university Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to announce that the 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference will take place on Friday, November 15th, 2019 at Harvard Law … Read 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference
Powerful Conflict Resolution Games to Help You Teach Negotiation
From complicated negotiation strategies to artful subterfuge, conflict resolution games are one of the very best ways to prepare for the challenges of real-world negotiation. Games that employ a Prisoner’s Dilemma structure (where rational parties may not cooperate despite their best interests) enable participants to analyze negotiations, make strategic decisions, and anticipate their counterpart’s next … Read More
How Negotiation Role-Play Simulations Can Help You Resolve Environmental Disputes
From complicated land use debates to the regulation of pollutants, environmental negotiations are fraught with dynamic legal, scientific, and societal considerations. Because many of the natural resources in question are limited and fragile, disputes over them can be particularly difficult.
To help educate professionals about how to work through challenging environmental and sustainability negotiations, the Program … Read More
Using Negotiation Games to Develop Skills for Commercial Dispute Resolution
Teach your students the art of negotiating for success with these great negotiation games.
… Read More
Teaching Real Estate Negotiation: How to Identify and Create Value
How do you teach your students to identify and create value in real estate negotiations?
Real estate negotiation can be difficult for both the buyer and the seller. Teaching real estate negotiation can involve value creation, distributive bargaining, as well as issue linkages. It is important for both buyers, sellers, and agents to identify ways to … Read More
When Family Business Disputes Require Conflict Resolution
Unfortunately, business disputes—and the need for conflict resolution—can be common when family members do business together.
… Read More
Negotiation Role-Plays for Building Critical Skills
Here is a brief story about about a teenager named Chris Jensen.
On his way home from basketball practice, he walked into a grocery store and shoplifted some candy bars and a soda. The storeowner saw him, chased after him, and, as luck would have it, they ran right into a police officer.
But instead … Read More
Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation
As our world grows increasingly interconnected, we are more likely to find ourselves negotiating in a cross-cultural context. The diverse makeup of many societies and global nature of business today make cross-cultural negotiation a regular part of life. Also, unfortunately, many major disputes in need of resolution cross ethnic and cultural lines. Furthermore, it is important … Read Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Best-In-Class Negotiation Case Studies
What’s one of the best ways to teach the art and science of negotiation? Case studies and articles that spark lively discussion or facilitate self-reflection. Based on real-world examples, these teaching resources are designed to help students envision how to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and beyond.
The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at … Read Best-In-Class Negotiation Case Studies
Top International Negotiation Examples: Apple’s Apology in China
In one of the top examples of international negotiation in April 2013, Apple CEO Timothy D. Cook made the unusual move of apologizing to Chinese customers for his company’s warranty policy and promised to make amends, the New York Times reports.
… Read More
Role Play Simulations to Help You Become a Better Mediator
When opposing parties cannot come to a satisfactory resolution, a strong mediator can make all the difference. By effectively examining the issues at hand and helping parties identify creative solutions, a well-trained mediator builds consensus where there once was none.
To help professionals learn the art of mediation, the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching Negotiation Resource Center … Read More
Negotiation Case Studies: Teach By Example
There are good negotiators and there are great ones.
Once a year, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School selects an outstanding individual who embodies what it means to be a truly great negotiator. To earn the Great Negotiator Award, the honoree must be a distinguished leader whose lifelong accomplishments in the field of dispute … Read Negotiation Case Studies: Teach By Example
Mandated Mediation: What to Expect
More and more companies are inserting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clauses in their contracts with customers and vendors—and even, in some cases, in agreements with their own employees. ADR clauses can be beneficial for all concerned if it means avoiding the cost, delay, and uncertainty of going to court. Mandated mediation, in particular, may offer … Read Mandated Mediation: What to Expect
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Values-Based Role Play Simulations for Improving Mediation Skills
Three role-play simulations focus on the mediation of values-based disputes.
… Read More
Negotiation Exercises to Help Your Students Avoid Cross-Cultural Pitfalls
Avoid cross-cultural misunderstandings with these negotiation exercises
It’s no secret that communication and negotiation etiquette varies widely across cultures. In France, for example, it is rude to talk money over dinner, while in Brazil the American ‘A-OK’ gesture (thumb and forefinger forming a circle) can be a major insult.
The increasingly diverse and global nature of business … Read More
Global Impact Negotiation Simulation
International law and diplomacy is a rapidly evolving field that depends on the brokering of agreements between nations and other stakeholders. Whether there are language barriers, cultural differences, or both, some of the most challenging negotiations involve parties from different nations. Because of the relative lack of clear legal precedents and the difficulties of enforcement, … Read Global Impact Negotiation Simulation
Contract Dispute Resolution: Surviving Costly Conflict
We tend to enter new business partnerships and ventures with a great deal of optimism and excitement. Yet ventures that held so much promise often end up dissolving into costly legal disputes and contract dispute resolution efforts.
Formal contracts offer a method for reducing the risks of new partnerships and clarifying commitment in negotiation, but negotiators … Read More
Best-In-Class Negotiation Case Studies You Can Use to Train
What’s one of the best ways to teach the art and science of conflict resolution? With negotiation case studies that spark lively discussion or facilitate self-reflection. Based on real-world examples, these teaching resources are designed to help students envision how to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and beyond.
… Read More
Win-Win Negotiation Skills: Motivate Good Behavior in the #MeToo Era
In the #MeToo era, entertainment companies have incurred significant financial and reputational damage from alleged crimes and misbehavior by the producers, directors, executives, and actors they’ve employed.
… Read More
The Wired Negotiator: Using Technology in Negotiation
Everyone negotiates every day. How we negotiate is changing dramatically due to the use of various technological tools. People need not fear this change. Rather, they should understand the different technology at their disposal, grasp the pros and cons, and determine how to select the best medium to suit their needs, negotiation style, and approach. … Read More
Add Variety to Your Curriculum with These Top Simulations
Update Your Teaching Materials with Our Top Negotiation Role Play Simulations
The field of negotiation is constantly evolving, and as such, requires new ways of teaching negotiation. It can sometimes happen that students come into a class having already encountered the negotiation simulation being used in the course, or that a different kind of exercise is … Read More
Teach Coalition Management in Multiparty Negotiations
Multiparty negotiations can be difficult to manage if you are unprepared for the formation of coalitions. Two-party and multiparty negotiations share some important similarities: the goal of discovering the zone of possible agreement, for example. However, there are some key differences that set them apart. As soon as the number of parties increases past two, … Read More
Teaching Negotiation Online: Where Do We Start?
Best Practices of Course Design and Delivery When Teaching Negotiation Online
At the May, 2018 Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) Faculty Seminar, Professors Lawrence Susskind and Michael Wheeler discussed the pedagogical implications of teaching negotiation online.
In a follow-up to the December, 2017 TNRC Faculty Seminar on Gauging Effectiveness in Teaching Negotiation, Professor Susskind and Professor Wheeler … Read Teaching Negotiation Online: Where Do We Start?
Art Buchwald, Paramount Pictures, and the Cost of Litigation Instead of Negotiation
When Art Buchwald sued Paramount Pictures over the 1988 Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America, the widely reported outcome was seen as a win for the late, beloved humorist. But Buchwald actually lost — and so did Paramount.
… Read More
The Moral Quandary: Negotiation Exercises Featuring Ethical Dilemmas
In a negotiation, few issues heighten tensions faster than when one party feels that the other party has done something ethically or morally incorrect.
To help professionals prepare for times like this, the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) offers a variety of negotiation exercises designed to teach participants how to handle disputes that … Read More
Teaching Negotiation Videos – All Downloadable!
Have you been energized by the unique “aha” moment students experience when negotiation videos are used in their class? Us too!
… Read Teaching Negotiation Videos – All Downloadable!
Entrepreneurial Negotiation – New Book on Negotiation Challenges for Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial Negotiation: Understanding and Managing the Relationships that Determine Your Entrepreneurial Success
The great majority of startups fail, and most entrepreneurs who have succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs fumble key interactions because they don’t know how to handle the negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They mistakenly believe that deals … Read More
Kissinger the Negotiator: New Book on Dealmaking and Diplomacy
Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level
In this groundbreaking, definitive guide to the art of negotiation, PON faculty James Sebenius (Harvard Business School) and Robert Mnookin (Harvard Law School), along with R. Nicholas Burns of the Harvard Kennedy School, offer a comprehensive examination of one of the most successful dealmakers of all time: Henry Kissinger.
Politicians, … Read More
Teach Your Students Dispute Resolution for Their Everyday Lives
Negotiation refers to the process of working out agreements that meet each party’s needs and address their interests. People negotiate all the time in their everyday lives: in the workplace, within families, and when buying goods and services. Knowing which negotiation strategies to use in different circumstances can make a significant difference. The Teaching Negotiation … Read More
When Conflict Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
When one party brings up the possibility of a lawsuit in a business dispute, the threat can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yet business negotiators often benefit from settling their disputes before going to court, write Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet, and Andrew S. Tulumello in their book Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in … Read When Conflict Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Teach Your Students to Manage Two Party and Multiparty Negotiations
Check Out Our Bestselling Two Party and Multiparty Negotiation Simulations
More than just the increased number of parties at the table, there are key differences in how negotiators manage two party versus multiparty negotiations. Power disparities can be exacerbated in two party negotiations, however the opportunities for option generation can also be increased. The formation of … Read More
How to Write a Contract that Lasts
Joint ventures, strategic alliances, purchasing agreements, and other types of partnerships between organizations often begin with a great deal of promise—and a hefty amount of risk. Serious misunderstandings and opportunistic behavior are relatively common in such relationships. Formal contracts offer a method for reducing such risk, but negotiators and their attorneys are often unsure about … Read How to Write a Contract that Lasts
Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator
No one can provide perspective on conflict resolution like experts who have been involved in some of the world’s most complex negotiations. Since 2001, the Program on Negotiation (PON) has bestowed the Great Negotiator Award upon distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution have had compelling and lasting results.
The Great … Read Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator
What is Dispute Resolution in Law: The Ins and Outs of Arbitration
A “one-shot” form of dispute resolution, arbitration is usually faster and cheaper than litigation. In addition, rather than being assigned a judge, parties are able to select their arbitrator.
What is dispute resolution in law and how do alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like arbitration operate inside and outside a courtroom? Here are some examples of … Read More
In Memoriam: Frank E.A. Sander ’52, a pioneer in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (1927-2018)
Frank E.A. Sander ’52, a longtime Harvard Law School professor and a pioneer in the field of alternative dispute resolution, has died. He was 90.
… Read More
Teach Your Students Negotiation Psychology
The negotiation psychology of the parties at the table can contribute significantly to the likelihood of reaching an agreement. In Beyond Reason, world-renowned negotiator Roger Fisher and psychologist Daniel Shapiro advise “ignore emotions at your own peril. Emotions are always present and often affect your experience. You may try to ignore them, but they will not … Read Teach Your Students Negotiation Psychology
NEW BOOK! Conflict Resolution for Children
Trouble at the Watering Hole: Teach Your Children About Conflict Resolution With This New Book
This fun and educational book from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) builds a foundation for kids to learn ways to constructively resolve problems and to build strong skills that can be used to resolve conflict for the rest of their … Read NEW BOOK! Conflict Resolution for Children
Negotiating with Family
Legal Disputes Where Emotions Override Reason
Negotiating with a colleague or client can be complicated, but negotiating with a family member can cause us to leave reason at the door. Negotiating with family, where emotions are heightened, can lead to a reluctance to compromise. This is especially true when it comes to legal disputes between family … Read Negotiating with Family
Teach Your Students to Negotiate the Principal-Agent Relationship with Fie’s Agent
Negotiate International Sports Contracts
In many business negotiations, especially those involving athletes, you will find an agent negotiating on behalf of the principal party. This unique principal-agent relationship can cause challenges at the negotiating table. The agent may have different preferences from their principal party. Agents may also have different incentives from the principal. Agents may … Read More
Negotiate International Energy Contracts with ENCO
ENCO: Negotiating International Contracts in the Face of Political Instability
Negotiating international contracts can be tricky, and unstable, especially when governments are parties in the negotiation. ENCO is a Texas-based power company that has begun to move aggressively into emerging markets. The Indian government has approached ENCO to build an electrical generating plant to increase the power … Read More
Crossed Wires? Negotiation Games To Help Your Business Deal Sidestep Legal, Technical And Emotional Glitches
What’s faster than the pace of technological development? The pace of lawsuits being filed about the adoption of new technologies, patent infringement, and intellectual property rights. In our modern world, professionals must be able to resolve highly challenging technology-related disputes – often before they reach the courtroom. That’s where the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching … Read More
Gender Discrimination: How to Reach a Negotiated Agreement
As you know, gender stereotypes often enter the negotiation process. Women and men are perceived to, and often do, act differently in negotiations. Furthermore, gender-based discrimination—such as less pay, unequal treatment, and sexual harassment—is often a source of conflict. With the resources available through the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), professionals can learn how to … Read More
Successes & Messes: With a switch in focus, migrant activists gain ground
In the U.S. agricultural industry, the migrant workers, many of them undocumented, who toil long hours on fields and farms have long faced abuse, low wages, substandard living conditions, and even enslavement. But a new model of negotiating for better working conditions developed by a group of migrant workers in Immokalee, Fla., is beginning to bring about improvements … Read More
When International Negotiation Stymies the Best Mediators
On May 13, Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. special envoy to Syria, announced that he was quitting his position as lead mediator of the Syrian conflict due to frustration with a lack of progress. The same day, a French diplomat said the Syrian government had used chemical weapons more than 12 times after signing a treaty banning … Read More
Negotiating Indigenous Land Rights
Teach Your Students to Address Fundamental Value Differences While Negotiating Indigenous Land Rights
Indigenous land rights have been a key aspect of negotiations by private companies and governments around the world. Indigenous land rights are the rights of indigenous peoples to land and natural resources, which they have occupied for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. … Read Negotiating Indigenous Land Rights
2017 Great Negotiator Award Goes to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
On September 20th, Harvard Law School awarded the prestigious annual Great Negotiator award to Nobel Prize Winner, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, on behalf of the Program on Negotiation. This award recognizes those whose lifetime achievements in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution have had a significant and lasting impact. Santos is also a … Read More
Bullard Houses Role-Play Simulation Helps Researchers Explore Gender Inequality
In a recent Slate.com article, writer and PhD in Psychology Jane Hu described the findings of a research study by Professor Laura J. Kray, University of California, Berkeley.
Kray, along with co-authors Jessica Kennedy, PhD, and Alex Van Zant, PhD, investigated the role gender played in negotiation and focused specifically on whether the stereotype of women … Read More
Teach Your Students Spoiler Management in Negotiations
What can you do to protect a negotiation from spoilers?
The greatest risk to a negotiation can come from parties at the table who are intent on spoiling the agreement. Spoilers are parties in a negotiation who believe that the agreement will threaten their power and interests, and so they spoil the negotiation.
Some spoilers have limited … Read More
How to Avoid Preparing Unethical Negotiation Plans
To what degree should you level the playing field for your counterpart in negotiations? Let’s turn to the question of whether you have an ethical obligation to educate an uninformed buyer.
… Read More
Revolutionize How You Teach TNRC Negotiation Exercises and Role-Plays
You’ve told us that using technology in your teaching is important so we spent some time evaluating various platforms and software that help negotiation teachers and trainers to utilize the power of role-plays in their classes. The team at iDecisionGames has created a web-based platform that offers many benefits and opportunities to transform how you … Read More
Announcing the 2017 PON Summer Fellows
PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, nonprofit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between scholarship and practice in negotiation and … Read Announcing the 2017 PON Summer Fellows
Announcing the 2017-2018 PON Graduate Research Fellows
The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with PON’s goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of dissertation … Read More
Arbitration vs Mediation: Using Teambuilding and ADR in Negotiation
During his years as George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of State, one of James A. Baker, III’s, goals was to encourage the free-market reforms that Communist Party of the Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had launched in the late 1980s. One day during his tenure, a high-level Bush administration official commented in the press that … Read More
Difficult Negotiation Going Nowhere? Consider an Apology
If you’ve ever offended a fellow negotiator with words or actions, you know how hard it can be to make amends.
… Read More
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Corporate Stakeholder Engagement and Mineral Extraction in Colombia
Corporations around the world are being pressed by their shareholders to do a better job of taking local concerns into account when they initiate mineral extraction projects. Indeed, both stakeholders and risk managers are demanding this. Many companies are now systematically assessing the concerns of a wide range of stakeholders and seeking to demonstrate (in … Read More
How to Overcome Cultural Barriers to Communication in International Negotiations
How to overcome cultural barriers to communication: As members of organizations and families, we all know from experience that even people with identical backgrounds can have vastly different negotiating styles and values. Nonetheless, we continue to be intrigued by the idea that distinct patterns emerge between negotiators from different cultures.
… Read More
How Does Mediation Work in a Lawsuit: Choosing the Right Mediator
How does mediation work in a lawsuit? For those new to mediation, we advise you being by getting a list of mediators from a reputable provider agency. You can find these agencies by searching under dispute resolution or by inquiring with your organization’s legal department.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution: Uncertainty, Risk, and Opportunity in Water Diplomacy
When countries face contending water claims, one of the biggest obstacles to reaching an agreement is uncertainty. Specifically, there are three types of uncertainty: uncertainty of information, uncertainty of action, and uncertainty of perception. In part 2 of this 5 part series, Program on Negotiation faculty member Lawrence Susskind explains the uncertainties facing negotiators trying … Read More
An Alternative to Traditional Dispute Resolution Instruction
Many negotiation and mediation instructors draw from other disciplines for a range of purposes. Insights from social psychology, for instance, can help students understand, explain, or predict certain interpersonal and inter-group dynamics. Ideas from economics and game theory can shed light on various value-creation principles.
… Read More
Mediation Techniques for Conflict Resolution: Negotiation Strategies to Consider Before You Outsource
Learn how mediation techniques could have informed Apple’s negotiation strategies when it discovered discrepancies in working conditions among its supplier factories in China.
… Read More
Capture the Best of Mediation and Arbitration
The problem: You’re not sure which of the two most common dispute-resolution processes, mediation or arbitration, to use to resolve your conflict. Mediation is appealing because it would allow you to reach a collaborative settlement, but you’re worried it could end in impasse. You know that arbitration would wrap up your dispute conclusively, but it … Read Capture the Best of Mediation and Arbitration
How Mediation Works
When negotiators can’t come to agreement but want to avoid an expensive, time-consuming, and potentially rancorous lawsuit, mediation is often their most logical choice. Mediation can help to resolve a wide range of disputes.
… Read How Mediation Works
How to Deal with a Difficult Mediator
Francesca Gino, Program on Negotiation faculty member and author of the bestselling book, Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan, tackles this question from a Negotiation Briefings reader concerning how to deal with a mediator that is abrasive, dismissive, or even rude.
… Read How to Deal with a Difficult Mediator
Contract Negotiations: Before You Sign on the Dotted Line
When times are tight, contracts are often broken. These days, parties on both sides of sales agreements are struggling to fulfill their promises, and contract workers are having trouble getting paid by their employers.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution and Divorce Solutions for Jolie, Pitt, and Others
The news that actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are headed for divorce puts the issue of divorce negotiations in the spotlight.
… Read More
PON Faculty Daniel Shapiro Named One of the 15 Best Professors at Harvard College by the Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes Magazine
The Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes magazine recently honored Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School faculty member Daniel Shapiro as one of the 15 best professors at Harvard College. Director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program and Associate Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, Professor Shapiro is the author of Negotiating the Nonnegotiable: How … Read More
Negotiation Scenario: Hammering out Local Strategies for Managing Climate-related Public Health Risks
Climate change is already causing increased temperatures, more intense storms, and rising sea levels in many parts of the world. The threats, particularly the impacts on human health, are daunting. Despite uncertainties about the timing and severity of the impacts of climate change in each location, this simulation asserts that cities and towns must take … Read More
Using Mediators to Resolve Disputes
You’ve seen how mediators can help one organizational team prepare for a complex negotiation. But what about when litigation looms?
… Read Using Mediators to Resolve Disputes
How to Conduct a Mediation During Crisis Negotiations
The most difficult peace negotiations in recent decades—in Ireland, the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, and Sri Lanka—were plagued by a common enemy: violent disruptions by spoilers opposed to the peace process. In each of these cases, extremists stalled negotiations by creating security crises that divided public opinion and drove negotiators apart.
… Read More
PON Remembers Howard Raiffa
The Program on Negotiation would like to honor the memory of beloved colleague Howard Raiffa by highlighting his vast contributions to the field of decision making, negotiation, and dispute resolution. Howard Raiffa was one of the four principal co-founders of the Harvard Kennedy School and the Frank Plumpton Ramsey Professor of Managerial Economics Emeritus, a … Read PON Remembers Howard Raiffa
Conflict Resolution Games: Life, Death, and Career Consequences
High-Stakes Conflict Resolution Games
In Drug Testing in the Workplace—a popular role-play from the TNRC—a truck driver tests positive for marijuana in a random drug test. To play this conflict resolution game, participants assume the roles of truck driver, personnel director, and a representative from the Employee Assistance
Program Center, and then explore the question:
What is the … Read More
How Your Organization Can Benefit from Mediation Techniques
If you manage people, disputes will show up at your door. The marketing VP protests that the budget cap you and your new finance VP proposed is hindering a research initiative you supported. Two young sales representatives are embroiled in a turf war. Your administrative assistant is upset because the HR director won’t approve the … Read More
World in Crisis! One of the Most Immersive and Rewarding Negotiation Games Ever Created
This negotiation simulation comprised “the most intense, challenging and educational days of my life” reported one participant. What sort of experience could possibly elicit such a comment? One of the most immersive and rewarding negotiation games ever developed: a 72-party mega-simulation called the Transition Exercise!
The Transition (Excercise Trailer) from MediaTank on Vimeo.
This one-of-a-kind, intensive, multi-party … Read More
Dispute Resolution: Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Under Fire
A shake-up is afoot regarding large companies’ use of mandatory arbitration to settle disputes with consumers.
… Read More
Negotiation Research Demonstrates the Impact of Memory on Decision Making Processes in Bargaining Scenarios
Recent negotiation research published by Psychological Science from Program on Negotiation faculty member and assistant professor at Harvard University’s Department of Psychology Joshua Greene and his colleague Elinor Amit explores the impact vivid mental imagery has on decision-making processes for negotiators. The negotiation skills insights that can be obtained from such negotiation research are many … Read More
Make the Most of Mediation in Negotiations and Dispute Resolution
What at first seemed like a minor misunderstanding has spiraled out of control. A Chicago-based printing company hired your Chicago-based IT consulting firm to train its staff to use its new computer system.
… Read More
Is Mediation Expertise What You Need?
When a negotiation escalates into a dispute, most managers understand the value of seeking out a mediator for professional assistance with the matter. The question of whom to hire, however, is less clear-cut. What type of expetise should your mediator have, and where should you look for her? In this article, we will walk you … Read Is Mediation Expertise What You Need?
Case Study: Teaching with a Powerful Negotiated Agreement
What do a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, the CEO of an international financial advisory firm, and the former United States ambassador to the United Nations have in common? They’ve all received the Great Negotiator Award.
Every year, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School bestows this prestigious honor on distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in … Read More
Announcing the 2016 PON Summer Fellows
PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between scholarship and practice in negotiation and … Read Announcing the 2016 PON Summer Fellows
Announcing the 2016-2017 PON Graduate Research Fellows
The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with PON’s goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of dissertation … Read More
The Negotiation Simulation Method: Teach Legal Lessons by Immersive Means
In complex legal negotiations, money, reputations, and sometimes even lives are often at stake. Legal professionals must know how to read and debate the law as well as fully embrace the art and science of negotiation.
To help attorneys and other legal professionals become well versed in law and court-based negotiation, the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching … Read More
Modest Goals Gave Hope to Syria Peace talks
In international negotiations and other complex multiparty negotiations, should you set ambitious goals right from the start or begin with more modest ones?
Aiming high can lead to dramatic payoffs if you succeed, but the difficulty of orchestrating complicated international negotiations can increase the risk of impasse. By contrast, starting with more modest goals may suggest … Read Modest Goals Gave Hope to Syria Peace talks
Negotiation Exercises Designed To Help Settle Workplace Conflict
From brokering a deal to negotiating a sale, there are many disputes that happen at work. Among the most challenging are those involving employers and employees. That’s the case with Binder Kadeer: Consultation in the Company, a negotiation exercise brought to you by the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching Resource Center (TNRC).
… Read More
For Kesha, Support of Peers Could Bring Settlement Leverage
Business negotiators are typically advised to keep their dealmaking and dispute resolution efforts private. Complaining about an adversary’s negotiation and conflict resolution strategies to the press or on social media can escalate disputes and increase the likelihood of impasse.
Yet when a negotiation becomes so contentious that it requires formal dispute resolution, such as a lawsuit, … Read More
Negotiation in the News: Arm’s Length Peacemaking
For 70 years, the governments of Japan and South Korea disagreed over what Japan might owe the Korean women its soldiers abused during World War II. The story of how they finally came to agreement reminds us of the importance of including all interested parties in conflict-resolution efforts.
An unresolved issue
During the war, tens of thousands … Read Negotiation in the News: Arm’s Length Peacemaking
Negotiation Skills for Resolving International Conflicts
What are the essential skills a negotiator needs to resolve conflicts abroad? How do international conflicts differ from domestic conflicts? What issues specific to bargaining across borders emerges in intercultural negotiations? In this article we explore ways in which negotiators can develop bargaining skills to overcome any barriers to communication they may encounter in negotiations … Read More
Dealmaking and the Trade Deal: Obama’s Uphill Battle with Congress
Sometimes in dealmaking, reaching agreement would require us to make compromises that we know will displease those who need to authorize the deal, such as our superiors back at the office. Fail to compromise, and impasse may be inevitable. Compromise and save the deal, and accept the difficulty of closing the deal in negotiations with … Read More
How to Prepare for Changing Conditions at the Negotiation Table: Bargaining Strategies for Integrative Negotiations and Dispute Resolution
These article offers some negotiation tips for negotiators attempting to reconcile two disparate estimations of future events during the course of a negotiated agreement.
… Read More
Top Worst Negotiation Case Studies: Real Life Examples of Bargaining Gone Wrong
Sometimes negotiators care so much about the issues at stake that they mistake compromise for surrender. Sometimes they’re so confident things will go their way they don’t try hard enough. Our list of the 10 Worst Negotiations of 2014 includes talks that failed for one or both of these reasons, as well as for numerous … Read More
Bridging the Religious Divide: Transforming Conflict when Emotions and Religion are at Play
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Harvard International Negotiation Program, and the Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium are pleased to host: Bridging the Religious Divide: Transforming Conflict when Emotions and Religion are at Play
with
Daniel L. Shapiro Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital and
Rev. Septemmy E. Lakawa
Research Associate … Read More
Working on multiple deals? Look for ways to connect the dots
In negotiation, lightbulb moments—the kind that seem to magically dissolve disputes and create stellar contracts—can be few and far between. We might be lucky to have one such flash of insight over the course of a complicated dealmaking process. Recently, Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) New York Yankees were fortunate to experience a breakthrough that neatly … Read More
Program on Negotiation associate Paola Cecchi Dimeglio Edits a Collection of Dispute Resolution Essays in “Interdisciplinary Handbook of Dispute Resolution”
Program on Negotiation associate and researcher Paola Cecchi Dimeglio, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard Negotiation Research Project, was the editor for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary guide to dispute resolution that combines negotiation research written in both French and English.
Cecchi Dimeglio’s “Interdisciplinary Handbook of Dispute Resolution,” published by Larcier, is currently available in the Program … Read More
Announcing the 2015 Winners of the PON Paper Prizes
The Program on Negotiation has awarded Bruno Verdini the 2015 Howard Raiffa Doctoral Student Paper Award for his paper “Charting New Territories Together: Laying the Foundations for Mutual Gains in United States – Mexico Water and Energy Negotiations.” This paper was submitted as his dissertation for the Ph.D. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Emily Cole Groden … Read More
Announcing the 2015 PON Summer Fellows
About the PON Summer Fellowship Program:
PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between scholarship … Read Announcing the 2015 PON Summer Fellows
Announcing the 2015-2016 PON Graduate Research Fellows
The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with the PON goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of … Read More
Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives on ADR: Past, Present, and Future
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to present: Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives on ADR: Past, Present, and Future with
Dr. Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio Editor, Interdisciplinary Handbook of Dispute Resolution
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
12:00 – 1:30PM
Pound Hall 102
Harvard Law School campus
Free and open to the public. A non-pizza lunch will be provided.
About the Book:
Over the last three decades, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) … Read More
How Does Mediation Work?
How does mediation work in practice? As compared with other forms of dispute resolution, mediation can have an informal, improvisational feel. Mediation can include some or all of the following six steps, writes Kimberlee K. Kovach in The Handbook of Dispute Resolution (Jossey-Bass, 2005):
1. Planning. Before mediation begins, the mediator helps the parties decide where … Read How Does Mediation Work?
Reflections of a Mediator: Preventive Diplomacy in an Age of Conflict
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to present: Reflections of a Mediator: Preventive Diplomacy in an Age of Conflict with
Dr. Johnston Barkat Assistant Secretary-General United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
12:15 – 1:30PM
Pound Hall 100
Harvard Law School campus
Free and open to the public. A non-pizza lunch will be provided.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Johnston Barkat is the Assistant Secretary-General heading … Read More
Can Mediation Settle the James Brown Dispute?
Back in 2000, James Brown, the legendary “Godfather of Soul,” signed a will leaving most of his estate—valued up to $100 million—to provide scholarships to needy children. In an audio tape, the musician explained that he hoped to cement his legacy with these good deeds. In the will, Brown also set aside scholarship funds for … Read More
Teaching Negotiation: A Symposium On Excellence & Innovation For Teachers & Trainers
This program is designed for anyone who teaches negotiation, dispute resolution, or conflict analysis across any field (e.g., law, business, international relations, social work, peace studies, public policy, urban planning, environmental studies, and engineering).
Negotiation trainers who provide on-site or online training to business or community clients should also attend so they can evaluate potential new … Read More
Negotiation Skills: Five Steps to Better Family Negotiations
Family members in business together bring an added complication to inevitable conflicts. In this article, the authors discuss five principles of negotiation specifically relevant for deal-making and dispute resolution cases among relatives.
… Read More
Harvard Negotiation Law Review Symposium: “Restorative Justice: Theory Meets Application”
PON is pleased to co-sponsor the 2015 Harvard Negotiation Law Review symposium:
Restorative Justice: Theory Meets Application
Saturday, February 28, 2015
9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Austin Hall, Harvard Law School Campus
Free and open to the public. Registration is highly recommended.
The goal of the Symposium is to promote an exciting discussion about the potential to leverage ADR practices and frameworks in restorative justice initiatives, … Read More
To Avoid the Need for Dispute Resolution, Plan Ahead
When disputes flare up in business relationships, a failure to thoroughly anticipate and prepare for the future is often to blame. Consider a dispute that has arisen surrounding the estate of Maurice Sendak, the acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator of dozens of books, including the masterpiece Where the Wild Things Are. As Randy Kennedy … Read More
When a private dispute goes public
This past June, a long-standing family feud erupted in public when Arthur S. Demoulas, an owner of the New England low-price grocery chain Market Basket, fired his cousin Arthur T. Demoulas, also an owner, from his position as the company’s CEO. Many of the company’s 25,000 employees, who had received good wages, bonuses, and profit … Read When a private dispute goes public
Detroit Moves Forward, Thanks to Mediation
About 15 months after becoming the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, Detroit is on track to begin rebuilding and growing stronger. On November 7, a federal judge approved a plan aimed at ridding the city of its $7 billion in debt and investing about $1.7 billion in city services, the New York Times … Read More
PON Graduate Research Fellow Vera Mironova Published by Foreign Policy
Every year, the Program on Negotiation (PON) honors distinguished scholars with a Graduate Research Fellowship that provides support for one year of dissertation research and writing in negotiation and related topics in alternative dispute resolution. These grants promote negotiation research and are awarded to candidates in the social sciences and professional disciplines who are currently … Read More
Lawyers in Mediation and the Mediation Process
How does the presence of lawyers affect the process of mediation? You might guess that when one or both sides bring an attorney to a mediation, the process would become more contentious and adversarial, with impasse more likely, than if the parties worked solely with a mediator. That conventional wisdom is contradicted by new research … Read Lawyers in Mediation and the Mediation Process
Conflict Resolution: When Forgiveness Seems Elusive
In the aftermath of events ranging from the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, victims have received apologies from those who caused or perpetuated their suffering. Yet those who have been harmed are not always willing or able to forgive. In the context of business negotiations, when a counterpart apologizes … Read More
Conflict Management Skills and Techniques: The Benefits of Taking Your Dispute Public
Given the frequency with which companies air their private grievances, there must be an upside to going public, right?
In fact, there are several.
First, once you’ve threatened to take your dispute public, following through demonstrates your willingness to stand by your words.
In addition, being in the spotlight can motivate both sides to address their differences with … Read More
In Dispute Resolution, A Tale of Two Arthurs
In the business world, long-term loyalty to a CEO is supposed to be a good thing. For New England supermarket chain Market Basket, however, employees’ reverent appreciation for their former chief and co-owner, Arthur T. Demoulas, has proved to be destructive to the business in the short term, causing employee and customer protests as well … Read In Dispute Resolution, A Tale of Two Arthurs
Hong Kong Lawyer Benny Tai Inspired by Harvard Negotiation Project Authors
The Harvard Negotiation Project was recently mentioned in the Wall Street Journal by David Feith in his interview with Benny Tai, “China’s New Freedom Fighters.”
Benny Tai, a 49 year old lawyer who has been branded an “enemy of the state,” founded Occupy Central with Love and Peace, a group that promotes civil disobedience in order … Read More
The Consensus Building Institute Honors Program on Negotiation Faculty Member Lawrence Susskind with New Fellowship
The Consensus Building Institute (CBI) based in Boston, Massachusetts and in Washington, DC has honored Program on Negotiation faculty member Lawrence Susskind with its creation of a one-year graduate student fellowship that offers the successful candidate the opportunity to work with CBI in Boston or DC on an area of focus for bot CBI and … Read More
2014 Winner of the Raiffa Doctoral Student Paper Award
The Program on Negotiation has awarded Eugene B. Kogan the 2014 Howard Raiffa Doctoral Student Paper Award for his paper “Coercing Allies: Why Friends Abandon Nuclear Plans.” This paper was submitted as his thesis for the Ph.D. program at Brandeis. Mr. Kogan is currently a Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow in the International Security Program at … Read More
Umbrella Agreements, Consensus Building in the Arctic, and Negotiation in Social Enterprises: New Research from PON Fellows and Scholars
Every year the Program on Negotiation sponsors fellows and visiting scholars while they research and write about topics important to the fields of negotiation and mediation. This lunch provides an opportunity for this year’s two Graduate Research Fellows, Alexandros Sarris and Sarah Woodside, and Visiting Scholar Stefanos Mouzas to share their findings with the negotiation … Read More
Islam, Sharia and Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mechanisms for Legal Redress in the Muslim Community
Dr. Mohamed M. Keshavjee will discuss his new book, Islam, Sharia and Alternative Dispute Resolution, which provides an informed and thorough discussion of the relevance of Sharia and its principles that affirm equity, justice and basic human rights, and its interface with the UK’s official judicial system.
… Read More
Bet you didn’t know…Negotiation research you can use
As state and local governments in the United States have been stretched to the breaking point, conflicts between public-sector employers and employees have become increasingly acrimonious, often resulting in stalemates.
When governments and employee unions reach impasse, they often turn to alternative dispute-resolution practices such as mediation and arbitration. Though these practices can be successful, the … Read More
Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore Named the Great Negotiator by the Program on Negotiation and the Future of Diplomacy Project
The Program on Negotiation, an inter-university consortium of Harvard, MIT, and Tufts, and Harvard’s Future of Diplomacy Project have named Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore the recipient of the 2014 Great Negotiator Award. In public events at Harvard planned for the afternoon of Thursday, April 10, 2014 (details to be announced), participants will honor Koh’s … Read More
Register Now for the Program on Negotiation’s Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Seminar!
Test your knowledge. Sharpen your skills. Become a better negotiator.
Join fellow professionals, executives, graduate students, and community members for the Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Seminar to learn how to skillfully negotiate to create value and resolve disputes.
… Read More
Dispute Resolution Resources
For more advice on leading an ADR process in your organization, consult these books.
… Read Dispute Resolution Resources
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School: Three Decades of Scholarship and Practice
Founded in 1983, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is a pioneer in the fields of negotiation, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution.
In commemoration of the program’s 30th anniversary this year, the Program on Negotiation is proud to present a video describing many of PON’s various educational and research activities.
According to Chair Robert Mnookin, … Read More
Mediating Tragedy: Managing the Boston Victim’s Compensation Fund
In mid-May, about a month after the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, lawyer and mediator Kenneth Feinberg stood in an auditorium at the Boston Public Library to address families who had been directly impacted by the tragedy. Feinberg was in charge of administering One Fund Boston, a fund created to distribute donations to the … Read More
What If You Have to Arbitrate?
The likelihood that a provision for final-offer arbitration in the event of impasse will actually result in arbitration is slim. However, as a precaution, you and your counterpart should agree on an arbitrator before you start negotiating. It’s easier to choose an arbitrator when both sides view arbitration as an unlikely event when arbitration is … Read What If You Have to Arbitrate?
2013 Winner of the Raiffa Doctoral Student Paper Award
The Program on Negotiation has awarded Netta Barak-Corren the 2013 Howard Raiffa Doctoral Student Paper Award for her paper, co-written with Edy Glozman and Ilan Yaniv, “False Negotiations: The Art & Science of Not Reaching an Agreement.” Ms. Barak-Corren is an LLM candidate at Harvard Law School.
About the Award:
The annual prize of $1000 is awarded … Read More
HNLR Symposium Review: “Ideas and Impact: Roger Fisher’s Legacy”
On March 2, 2013, the Harvard Negotiation Law Review held their 2013 Symposium, entitled “Ideas and Impact: Roger Fisher’s Legacy.” This event celebrated Professor Fisher, co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project and the Program on Negotiation. Professor Fisher passed away last summer.
During the day-long event, distinguished panelists explored current trends and opportunities for aspiring scholars … Read More
Announcing the 2013-2014 PON Graduate Research Fellows
The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with the PON goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of … Read More
Negotiate, Don’t Litigate
When you’re thinking about resolving a dispute in court, it’s crucial to remember that the decision that will be imposed on you is binding.
If blinders lead a judge to grant a motion that should be denied, deny a motion that should be granted, assign responsibility to the wrong party, or award too much or … Read Negotiate, Don’t Litigate
Taking Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Too Far
More and more companies are inserting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clauses in their contracts with customers and vendors, and even in agreements with their own employees. ADR processes such as mediation and arbitration can be beneficial for all concerned if they help avoid the cost, delay, and uncertainty of going to court. Mediation, in particular, … Read More
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 … Read More
Harvard Negotiation Law Review Symposium Will Honor Roger Fisher
The Harvard Negotiation Law Review’s 2013 Symposium, entitled, “Ideas and Impact: Roger Fisher’s Legacy,” will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Harvard Law School in Austin North from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The full-day event will explore the contributions of the late Roger Fisher, co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project and … Read More
Israeli Settlement Withdrawal: Negotiation lessons from the past, and planning for the future
This presentation by Karen Lee Bar-Sinai and Prof. Robert Mnookin is the fourth seminar exploring the role of urban planning in negotiation, co-sponsored by the Middle East Negotiation Initiative (MENI) at the Program on Negotiation and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
… Read More
Unilateral Initiatives in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Yaakov Katz, a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and Jane’s Defence Weekly, and Prof. Robert Mnookin, the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, will discuss Unilateral Initiatives in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.
… Read More
Water Diplomacy: Using a Creative Approach
The case of Jordan and Israel shows how even countries at war can negotiate a water agreement if it is framed in non-zero sum terms and trust continues to be built over time. And that is not the only case of a treaty that has succeeded against all odds to bridge conflicting water interests; the … Read Water Diplomacy: Using a Creative Approach
Mediation, Arbitration, and the Promise of Privacy
Negotiators often choose to resolve their conflicts through mediation, arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution methods because of the privacy these methods promise. Unlike the public nature of litigation, mediation and arbitration typically give parties the freedom to hash out sensitive issues without the fear that their discussions and agreement will become public knowledge. Two … Read More
Robert Mnookin Honored by International Academy of Mediators with Lifetime Achievement Award
Program on Negotiation Chair Robert Mnookin was honored by the International Academy of Mediators with a lifetime achievement award during the organization’s fall 2012 conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
… Read More
The Program on Negotiation Mourns the Loss of Co-Founder Roger Fisher
Roger Fisher, co-founder of the Program on Negotiation and the Harvard Negotiation Project, died on August 25 at age 90. A true pioneer and leader, he helped launch a new way of thinking about negotiation, and he worked tirelessly to help people deal productively with conflict.
“Through his writing and teaching, Roger Fisher’s seminal contributions literally … Read More
2012 Program on Negotiation Fall Open House
Interested in negotiation and conflict resolution?
Come to the Program on Negotiation Open House!
The open house will begin at 6:30pm on Wednesday, October 3rd in Milstein East B in the new Wasserstein building, on the Harvard Law School campus.
Meet students and faculty interested in Alternative Dispute Resolution and learn how to get involved. Students from the … Read 2012 Program on Negotiation Fall Open House
Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program is Nominated for an Innovating Justice Award
The Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP) is nominated for an Innovating Justice Award for its proposal, “Retooling Legal Education and Dispute Systems Designers.”
… Read More
Roger Fisher Papers Open at Harvard Law School Library
Roger Fisher, one of the cofounders of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and Samuel Williston Professor of Law, Emeritus, was honored on the 8th of April with a celebration of his career, research, and contributions to both the HLS community and the field of negotiation.
… Read More
Announcing the 2012-2013 PON Graduate Research Fellows
The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with the PON goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of … Read More
Great Negotiator Award 2012
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, in conjunction with the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School, honored distinguished statesman and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III as the recipient of their Great Negotiator Award for 2012. Secretary Baker served under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1992.
A … Read Great Negotiator Award 2012