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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
Course Syllabus Fall 2014
MANAGING DIFFERENCES:
RESOLVING CONFLICT & NEGOTIATING AGREEMENTS
PUAF 752
Monday
4:15 – 6:45 P.M.
1101 Van Munching Hall
Faculty:
Charles G. Field, Ph.D.
COURSE ABSTRACT
This course is designed to enhance the student’s negotiation and leadership skills for managing differences between individuals and groups. The students will study the nature of conflict, learn how to handle two and multiparty conflicts. The course will be a blend of skill building exercises and theory discussions about the behavior of individuals to understand the negotiation dynamics.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (1991). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14 01.5735-2
Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (1999, rev. 2010). Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-14-311844-2
Ury, W. (1991, 1993). Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-37131-4
Cases are from the Harvard Negotiation Program and some reproduced articles will be provided in class. Each student will be charged approximately $25-$30 for the cases which covers royalties and shipping costs. Students who might have financial difficulties should notify the instructor at the beginning of the course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Students who complete the course successfully will:
q learn the essential elements of interest-based negotiation as related to psychological dimensions of group behavior
q apply learning about negotiation to experiential exercises and simulations
q use the foundation of experiential learning for the analysis of conflicts and the development of strategies for negotiation
q demonstrate mastery and synthesis of negotiation concepts through performance on writing assignments and examinations
q apply comprehensive course learning to contexts outside the classroom, ranging from the personal to the global
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. Any suspicion on the part of your instructor will result in your immediate referral to the University’s Student Honor Council for investigation. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that may result in suspension or expulsion from the University. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Please contact the instructors of this course as soon as possible if you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations.
COURSE OUTLINE
Session Date Description
1 9/8 Introduction to the course. An exercise will be conduct to explore
our negotiating tendencies. The oil pricing exercise is intended to highlight tendencies we have when we negotiate and these tendencies will then serve as a baseline from which the class will explore better approaches to negotiation and conflict management.
Exercise: Oil Pricing
Readings Due: Begin “Getting to Yes” To be completed by 9/29
2 9/15 Negotiation Concepts. Oil pricing debrief continued. This session will then focus on the different conceptual and methodological approaches used in the course. Students will have the opportunity to identify their own negotiation style(s).
Exercise: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Readings Due: *Pruitt, D.G. & Kim (handout)
Overview & Strategic Choice
Reflection Paper #1 Due
3 9/22 A Basic Framework. Students will conduct a two-party
negotiation exercise with an emphasis on a framework for understanding the negotiation situation and gaining greater personal control over that situation. Students will conduct a structured preparation for negotiation, be a participant in a
one-on-one negotiation, and debrief the experience.
Exercise: Sally Soprano
Readings Due: Getting to Yes
4 9/29 The Role of Relationship in Negotiations. This class will investigate the nature of relationships and importance of empathy. Students conduct a two-party negotiation exercise with an
emphasis on the role of relationships between parties.
Exercise: Powerscreen
5 10/6 Completion of Powerscreen Exercise Class will negotiate
Powerscreen exercise and conduct a debriefing of the results. Use of choice charts to shift decisions will be explored.
.
Readings Due: Start Getting Past No
Reflection Paper #2 Due
6 10/13 Analytical tools for more systematic thinking about negotiation
situations. Tools to be used include 4-quadrant analysis to establish a comprehensive logic for analyzing negotiation issues. The logic includes a description of the situation and a vision of how it should be; the explanations of why things are the way they are and the gap that separates the current from the preferred situation; general approaches for addressing the explanations; and specific actions to take. This logic will be applied to a current public policy situation. The class will also explore the importance of empathy in negotiations
Exercise: Role Reversal; Circle Chart Analysis
Readings Due: Review Getting to Yes: pp 66-70.
7 10/20 Dealing with Difficult Situations
How do you deal with difficult situations and difficult negotiators? This session will explore these issues and have the participants apply techniques to their own most difficult negotiation problems to analyze both the practical and theoretical aspects of the situation.
Readings Due: Finish Getting Past No
8 10/27 Dealing with Difficult Conversations The students will explore the
various intra- and inter-personal dynamics that lie at the heart of many difficult negotiations. Attention will be given to three conversations. Additionally, class members will be assigned roles and have a briefing on the subject matter. Roles for the conflict to be negotiated in class sessions 14 and 15 will be assigned.
Exercises: Intrapersonal Exploration, adapted from Alice Miller.
Casino
Readings Due: Difficult Conversations
9 11/3 Application Exercise The students will apply the various concepts to the Cuban Missile Crisis episode between the U.S, U.S.S.R. and
Cuba. Preparation outside of class is expected.
10 11/10 Introduction to multiparty negotiations. The students will
participate in an exercise to baseline their approach to multiparty negotiations. This exercise will broaden the student’s understanding of the complexity of multiparty situations. The session will also cover guidelines for conducting a multiparty negotiation and an introduction to facilitation skills.
Exercise: Coalition Exercise
Principled-Negotiation Analysis Due
11 11/17 Multiparty negotiations continued. The students will participate in
a multiparty negotiation. Emphasis will be on meeting design,
process design and relationship mapping.
Exercise: Harborco
12 11/24 Analyzing a current multiparty international conflict. During this session, the students will be briefed by an expert on the major class
negotiation exercise (Ambassador Philip Wilcox, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, has been invited). The class exercise centers on the current crisis. Ambassador Wilcox will give an overview of the conflict to the whole class and then meet separately with each party (of which there will be six) to respond to specific questions.
13 12/1 Class Negotiation Class negotiation of the international conflict.
14 12/8 Class Negotiation Continuation and completion of international
conflict negotiation. Assessment of Multiparty Negotiation and
course closure.
Integrated Analysis Due
ASSIGNMENTS & EVALUATION
Assignments: Each of the following will be detailed later in the course.
Case Exercises. Students will be assigned roles to negotiate during the course of the term. In all cases, you are to place yourself into the role, but conduct yourself as though it was you in that role. These exercises are not an opportunity to be an actor. However, they do represent opportunities for you to experiment with your negotiating style. As a general rule, if you have a question about the role ask yourself: what would I do if this situation were real? It is expected that you will incorporate what you learn in class into the exercises. .
Reflection Papers (1-2 pages)
DUE: 9/15, 10/6
The week following key exercises completed in class, students are to hand in a paper reflecting personal learning about your own negotiation style. Each paper is also to make reference to relevant concepts from lectures that were applied in the exercise. A reflection paper is not a recitation of what happened; rather, it is an analysis of what you learned about yourself as a consequence of the class experience. For example, if you were anxious or angry about the particular negotiating experience, you might ask these kinds of questions. “Why” were you anxious or angry? Was this a unique experience or have you experienced it in other, earlier negotiating experiences? What impact does this have on the quality of negotiated outcomes? What steps might you take to ameliorate this pattern? While not formally graded, you will receive comments about your reflections. Papers will receive a grade of “Well done,” “Satisfactory,” or “Needs Improvement.” .” The first paper will be treated as advisory so as to provide feedback on the nature of this analysis. If it is given a “well done” that grade will be included in the grading. The second reflection paper will be graded for credit.
Principled-Negotiation Analysis (5-7 pages)
DUE: 11/10 Students are to demonstrate mastery of interest-based
(principled) negotiation by completing an analysis of a two-party conflict. The paper must use all nine elements and detail the type(s) of conflict strategies present. You may write on a topic that is personal to you or a public policy matter. It should be one about which you have a good understanding. The topic may be one you have studied in another course. The topic may be a negotiation that has already been completed or one that is still in progress. If it is a completed negotiation, it must be one which could have been significantly improved had concepts covered in the course been used.
The purpose of the paper is to apply course concepts. Sound analysis requires a realistic understanding of the situation so making up facts is not acceptable. The paper must demonstrate the capacity to step back from the conflict, analyze the situation from all perspectives and then draw some conclusions. A justification for one’s point of view is not an acceptable analysis. Appropriate citation to sources of facts and attributed views is expected. Be sure to edit your paper.
Integrated Analysis Paper (15-20 pages)
DUE: 12/8
Students are to demonstrate mastery of all major course concepts through the analysis of a multi-party conflict/negotiation. You may select a significant public policy issue about which you have some knowledge either because of personal interest or study in another course. The paper must reflect a synthesis of concepts in the analysis. A paper to receive a B must demonstrate proficiency in use of the nine elements, process considerations and difficult conversations. A higher grade will be earned by demonstrating a proficiency in the use of other frameworks covered in class: e.g. circle chart analysis, negotiation styles, handling difficult situations and multiparty process. A superior paper reflects an integration of these frameworks. If a topic is chosen that has already been resolved (successfully or not), the student must critique what happened and how the conflict could have been handled differently to produce a better result. If the negotiation has been completed, it should be one where significant improvements could have been achieved using concepts covered in class.
You need to know enough the facts surrounding the situation to write a good analysis. Conjecture about the situation or inventing the facts are not acceptable. Sound negotiation assessment requires a grasp of real facts and circumstances. Be sure to edit your paper.
Submission of Papers You are to submit a hard copy of your papers on the day they are due and email a copy to Dr. Charles Field at .
Readings You are responsible for having the readings done in time for the classes as listed.
PARTICIPATION:
It is important that you attend all classes. The class is highly interactive with most of the learning built into the exercises and analysis of their results. You will be assigned paired and team negotiations. Therefore other students will be relying on your participation. A great deal of learning occurs in the discussions and exchanges in class. So you are encouraged to actively participate.
Personal Journal. As part of class discussion/participation, each student is to keep a personal journal which is intended to make explicit insights you glean from each week’s class, apply those insights to some situation (work or personal) and evaluated the results with a classmate in class. You will be given time each week at the end of the class to make entries in your journal which cover:
1. What I experienced in class that was particularly striking to me.
2. How that experience contrasted to my own behavior or was consistent with it.
3. What insights about negotiation/dealing with others did I glean from this experience?
During the week you are expected to take a situation which can be either work or personal in nature where you can have the opportunity to apply the insights gleaned from 1-3 above. Remember that this is a learning opportunity. The goal is not to get it perfectly right. Rather, the goal is to engage using the knowledge gained from class to see what worked and what is difficult.
4. Describe the application experience. What worked and what might you have done differently.
At the beginning of each class you will pair up with a class member and share your experience which gives you an opportunity to reflect about what happened. If you are listening to what a classmate has experienced, this is an opportunity for you to be a good listener, ask good questions for clarification and perhaps do some active coaching. This is not, however, an exercise where you are expected to solve your classmate’s situation.
EVALUATION:
All assignments are graded on an “A” to “F” basis, with the exception of the reflection papers. “A” work is considered superior performance in the course, measured by:
q technical mastery of key concepts
q consistent demonstration of critical thinking
q effective synthesis of materials
q quality of writing assignments, especially in terms of clarity of content and absence of grammatical errors
q capacity to apply learning in analysis and practice
q reflection and growth in personal learning
q effectiveness of classroom participation
Each assignment is given the following value towards the final grade:
Reflection Papers 10%
Principled- Negotiation Paper 25%
Integrated Analysis Paper 50%
Participation 15%
Late assignments will be accepted with prior permission from the instructor(s). Absent such permission, a penalty of as much as one full letter grade will be deducted from late assignments.
A grade of incomplete will be granted ONLY in cases of illness or personal emergency. A contract with the instructor is required.