S. Negotiation Workshop - International Negotiations

The Negotiation Workshop provides students with a hands-on introduction to the theory and practice of negotiation through weekly role-playing exercises, games, and classroom discussion. The course will consider such topics as integrative and distributive bargaining; developing and deflecting bargaining power; barriers to agreement and ways to overcome them; negotiation ethics; listening, communication, and persuasion skills; representing clients in negotiations; and the role of culture, gender, and race in negotiation.

Students will be expected to prepare for and take part in every role play exercise; to absorb and apply the readings in those simulated negotiations (and in at least one "real-life" negotiation); and to keep a weekly journal analyzing their negotiation experiences. The journal is shared with the professor, who will provide students with weekly feedback on their negotiation performance and, more importantly, their self-critique of that performance. During the course, students will participate in at least one video-recorded negotiation to be reviewed with their professor. The final project is a 90-minute one-on-one negotiation, also video-recorded, which the students will analyze in a 12 to 15-page memorandum.

Because this is a small class that emphasizes experiential learning, with students regularly working in pairs and groups, class attendance is mandatory. But unlike the old saw that half of life is just showing up, just showing up for this class isn't enough. Full-hearted (and full-minded) participation is necessary so that the exercises and simulations feel real, and the learning experience is maximized for all. If you anticipate that conflicting commitments will cause you to miss more than one class session or prevent you from being fully prepared for your simulated negotiation roles, you should take the course during a different term when you will not have such conflicts.

SPECIAL REGISTRATION / WAITLIST PROCEDURE:

Registered students must attend the first class in its entirety, or obtain advance permission to be absent, in order to hold their place on the roster. If you are unable to attend the first class meeting due to extenuating circumstances, please contact your professor beforehand to prevent your place from being given to someone else.

Waitlisted students are strongly encouraged to attend the first class, and are required to attend or obtain advance permission to be absent in order to hold their place in line. In past semesters, we have been able to admit all waitlisted students who attended the first class session, so long as they were flexible about which section to take.


CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

Note: In order to preserve an environment conducive to free and open academic inquiry, recording the class will not be permitted without mutual approval of instructor and students, and all participants will be expected to maintain the confidentiality of class discussion. Specifically, participants may freely use and disseminate ideas and perspectives expressed in class, but no comment may be attributed to a specific individual or linked to any participant's identity or affiliation, except with that participant's express permission or as required by Columbia University policy or applicable law.

Students who would otherwise have requested class recordings for purposes of accommodating religious observance, disability, health or family emergency, or other comparable circumstances, are invited to reach out to the Office of Student Services, who will collaborate with the instructor and affected students to develop an appropriate substitute accommodation.