Master 2019/2020

Negotiations and Communications

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'

Type: Compulsory course (Global Business)

Area of studies: Management

Delivered by: Faculty of Management (Nizhny Novgorod)

Where: Faculty of Management (Nizhny Novgorod)

When: 2 year, 1 module

Mode of studies: distance learning

Instructors: Elena V. Zinchak

Master’s programme: Global Business

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is aimed at those wishing to master the art (and science) of communications and negotiations. The course is built on students conducting actual negotiations/presentations or public talks in every session, and using the negotiation and/or communication experience for group discussion and individual feedback.

Learning Objectives

• The aim of this course is to give a comprehensive outlook of the negotiations and communications coupled with practical application of the knowledge and skills acquired.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Matches the level of speech energy to the communication situation, analyzes the main parameters of the orator, makes use of verbal improvisation techniques, creates effective ppt presentations
• identify the main negotiation principles, recognize negotiation types, stages, elements of negotiation setup, strategies, and tactics
• distinguishes between the types of culture and their respective features, recommends strategies for dealing with representatives of different cultures

Course Contents

• Main communication skills. Public speaking and effective presentations
  Importance of communication skills. Different forms of presentation (spoken, multimedia, power point, ad hoc and short, well planned and long). Energy of the speech, the speech energy scale. Speaking techniques and their parameters. The orator’s posture, hand gestures, moving in space. Self-confidence, techniques to decrease emotional tension. Acting skills. Verbal improvisation. Working with difficult audience. Eye contact. Covering blind spots. Managing discussion by asking questions. Tips on how to deliver effective ppt presentations (assembling, preparing, delivering).
• Multi-party negotiations, coalitions and teams
  Analyzing multiparty negotiations. Multiparty negotiations: key challenges and strategies. Key challenges of coalitions. Strategies for maximizing coalitional effectiveness. Principal-agent negotiations. Constituent negotiations. Team negotiations: challenges and strategies for improving team effectiveness (structural intervention, adaptation, managerial intervention, exit). Inter and intra- group negotiations. Team negotiations: task conflict, procedural conflict.
• Essentials of negotiations
  Negotiation basic terms: defining the language and conceptual frameworks to develop strategy for deal making negotiations, conflict management, dispute resolution, third party negotiations, multiparty and team negotiations. Negotiation basic principles. Most prominent negotiation study centers in Russia and abroad. Negotiation traps, reasons for inefficiency. Negotiation myths.
• Distributive negotiations
  Strategies for slicing the pie. Common myths about pie-slicing in negotiations. Wise pie-slicing.
• Integrative negotiations
  Pie-expanding strategies: bridging, cost cutting, non-specific compensation, structuring contingencies. Testing one’s own creativity. Fractionating problems into solvable parts. Finding differences: issue alignment and realignment. Threats to effective problem-solving and creativity (the inert knowledge problem, availability heuristic, representativeness, anchoring the adjustment, etc). The posturing strategy, the persuasion strategy.
• Cross-cultural negotiations
  Importance of culture in negotiations. Ways in which culture affects negotiators’ positions, interests, and strategies. Cultural stereotypes vs cultural prototypes. Introducing the circle chart: A Negotiation Framework for Problem-Solving in Tough Communication Environments. Hall’s concept of high and low context communications. Three culture framework (dignity cultures, face cultures, honor cultures).

Assessment Elements

• Class participation
• Essay
• Home assignment

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (1 module)
  0.6 * Class participation + 0.2 * Essay + 0.2 * Home assignment

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Thompson, L. L. (2015). The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Global Edition (Vol. Sixth edition, global edition). Boston: Pearson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=1419288

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Brett, J. M. (2014). Negotiating Globally : How to Negotiate Deals, Resolve Disputes, and Make Decisions Across Cultural Boundaries (Vol. Third edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=716710
• Swaab, R. I., Postmes, T., Neijens, P., Kiers, M. H., & Dumay, A. C. M. (2002). Multiparty Negotiation Support: The Role of Visualization’s Influence on the Development of Shared Mental Models. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(1), 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2002.11045708