MG209: Bargaining and Negotiation: Interests, Information, Strategy and Power

Course Content

Negotiating skills are crucial to both our professional and personal lives. We negotiate every day about issues as important as employment contracts and as trivial as which film to see with a friend. Although some level of natural ability is important, like any other skill, one's ability to perform in negotiation is also determined by one’s formal training and experience/practice.

Note: This course is for beginners who have minimal previous experience in negotiation and have not taken any courses in negotiation. If you are already familiar with negotiation and negotiation theory, please consider taking MG300 instead.

MG209 will develop students’ skills through both formal training and practice. Specifically, this course will introduce students to the strategic, psychological, and cultural aspects of negotiations as well as practical tips gleaned from negotiation research. 

This intensive three-week course covers;

• Distributive negotiation
• Preparing for a negotiation
• Integrative negotiation
• Negotiation styles
• Ethics, trust, and building a relationship
• Communication in negotiations: Verbal, nonverbal, and computer-mediated
• Emotions in negotiations
• Power and Influence
• Creativity and problem solving
• Culture in negotiations
• Behaviours of skilled negotiators

Course Outcomes

Reflecting the pedagogical approach of the LSE, particular attention will be paid to developing your understanding of when and why particular techniques are effective so that they can be applied appropriately to all kinds of negotiation situations. You will also; 

• Learn concrete steps to help conduct effective negotiations
• Gain the opportunity to put theory into practice, by participating in, reflecting on, and receiving feedback about a variety of negotiation situations from two-party transactional negotiations to multi-party multi-issue negotiations
• Develop a personal development plan to aid your continuous improvement as a negotiator through reflecting on your own personal strengths and weaknesses.

Texts*

Thompson, L. L. (2012). The mind and heart of the negotiator (5^th ed.). Prentice Hall.

*A more detailed reading list will be supplied prior to the start of the programme

**Course content, faculty and dates may be subject to change without prior notice