Dr Karin King and Dr Aurelie Cnop

This course is available on the CEMS Exchange, Global MSc in Management, Global MSc in Management (CEMS MiM), Global MSc in Management (MBA Exchange), MBA Exchange, MRes/PhD in Management (Employment Relations and Human Resources), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Human Resource Management/CIPD), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour), MSc in Management (1 Year Programme), MSc in Management and Strategy and MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course highlights the importance of power, tactics, strategy, information and trust in shaping the structure and outcomes of negotiations.  It covers basic negotiation concepts such as distributive and integrative bargaining, sometimes called pie-slicing and pie-expanding approaches, two-party and multi-party negotiation, dispute resolution, as well as more advanced issues such as the impact of culture and the psychology of judgement and decision-making. Students will engage in weekly negotiation simulation exercises to help them understand the concepts and develop their negotiating skills.

30 hours of seminars in the LT.

These comprise ten weekly 3-hour sessions in which the negotiation exercises are presented, undertaken and outcomes discussed. As part of the preparation, along with readings, you will be expected to follow a pre-recorded lecture (approx. 50 minutes), and you are encouraged to follow it in small ‘buddy groups’ with 2-4 of your fellow students in order to consider certain discussion questions which are provided in order to strengthen your understanding of key concepts as the lecture progresses.



Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Students will compile a weekly learning log reflecting on your experience in the negotiation exercises and linking that to the concepts and theories in the literature and lectures. Formative feedback is provided on class participation.

The learning log: the first three weeks of the term will be formative, and of the remaining 7, summative assessment will take the best 4 logs. How to complete the log will be explained in Week 1, and on Moodle.

Students will also complete a mid-term formative essay.

The main texts, covering most of the material in the course include: Thompson, Leigh, The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, 6th edn, Pearson, Harlow, 2015, and Lewicki, Roy, et al. (2020) Negotiation, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill, NY. The following are also useful: Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Penguin Books, New York, 2012; Ken Binmore, Game theory: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007; and Andrew M. Colman, Game Theory and its Application to the Social and Biological Sciences. Routledge, Hove, 1999. Students will be expected to read widely in appropriate journals, and a list of references will be provided at the start of the course.

Essay (75%, 2000 words) in the ST.
Learning log (25%) in the LT.

Essay (75%, 2000 words) and Learning Log (25%) in the LT.

This course utilises continuous assessment. Students are required to complete a Learning Log for each weekly negotiation session. In Weeks 1, 2 and 3, the logs are formative and will not count towards the overall grade. Those for Weeks 4-11 are a required part of the course and count towards the final assessment.



Students will receive an overall mark for the learning logs based on their four highest scores. Those who submit less than four logs will receive a mark of 0 for each missed assessment. Those who fail to submit any learning logs will be deemed not to have completed the course and cannot be awarded the degree until they submit the work at resit. All marks for the Learning Logs will be scaled proportionately.



Deadlines are strictly enforced and late submissions will not be accepted.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.