Negotiation and Conflict Management in Organizations

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Adapt your negotiation and conflict management skills building on your own personal strengths and weaknesses
• Control the negotiation process more effectively by developing an in-depth understand of the key elements of the process
• Improve your confidence to better deal with difficult negotiators and achieve collaborative value adding results
• Expand your range of available negotiating strategies and tactics and your ability to use them effectively
• Plan easily and effectively for every negotiation using a highly effective strategic preparation template
• Mediate your own disputes and negotiations and become a more skilled and effective negotiator and conflict manager

Course outline

Breaking Down the Negotiation Process

• The Fundamental Requirements of Negotiation
• Power Dispersal and the Development of Negotiation Theory
• Causes of Organizational Conflict
• Conflict Escalation and Steps to Prevent It
• Managing Conflict –The Five Primary Strategies
• The Dichotomy of Negotiation – Competing and Cooperating
• Gaining Personal Insight - Negotiation Style Assessment
• Negotiation as a Mixed Motive Process

Implementing Practical Negotiation Strategies

• Effective Practical Negotiation Strategies
• Competitive Value Claiming Negotiation Strategies – Cutting the Pie
• BATNA, Reserve Point, Target Point
• Opening Offers, Anchors, Concessions
• Cooperative Value Creating Negotiation Strategies – Baking a Bigger Pie
• Identify Interests, Information, Diagnostic Questions & Unbundling Issues
• Package Deals, Multiple Offers and Post-settlement Settlements
• Categorizing Negotiation Outcomes

Preparation Templates, Sources of Power & Key Mediation Techniques

• Preparation Template - Planning to Negotiate
• Internal & External Preparation, Synthesis and Situation Assessment
• Identifying and Leveraging Negotiating Power
• Mediation in Context – Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Litigation
• Mediation as a Facilitated Negotiation
• Practical Mediation Techniques to Resolve Disputes
• Dealing with Confrontational Negotiators

Communicating to Maximize Negotiation Effectiveness

• Communication Style – Packaging Information for Maximum Influence
• Active Listening Skills in Negotiation
• Communicating through Body Language
• Interpreting Body Language and Nonverbal Behavior
• Communicating within Negotiation Teams
• Improving Negotiation Team Performance
• Ethics and Negotiation

International and Cross Cultural Complexities

• What is culture and how does it affect negotiating norms?
• Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Advice for Cross Cultural Negotiations
• Unique Features of International Agreements
• Building a Deal – What to Remember?
• Applying Learning to a Range of Organizational Situations
• Summary – Building a Better Negotiating Organization