Introduction to Negotiations

Description

We all negotiate every day. And even though negotiations are an integral part of our lives, techniques for managing these situations are not instinctive; they must be learned. Experienced negotiators make a conscious decision about what type of negotiation strategy to use based on a number of factors such as the importance of the relationship and the importance of what is at stake. Understanding key concepts such as the "best alternative to no agreement", reservation price, and the "zone of possible agreement" can help you conduct a successful negotiation. And since power is a fundamental dynamic in negotiations, it is important for negotiators to have a basic understanding of ways they can exert and also gain power in a discussion. This course should be an essential part of any basic business and management training.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course participants will be able to:

• Define what negotiation is
• Explain the differences between principled negotiation, distributive negotiation, integrative negotiation and mixed motive negotiation
• Discuss what BATNA is and why it is important within the context of a negotiation
• Describe the concepts of reservation price and ZOPA, as well as how they relate to one another in a negotiation
• Describe the steps that should be taken to plan for a negotiation
• Explain the ways that power can be used in a negotiation, and how power can be gained from different sources
• Identify different behaviors which can pose challenges to a negotiation and may cause impasses
• Apply the concepts of negotiation to two real-world scenarios

Intended Audience

This course is targeted to individuals who meet or exceed the following professional demographics:  

• Entry-level public procurement and central warehouse professionals who serve as assistants, coordinators, buyers, or equivalent functions within their respective entities.   

• Non-procurement managers and supervisors who are responsible for either the procurement function or staff who provide procurement functions under delegated authority.   

• Professionals who are employed by governing entities and special authorities (such as K-12 and higher education, publicly-owned utilities, transportation providers, and other publicly-funded or created organizations) that either serve within or manage the procurement function.  

• Suppliers or representatives of suppliers seeking to understand the public procurement function from a holistic level, including the policies, standards, and procedures by which public entities must function.