Communication and Negotiations

The aim of the course is to equip students with the skills to identify and deal with conflicts and to resolve conflicts of interest through negotiation. To this end, students will be equipped with knowledge of effective communication, conflict management and professional negotiation. The acquired knowledge will be used by students in practical negotiation skills workshops.

In order to obtain the effect of developing students' competences related to efficient participation in negotiations, workshops will take place during the classes, consisting in conducting negotiation games. The assessment of these team games and the assessment of homework written by the students individually will be the basis for obtaining the grade.

As part of the interactive work, we will seek answers to the following questions:

• What are the sources of conflicts?

• What are the types of conflicts and the adapted methods of dealing with them?

• What are our learned patterns of dealing with conflict situations?

• What types of conflicts can be resolved through negotiation?

• What are the key competences of a good negotiator?

• On what does success in negotiation depend?

• What are the types of negotiation strategies and the consequences of their choice?

• How to shape one's negotiating position?

• How to prepare effectively for negotiations?

• How to effectively conduct negotiations in their different phases?

• How to effectively argue and skillfully give in?

• How to use verbal, non-verbal and paraverbal communication in negotiations?

• How to create negotiation teams?

• How to manage relationships with negotiating partners?

Key issues making up the program of activities:

1. Barriers and methods of effective communication

2. Sources of conflict and methods of conflict management

3. Communication and negotiation competences

4. Creating and implementing negotiation strategies

5. Negotiation in the workplace and in professional contacts

Forms of conducting classes:

The program of the course will be implemented in an interactive formula, based on conversation classes, analysis of case studies and individual and group practical exercises(scenario-based negotiations) to improve the communication and conflict resolution competence.

William Ury, Getting to Yes with Yourself: How to Get What You Truly Want, HarperCollins 2016

Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton, Getting to Yes. Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Random House Business Books 2012

Additional:

Roger Fisher, Daniel Shapiro, Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate, Random House Business Books 2006

Steve Gates, The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide to Successful Negotiating, 2nd Edition, Wiley 2015

Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman, Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond, Harvard Business School 2008

Michele J. Gelfand, Jeanne M. Brett (ed.), The Handbook of Negotiation and Culture, Stanford Business Books 2004

Robert Cialdini, Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion, William Morrow & Co. 1984

Knowledge:

As a result of the learning process, the student:

• can define the causes and types of conflicts,

• knows methods of conflict solving,

• understands the differences between styles of conflict solving,

• knows the characteristics of negotiation as a method of conflict solving,

• is able to characterize the phases of negotiation process,

• knows what are the competences of a good negotiator

• knows how to list and describe types of negotiation strategies

• knows what are the roles in a negotiation team,

• knows what are the principles of preparing for and conducting negotiations.

Skills:

Upon completion of the course the student:

• Can identify types of conflict,

• Is able to identify his/her style of conflict resolution,

• Has the ability to create and implement simple negotiation strategies,

• Is able to collaborate with other members of the negotiation team,

• Is able to use verbal, non-verbal and paraverbal communication in the negotiation process,

• Is able to analyze conducted negotiations in terms of the effectiveness of implemented solutions.

Social competences

At the end of the course the student:

• Understands the social responsibility related to communication and conflict resolution through negotiation,

• Is able to self-assess his/her competences and improve his/her negotiation skills,

• Is able to define priorities in order to achieve the goals of negotiation,

• Is able to cooperate in a group as well as to analyze the course of negotiation processes independently,

• Understands the idea of lifelong development of one's communicative competences,

• Understands the idea of a lifelong development of his/her communication and negotiation competences, He/she develops skills and knows how to plan his/her further development in the field of communication and negotiation competences.

The final grade is the arithmetic average of grades for written homeworks (2) and final test.