Make up blog: week of 4/16/2012

The class week of 4/16/2012 we did another group negotiation.  Prior to this negotiation we watched a short video of a negotiation between an American business man and a Asian business man.  In the video you saw how the two parties wanted very different things in terms of a relationship.  After watching the video we were given a negotiation to do in groups that dealt with each group of 2 or 3 being a different country.  This way we were able to play the role of our country and see how different countries interact.
During the negotiation I along with Taylor played the role of the American.  As the American I wanted things to get finished quickly and I obviously wanted as much control as possible.  Despite my role, I knew that from prior negotiations we were going to have to give up some things in order to gain some value.  Unfortunately going into the negotiation we saw that it was next to impossible to log roll. 
Although our group did not get along and we had to caucus a few times, in the end the Americans got what they wanted. 
This was a very fun and different negotiation.  Seeing different points of view from what different countries valued was definitely different. 

Connecticut School District Negotiation Reflection

Today in class we reviewed the results of Monday's negotiation.  Going into the negotiation it was clear that despite our interests we were probably going to have to give something up.  Being the headmaster I wanted the pool because I felt that it would save us money in the long run and give us more of a return then most other projects.  After seeing our results I realized that I was almost cheated out of what I wanted.  The trustee's in our group got everything they wanted and then some.  Our group decided to create as much value as possible by not forgoing with the large projects like the pool and the heating system, but to tackle every other project.  Which meant that everyone would get something that was of interest to them.  I left the negotiation feeling happy about the deal that we had made because we got more out of it than I was expecting even though we didn't get the pool which was my number one priority.  It was clear to me after seeing the results that the trustee's did a good job at making me feel like I was getting a good deal despite my loss.  My realization of this tactic made me realize how beneficial it is to make someone feel like they are getting a good deal even if they may not be getting as good of a deal as you are.

Make up post from Thursday

Last week we read our part of the Connecticut Valley School negotiation.  During Thursday's class we were able to meet up with our team mate and were able to strategize for the negotiation that would take place on Monday.  For this particular negotiation my partner and I played the role of the Head Master.  During our time in class we were able to agree on what interests we had and what tactics we were going to take to the negotiation table on Monday.  Our case said that we wanted the pool, the buses, and the hockey rink.  We figured since the pool consumed most of our budget that we would have to do a lot of convincing.  We would tell the other members that by providing the students with a pool we would be saving the $35,000 a year for the rental of the pool and the transportation to and from the pool.  We would also make money on the pool because we could rent it out to other teams for $15,000 a year.

During the negotiation today in class we were presented with a list of interests from the trustees.  The list included 1) the buses 2) the rink and 3) the arts building.  When presenting both sides with our argument about the pool we were shut down and told that it would be a waste of money when we would hardly get a big return.  After my partner and I agreed we let the others argue because we were pretty much promised the other two things we were interested in.  The teachers told us that they wanted the heating system, because the heating system took up most of our budget.  During our negotiation we were faced with a letter from the dean of students about campus safety and were encouraged to use some of our money for the lights.  Without hesitation everyone in the group agreed.  In the end we decided that we could make the most out of this project and make everyone happy by doing all of the different projects except the pool and the heating system.  To reassure us that our projects would eventually get done we compiled a contract that said that the heating system would take priority next year and the pool the following year.  Even though I didn't get the pool I still got two other things that I wanted and we made the most out of the money we had so it benefitted everyone.