CP6760 - Negotiation, Facilitation, and Conflict Management

Course Description

All too often, we unnecessarily aggravate conflict between ourselves and others by how we manage our differences and communicate our concerns. Mismanagement of negotiations, joint problem solving and other forms of interaction blocks attainment of both personal and professional goals. While disputes are inevitable, they need not be destructive. Negotiation, Facilitation and Conflict Management offers practical instruction on techniques of negotiation and the theory and practice of consensus building and conflict management. Working with both case studies and training exercises, the course focuses on the sources of conflict and approaches to resolving differences. The course further emphasizes the management of organizational, public policy and other forms of multi-party and multi-issue conflicts.

Lecture Topics

I. Conflict and Its Management

    1.   Overview of the Course. Mapping the Field. Alternative Dispute Resolution

          Techniques and Their Application.

    2.   Characteristics of Negotiation.

    3.   Sources of and Responses to Conflict.

    4.   Creating and Claiming Value.

    5.   Structural Differences between Dyadic and Multi-Party Negotiations.

II. The Anatomy of a Negotiation

    6.   Incentives to Negotiate.

    7.   Negotiation Styles.

    8.   Positions and Interests.

    9.   Collaborative Problem-Solving: New Technologies.

    10. Power and Communication.

    11. Strategies and Tactics.

III. Techniques for Planning and Conducting Negotiations

    12. Planning the Negotiation.

    13. Organizing the Negotiation.

    14. Drafting and Implementing Agreements.

IV. Resolving Multi-Party Conflicts in Practice

    15. Dispute Resolution in Multi-Party Disputes.

    16. Running Meetigs: Types of Meetings; Objectives; Agendas; Timing

    17. Running Meetings: Active Facilitation Skills

    18. Mediation in Multi-Party Disputes