Guidelines for assignment written paper-

NEGOTIATION & ADVOCACY SKILLS NEGOTIATIONS AT THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY GUIDELINES FOR THE WRITTEN PAPER

You may choose to structure your report on the negotiating process along the following lines. The objective of this exercise is to provide a reflective and analytical account: not just a description of what happened. [Better papers will not slavishly follow these points but will include discussion of them all]. Incorporate the details of the negotiation when you are addressing the following questions, so as to explore and explain aspects of the negotiation.

1. The negotiating process

What preparation did you do? Give examples. In retrospect, what preparation should your team have done more/less of and what additional preparation would have helped your team?

How did your team develop a negotiating continuum?

In retrospect and with examples, can you explain how your negotiation progressed through the stages of negotiation outlined by Kennedy, Benson and McMillan or McGraw? (if referencing these, cite the lecture notes). How did you move from one stage to the next? Did you use and/or observe signals? What other skills were used and observed? Did your group reach a final agreement - why/why not?

2. Group interactions

How did the two teams interact? Was there a conflictual atmosphere and how was that handled? Did you feel one or other team had more power? If so, why? How was this expressed and handled? Were there any dominant or dominating personalities? What impact did they have on the group interaction and on the pace of the negotiations?

How did the structure of the negotiations, spanning two weeks, affect the process? Did the ‘feel' of the negotiation change from one session to the next? Why/why not?

What adjectives [three for each] would you use to describe the negotiation overall, the other team and individual members? Explain why they apply, and how that affected the dynamic of the negotiation.

3. Negotiating team

How did your team set its objectives and how was your negotiating strategy developed? Did your team achieve its objectives? What tactics were used: what were successful tactics and what were not? Was there a need to modify or change your negotiating strategy and if so, how was this done? Did your team caucus at any stage? What would or should you do differently next time?
Did you assign roles to team members? Why/why not? Did your team have a leader or did someone take on that role as the negotiations progressed? Would you do it differently?

What adjectives [three for each] would you use to describe your team and individual members? Explain why they apply, and how that affected the dynamic of the negotiation.

4. The report back

How did you prepare for the report back? Was this sufficient/adequate preparation? What did your team anticipate would be the reaction of members to the report back? What did you personally anticipate (this may vary from the team's anticipations)? What were the reactions of members and how did your team handle it? Why do you think they reacted as they did? Did the reaction of members cause you and your team to reconsider the way the negotiations unfolded and the outcome (or lack thereof) reached?

Any other comments

Use this section if you wish to make any other observations or to highlight aspects of the negotiation or the report back not covered in the preceding sections.