Identifying your Case Study

For the course project, you will develop a plan to undertake a complex negotiation. You will select a negotiation scenario and have it approved by your course instructor. The negotiation may be one of the following:

• A negotiation event that you either anticipate occurring or have previously experienced (e.g., a home sale or purchase or a business partnership)
• A role (an agent or a representative) you might imagine playing in a complex negotiation being reported in the news (e.g., a hostage situation, an Internet sales tax controversy, a merger between two companies, a rezoning dispute, or a change in the favored-nation status)

A central factor in topic selection should be the five-week nature of the final project. In other words, you should select a negotiation scenario that may be adequately completed within the given timeframe. Accordingly, it might be beneficial to select a negotiation that is already started or even already completed and use the course project case study as a way to relive and reevaluate what did happen, what could have happened, and what should have happened given your growing proficiency with strategic negotiation.

Seek approval and assistance from your instructor early in Week 1 to determine whether your idea for the final project seems suitable. With or without instructor approval of your general idea early in the week, you should anticipate that feedback to the Week 1 final project might require you to substantively revise the project scenario to meet assignment expectations before proceeding with the Week 3 and Week 5 assignments, which are the major portions of the project. For example, if the project as detailed in the Week 1 paper suggests that a more complex negotiation scenario is required or that a less complex scenario would be beneficial, you should be prepared to make those adjustments before moving on to the Week 3 section of the project.

To assist you in planning for the final project, the following table provides a high-level overview of the final project deliverables during the course. Note that the Week 3 and Week 5 deliverables are major projects and will likely require research and work prior to the actual week the respective deliverables are due, to satisfactorily complete the assignments.

Week #	Course Project: Strategic Negotiation Case Study
1	Identifying your Case Study Describe the scenario for the final project case study. Evaluate a statement of purpose for the expected negotiated outcome. Identify the participants and other stakeholders in the negotiation. Analyze important research topics and resources necessary to prepare for and complete the negotiation.
3	Preparation and Information Sharing Evaluate responses to the SFQs. Create a price matrix or a similar resource matrix (if the primary issue of the negotiation is not related to price). Analyze a zone of possible agreement by projecting a price or resource matrix for the other party and integrating it with the student’s price or resource matrix. Evaluate a best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) for both parties and analyze ways to strengthen your BATNA and weaken the other party’s BATNA. Analyze the various interests for both parties, the data that emerges from the information-sharing phase of the negotiations, and how the interests and data might contribute to a collaborative outcome.
5	Problem-Solving and Resolution Analyze the bargaining process, including initial positions, distributive or integrative tactics, and the evolution of the terms of the potential agreement via negotiations. Evaluate sources of leverage available to one or both sides and how leverage was used in the negotiation. Analyze the negotiating styles of participants. Evaluate barriers to a negotiated settlement and the problem-solving skills required to overcome the barriers. Analyze the role of relationship in the negotiation and assess the level of trust evident, including factors or behaviors that contribute to the level of trust. Critique the final settlement, including an assessment of whether each party considers the outcome a “win.”

Your deliverable for Week 1 of the course project constitutes a negotiation plan overview and an initial analysis of key topics in the negotiation.

Identifying Your Case Study

Tasks:

Describing the Negotiation Scenario

• Describe the negotiation scenario. For example, if the negotiation is about a house, provide brief details about the home or the other primary resources over which the parties are negotiating.
• Include a statement of purpose for the negotiation and its expected outcome.
• Explain why this negotiation is important for you and what you hope the outcome to be.

Identifying Participants and Stakeholders

Identify all the participants and key stakeholders in the negotiation.

• Who will be directly involved in the discussions?
• Who might not be directly involved in the discussions but will have a stake in or influence on the proceedings?

Preparing for the Negotiation

Evaluate the important topics and sources needed to adequately prepare for and conduct the negotiation. For example, if you are negotiating a car purchase, a home purchase, or a merger:

• What is the important information you need to know?
• What resources will you use to gain that knowledge?

Generally, evaluation of topics and sources should include four or five resources and one or two pages of analysis.

Submission Details:

• Submit your plan in a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document.