Law Books Case

General: What happened; what was the outcome; were you successful or not; why and why not;
In general, the negotiation was successful. We agreed on a price that was within our ZOPA.
· who was satisfied (answer this before comparing walkaways or comparing information);
We were both satisfied, but I think I could have done better.
· did either violate his/her walkaway; if so, why?
No.
· if there was a gap in walkaways, how did you bridge (or try) the gap
· did we get near the “Pareto Frontier?” or …did we “leave money on the table”…where are we on the graph?
· was there anything that surprised you about the negotiation.
Nothing was too surprising, I just feel like I was willing to cooperate a little too soon. I should have focused more on my goal than my walkaway
Negotiation Process: What was the process of negotiation- opening offers, sequences of offers, counteroffers, anchoring, initial offer, counteroffers? Did the other side start really high/low?
I started off at $1000 and he countered at about $30,000. Both were pretty extreme.
What effect did this have on the negotiation?
I think the large gap slowed the negotiation down because we were so far apart.
A test: was my negotiation effective? (some of these may not apply in a particular exercise)
Score yourself from 1=poor to 5=excellent
4__ Planning and Strategy: did I have a strategy; was my walkaway right; did I estimate the other’s well?
_4__Did I establish my own priorities and potential trade-offs
_4__First approach: were we win-win, positive; try to establish rapport; did I deal with first offers effectively?
__3_How well did I develop a plan for managing the process of negotiation?
__3_Did I actively shape the agenda and manage the process to my advantage?
__4_How well did I try understand the other person:
_5__Exploring Interests: did I communicate my interests;
__4_Persuasion: How well did I persuade the other side about my legitimate needs and limits and the value of what I offered
__4_The Other's Interests did I find out the other side's real interests and constraints
_4__Creating Value (integrative or win-win) vs Claiming Value (distributive or win-lose)
__4_Options: Did we explore "expand the pie" options: did we try to find ways of meeting each party’s needs
__4_Inquiry vs. advocacy: did I ask (inquiry) a lot of questions, or just advocate my position
__4_Alternatives: Was I clear on my BATNA; was I clear about what happens if there is no agreement
__4_Legitimacy: was the agreement considered fair by some external benchmark
__5_Commitments: did the agreement avoid problems in the future; were any “strings left untied?”
__4_Communication: did we practice effective two way communication…did we listen…did we rephrase…
__5_Focus on the problem, not the person: did we avoid attacking or threatening the other person
__4_Relationship: did we deal well with differences; is our relationship better off now than before
__5_Psychological factors: did outside factors (eg. emotions) affect the outcome (their efforts or ours)
__4_Did we reach an outcome that maximized potential mutual gains; did we come close to the "Pareto Frontier?"
__4_Other factors: did anything else affect the negotiation-physical space, time pressure, etc.


Did we use the Techniques of Principled Negotiation: (did the other party?)…If not, what blocked it?
· listen, be warm and friendly; avoid quarreling; ask questions, ask questions, ask questions, ask clarification, rephrase
We asked a lot of questions, but I think we spent too much time trying to justify our values. I wish I would have asked more questions.
· be open to persuasion
Somewhat.
· be principled (“You want to pay….I need …Can you think of ways that is fairer than splitting
· turn the interaction from adversarial haggling into side-b-side solving of the problem of what is fair.
We were somewhere in between the two.

For Yourself: General Conclusion: In areas where you felt you were less than totally successful, how might you be more effective next time. From this exercise, what did you learn that you are going to try to do better next time you negotiate;
· What were keys to the negotiation being successful or unsuccessful
We remained friendly.
· What would you do differently if you were to do this same negotiation again
I think I trusted him too much when he was bluffing. I would have acted a little tougher or tried to call his bluff.
· what did you learn about yourself? About negotiations What tendencies do you have in negotiation that you need to be careful about (too aggressive, too likely to quit searching for solutions once your; What do you feel you need to work on? What would you do differently next time?
I think I played it too safe. I should have been a little riskier. I think I am naturally a cooperative person, and I thought he would be too, but I realized that he is more competitive than I thought.
· What did you learn in general?If this were a real case, what obstacles to joint problem-solving might you encounter; how would you overcome them?
I think we could have come to an agreement faster if this was a real case. The stakes really weren't that high. This was just books, and I think we would have valued a relationship much more than the books that were at stake.