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 Post subject: Negotiation skills?
 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:15 pm 
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Greetings, fellow forum dwellers! Would you like to practice your negotiation skills? Or help me with my homework? Or even both? Read on...

My homework is to prepare a "study case" in negotiation skills. One of the requirements is to test it with several pairs of people to gather information about "regular" behaviour. Incidentally, the case is about negotiation and includes a negotiation simulation where two sides should (in the best case) reach a decision which is best for both parties involved. And this is where you can learn, since there are no areas of our lives that are devoid of any negotiation...

The case description is on my website: http://www.maxvt.com/lj/SN_vs_HS.doc. You're welcome to read it and comment, or try the simulation out, maybe learn something new and tell me about results -- here or by message or by e-mail.

Thanks a lot!

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 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:54 pm 
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Aww, I was hoping this was things like police negotiation and interrogating captured prisoners. When I read the description, my reaction was "Hmm, maybe it would be simpler to eliminate certain key personnel in the competing company".

I'll take a look at that document and post here any observations if I run through the exercise.

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 Post Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 1:18 pm 
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I guess this isn't a buisiness class because, man, your test case sounds like illegal cartel behavior in most regulated economies I know about. Maybe not ... but it at least skirts the edge.

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 Post Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 4:38 pm 
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Huh. Looks kinda like a souped-up version of the prisoner's dilemma. If one supermarket opts for trying to screw the other one over, then they lose too, since there's almost no way to make the target revenue if both competitors focus on competition over cooperation for mutual gain (which I'm sure is the point of the exercise.)

The "bonus" target of 155 is reachable for both competitors if they take turns with channel choices of 50/30 one week, then 30/50 the next week. The only trick is trying to maneuver your partner into one of those slots in the first week, then taking turns after. You both win, as well as get a good grade.

BTW, I think there's one flaw in this experiment- virtually the only way to win is with cooperation. I think that if it was less obvious, that it was easier to win with backstabbing and being a bastard (or if a higher score that way was possible), then it would be more fun, as well as more of a challenge.

...Just mah 2 pennies.

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:24 am 
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Heh...isn't price fixing illegal?

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:50 pm 
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elfy wrote:
I guess this isn't a buisiness class because, man, your test case sounds like illegal cartel behavior in most regulated economies I know about...

Which part of it exactly? Two companies can coordinate their advertising efforts for maximum efficiency... this is not cartel behaviour.
BobTheSpirit wrote:
Heh...isn't price fixing illegal?

It is (unless the price is fixed by the government, but then it's called "regulation"). But how is this relevant to my case?

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:56 pm 
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Novae D'Arx wrote:
BTW, I think there's one flaw in this experiment- virtually the only way to win is with cooperation. I think that if it was less obvious, that it was easier to win with backstabbing and being a bastard (or if a higher score that way was possible), then it would be more fun, as well as more of a challenge.

You're 100% right. However, the goal here is to demonstrate the concept that cooperation is good. There is a lot of fun in being a bastard and backstabbing fellow competitors, however the negotiation seminar's point is to learn some new negotiation strategies and tactics :-)
(and, by the way, there were enough backstabbing cases as well in our seminar -- and some cases where I was thinking exactly what you're thinking, as the cases often allowed for only one possible solution)

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