From brokering a deal to negotiating a sale, there are
many disputes that happen at work. Among the most challenging are those
involving employers and employees. That’s the case with Binder Kadeer: Consultation in
the Company, a negotiation exercise brought to you by the
Program on Negotiation’s
Teaching Resource Center (TNRC).
Ever since Binder Kadeer emigrated from Malaysia to the
United States, he’s worked at the Company. For the last eight years, he’s been
employed in several minor managerial positions in customer field engineering
services. However, despite management reports that indicate that he’s a good
employee, Kadeer has gone many years without a promotion. Believing he has been
unfairly treated, Kadeer files a complaint with the Company’s affirmative action
office, charging his manager with discrimination.
In this multi-party negotiation exercise, participants—in
their roles as employee, manager, and human resource consultants—must explore
the situation and come to a satisfactory resolution. Specifically, participants
explore the question:
- How do you de-escalate a difficult situation?
- During the course of this negotiation exercise, participants learn to:
- Stabilize emotions, manage conflict, and solve problems
- Explore reality testing to help colleagues understand the consequences of their actions
- Distinguish stated positions from underlying interests
- Reframe problems and develop strategies based on new options
- Identify the gaps that need to be bridged in order to develop a “yessable” agreement
In Happy Valley Consolidated School District/AFTEA
Labor-Management Committee Meeting—another popular role-play
from the TNRC—teachers’ union representatives and school district
representatives must negotiate several critical issues. With this two-team, six
issue negotiation exercise, participants explore the question:
How do you handle internal and external conflicts?
During the collective bargaining session, the labor and management groups agreed to monthly committee meetings; however, there is now a great deal of debate about whether the meetings are worthwhile. Both the labor and management teams have attended a recent training session where they discussed new ways to run meetings. This Committee Meeting is everyone’s first chance to try out the new approaches. In this negotiation exercise, participants discuss the meeting process itself as well as key issues such as a wellness program, dress codes, and asbestos in the school’s roof.
During the course of the meeting, participants:
Assess the ongoing relationship between two groups that
have traditionally been adversaries
Practice techniques for managing and working through
internal team conflicts
Explore how an effective labor-management committee
operates, including agenda-setting and communication
Utilize problem-solving strategies like paraphrasing,
active listening, and brainstorming
This is just the beginning of the many role-plays
available through the TNRC. In fact, we have an entire section dedicated to labor relations negotiation exercises like Binder
Kadeer: Consultation in the Company and Happy Valley Consolidated School
District/AFTEA Labor-Management Committee Meeting.
In addition to salary and benefits issues, safety
concerns and interpersonal conflicts are also common workplace issues that need
to be resolved. Effective negotiation and dispute resolution techniques—like
the ones taught in TNRC’s role-plays—can help achieve desirable outcomes for
everyone involved.
In addition to offering more than 200 negotiation role-play simulations, the TNRC
offers a wide range of effective teaching materials, including:
TNRC materials are designed for educational
purposes. They are used in college classroom settings or corporate training
settings; used by mediators and facilitators seeking to introduce their clients
to a process or issue; and used by individuals who want to enhance their
negotiation skills and knowledge.
Role-play simulations introduce participants to new
negotiation and dispute resolution tools, techniques and strategies. Our
videos, books, case studies, and periodicals are also a helpful way of introducing
viewers to key concepts while addressing the theory and practice of negotiation
and conflict management.
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