COURSE NUMBER: MBA252.1B

COURSE TITLE: Negotiations and Conflict Resolution (2-unit version)

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2

INSTRUCTOR: Laura Kray

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00 – 4:00PM during Spring B (3/18 – 5/8)

PREREQUISITE(S): None.

CLASS FORMAT: The class is comprised of lectures, discussion, negotiation exercises (typically one per week), guest lecturers, and videos.

REQUIRED READINGS: 1 optional text and a course reader

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:

· Class participation: 25%

· In class negotiation analysis papers: 50%

· Applied negotiation analysis paper: 25%

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

Negotiation is the art and science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties. The central issues of this course deal with understanding how individuals, groups, and organizations behave in potentially competitive situations. The following is a list of partial objectives: experience the negotiation process, improve your ability to negotiate effectively, improve your ability to analyze negotiation situations, develop a strategic plan for effective negotiation, gain an intellectual understanding of negotiator behavior, and gain confidence as a negotiator. This course is designed to complement the technical and diagnostic skills learned in other courses in the MBA curriculum. A basic premise of the course is that while a manager needs analytical skills to develop optimal solutions to problems, a broad array of negotiation skills is needed in order for these solutions to be accepted and implemented.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Laura Kray is the Warren E. & Carol Spieker Professor of Leadership at Haas. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Washington. Before coming to Haas, she taught at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and Eller College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona. She has received multiple research grants from the National Science Foundation to study the role of cognitive and motivational processes in determining negotiation outcomes, how gender impacts negotiations, and how information is processed in group decision making contexts.