Tutorial Activity Week 6

NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Role Play

Work in Groups of three (3).

You are either one of five employees in a fashion design business in the central business district of the city or the boss of the business.

The employee is responsible for reception duties, word processing and clerical work. You attend a desktop publishing course at college two nights a week from 6 p.m. To 9 p.m.Two months ago you injured your back in a car accident and now you require physiotherapy twice a week.

The boss wants you start work and finish work at regular times and to be at work on time.

To make it possible for the employee to visit the physiotherapist twice a week and attend college, the boss has agreed to allow the employee to start work at 9.30 am two days a week.However, for the past two weeks the employee has been arriving a work late on the two mornings she visits the physiotherapist.The boss decides it is time to talk to the employee about the situation.

When the boss raises the issue of the late arrival at work, the employee says "Because I go to physiotherapy from 8.30 am to 9.00am, it's harder to find a park in the city and this makes me late."

Task 1:

One person plays the boss, another plays the employee and the third person takes the role of an observer.

The boss and employee are to:

1.Use Principled Bargaining (interested-based negotiation) to focus on interests, options and criteria (rather than positions)

2.Outline clearly as many interests as possible

3.Collaborate to reconcile any conflicting interests

4.Reach a durable agreement

The purpose is to meet both the employee's and the boss's needs and concerns by reaching a collaborative durable agreement.

The observer is to use the checklist over the page to observe without speaking the role play and then to offer feedback on how wellthe participants completed the tasks above.

Interested-based Negotiation Checklist:

Employee

Boss

Identify my needs

Been willing to identify the other party's need.

Used accepting and cooperative body language

Used demanding or threatening body language

Used positive and constructive language

Used negative and destructive language

Acknowledged the needs of the other party

Established realistic goals

Generate a range of options

Found common ground between me and other party

Identified any points I am willing to trade

Become aware of any points the other party is willing to trade

Negotiate the issue, not the people

Chosen and appropriate environment

Used a negotiation method appropriate to this context.