'Literacy' Test for International Negotiation

Three of these questions will appear on the test on April 1. No books or notes will be allowed at the test. You will be asked to answer all three (no choice) within 90 minutes.  Questions in green will not be changed. 

1. What is negotiation?

2. What is an 'optimistic opening'? What are the strengths and weaknesses of optimistic openings?

3. What are the principal claims of Prospect Theory?

4. Two executives are competing to win for their advertising firm the contract to represent the New York State Lottery.  Suppose that one of these persons advocates Rational Expectations Theory while the other advocates Prospect Theory. What disagreements between them are likely to arise as they prepare their presentation to the Lottery?  Why?

5. Paul 't Hart proposes a reformulation of  groupthink to distinguish between two types: collective avoidance and collective overoptimism. Explain the causes of each type.  What are the empirical bases for identifying these types?

6. In this course Bennett has assumed that, unless Parties are undertaking negotiation purely for side effects, the very act of them negotiating can be taken to demonstrate that they all believe that there exist some terms for an agreement which, if discovered or created, would leave all Parties better off.  (They do not necessarily agree about what these terms are.)  Is this a reasonable belief?  Why or why not?

7. Selectively compare two negotiating styles. (Select two from: German, Chinese, Russian, French.)  If a negotiator exemplifying the first style interacts with a negotiator exemplifying the second style, (a) what  difficulties will they likely experience, (b) what compatibilities or complementarities will they likely discover, and (c) how efficiently do you suppose that they may negotiate?

8. Clarify the relationships among these concepts: BATNA, reservation price, negotiating set, and efficient outcome.

9. What are strengths and weaknesses of distributive bargaining?

10.  Assume that the negotiating instructions which you wrote were authoritative on February 22, 2008.  Assume further that your government or organization regularly updates your instructions in response to changes of its policies and to other events in the world.  How would events of the 'actual world' and information newly available to you between February 22 and March 25  require your instructions to be altered?

11. The two case studies of negotiating styles which you read are replete with descriptions of tactics used to influence the negotiating process.  From each study, select three frequently implemented tactics that you believe can be especially effective, and explain the reasons for their effectiveness.

12. How do he categories of Shell's "situational matrix" relate to Ikle's typology of negotiating "objectives"?

13. Identify four significant respects in which negotiations among agents can differ from negotiations among principals.

14. Select two national negotiating styles. (Select two from: German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French.)   Consider of a setting of integrative bargaining.  Are some negotiating styles more effective than others at exploring the range of possible agreements?  Why or why not?

15. In international negotiation, what is the significance of trust among negotiators?  You read two monographs about national negotiating styles: what is the significance of trust in each style?

16. Ikle proposes a number of "rules of accommodation."  Some of these "rules" might shape the termination of a negotiation, either with an agreement or without an agreement.  (1) Based on Ikle's advice, suggest how to terminate a negotiation.  For specificity you may refer to any contemporary world negotiation.  (2) Now critique your construction of Ikle's advice: especially, what are the weaknesses of that advice?

17. Our texts enumerate several tactics commonly used by negotiators.  Many tactics attempt to exploit a counterpart's cognitive, social or emotional "biases."  Identify two "biases" of importance to international negotiation.  For each, describe two tactics with promise for advancing one's own objectives by exploiting a "bias."

18. Lewicki et al. and the contributors to Gelfand and Brett (eds.) identify a number of cognitive biases prevalent in negotiation.  Are any of these biases prominent in the two descriptions of national negotiating styles which you read?  Are their effects significantly harmful, or perhaps even helpful?

19. What is a speech act?  What categories of speech acts play prominent roles in negotiation?

20. What are "authoritative norms"? How do they influence the course of negotiations?