ICONS Project

Negotiation Simulation

July 17-18 2006

Negotiation is increasingly considered a key skill for effective leaders, who need to be able to succeed in formal negotiation settings (such as interagency or international negotiations). Negotiation skills, however, are also invaluable in helping professionals of all levels navigate the bureaucracy of whatever organization they work within.

This module is designed to provide MLI participants with an opportunity to enhance their negotiation skills. This module will involve discussion of the principles of effective negotiation and advice for how individuals can best prepare for negotiations. Students will be provided ample opportunity to hone their negotiation skills through participation in a simulated negotiation, focused on the political economy of the Delta region in Nigeria . For this simulation, each student will be assigned to a specific team involved in the deliberations and will have to use his/her negotiation skills to achieve the goals of the team in the face of competing interests from other stakeholders.

This simulation will involve not only MLI students but also students studying at the PPIA Summer Institute at Carnegie Mellon this summer, who are also participating in a workshop on developing negotiation skills. The negotiations across teams will be conducted using a web-based communication system (all of which will be introduced to you before the simulation begins). Following the conclusion of the negotiation, students from MLI and from CMU will discuss how the negotiation played out and why things happened the way they did through a videoconference linking the two campuses.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Andy Blum -
ablum@cidcm.umd.edu