Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Management

"Learn how to make the difference in dealing with conflicts and negotiating good outcomes".
Conflicts are a fact of life since we all have different values, needs, interests and goals. And as our world becomes increasingly interdependent, more and more people bump into one another more and more often. Organizations require professionals to deal with their counterparts in countries with different economic, cultural, legal and political environments. Nobody is a successful problem solver by nature. The good thing is that you can improve your skills by training with proven methods and techniques.

In this course you will learn how to make the difference in dealing with conflict and negotiating good outcomes. You will gain the capability to solve situations where different values, needs, interests and goals clash, which is important more than ever – both in professional and personal life. You will also learn how to effectively mediate conflict, often with intercultural context, using proven and engaging methods and techniques.

Course leader

Jacques Bazen is a senior lecturer of International Economics & Intercultural Communication and Negotiation at the department for Industrial Engineering & Management and research fellow at the research group on Regional Economic Development at Saxion Uni.

Target group

Young professionals and university students with intermediary level of English

Course aim

After this training you will be able to describe and analyze disputes between people and between organizations and to create value by negotiating stable and lasting solutions or agreements based on the Harvard Method and its related tools. Conflict resolution by negotiation requires that you can master a variety of mainly personal communication skills: listening, interviewing, briefing, writing, presenting, holding meetings and consulting skills. You will work in small teams and use your creative talent in working out different real-world based cases.

Syllabus Schedule:

1st week:

Day 1 - Conflicts and negotiation: Your current approach

Case: A Desperate Decision – how to deal with a problem?
Organising and evaluating decision-making processes
Case: Low Skies - Negotiating 1 on 1
The Constructive Negotiator I: types of conflicts and the Conflict Analysis Tool

Day 2 - The Harvard Method

Case: Quarania - Group work
The Constructive Negotiator II: The Harvard Method and The Seven Element Preparation Tool
Case: Allbright - Negotiating 1 on 1

Day 3 - Assessing your conflict resolution - negotiation style

Self assessment
Case: Passion - Negotiating 1 on 1
The Constructive Negotiator III: Multi Criteria Analysis

Day 4 - Cultures, Conflicts & Negotiations

Ecotonos. A multicultural problem solving simulation
The Constructive Negotiator IV

Day 5 - Geopolitical conflicts

Case: Oil pipeline through Lithuania - Group work
Case: Access to the Sea (Moldova & Ukraine - Group work

2nd week:

Day 6 - What the literature says about negotiations

Individual presentations literature research Conflict Resolution
Case: Travelmania – Fond of Travelling - Group work

Day 7 - Helping others getting to Yes

Consulting & mediation - individual
Case: Bricks or Content?

Day 8 - Personality, Communication and Ethics in the negotiation process

Case: Enlarge the open area and improve your communication (Johari & Schulz von Thun)

Day 9 - Bringing it all together

Case: Your conflicts, your cases, your solutions Groups design and write a real life case (business, personal/ issues, geopolitical) and a solution for the two parties involved.

Day 10 - Final presentations & discussion

Presentation and assessing the real life case studies designed by the groups.