The purpose of this assignment is to distinguish productive, effective negotiation strategies and approaches
from ineffective and unproductive ones.
After reading the assigned chapters in the course texts and working through the content in this week’s
module, view the following videos:
Video 1 – Joint Session for Negotiation
Video 2 – Caucus with May
Video 3 – Caucus with Sonny
The joint session in the first video demonstrates how negotiation may look when the parties deal with each
other face-to-face.
The second and third videos illustrate how negotiation may go when the mediator meets with each party in
a caucus [not the initial caucus, but a subsequent caucus]. The parties are not negotiating face-to-face and
must act through the mediator to make offers, counter-offers and concessions.
Watch this video again and compare the bargaining at high-octane levels, the hardball tactics and dirty
tricks in a negotiation between a customer service representative for a cell phone carrier and an unhappy
customer.
Video 4 – “What If You’re Riding a Scooter and They’re Driving a Semi-Truck?”
Please answer the following questions using the numbers provided that relate to all of the videos above:
1. What negotiation strategy or combination of negotiation strategies is the mediator using as she coaches
the parties in their negotiation in the joint session video (video 1)? Explain 2 reasons that this
strategy/strategies is/are effective or ineffective in this example. (20 points)
2. If either party in video 1 were to use hardball tactics and dirty tricks similar to those used by the customer
in video 4, would they be effective? Please explain fully by offering 2 points in support of your perspective.
(20 points)
3. Compare videos 1, 2 and 3. Is the approach used by the mediator in the joint session (video 1) a more
effective approach than those used in either individual caucus (videos 2 and 3) to negotiate given the type
of case? Please explain using these 4 factors (10 points each for a. – d.):
a. emotions
b. child involved
c. comment about family violence
d. willingness of parties to give in order to get.
4. If you were the customer service representative in video 4, how would you respond to the customer’s
negotiation strategy (10 points) and other behaviors (10 points)?