RMGT4153 – Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Chapters 1 to 6

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key negotiation terminology, bargaining points, exit strategies, and perceptual frames from RMGT4153 Chapters 1 through 6.

Tangible Issues

Concrete, measurable aspects of a negotiation, typically expressed in numbers or documented formats (e.g., salary, pricing, deadlines, and delivery schedules).

Intangible Issues

Psychological, emotional, or relational concerns that influence negotiation outcomes and impact satisfaction and willingness to agree (e.g., feeling valued, career advancement, and work-life balance).

Distributive Negotiation

A win-lose negotiation where parties compete over a fixed amount of resources, such that one party's gain is the other party's loss, and parties focus on claiming value.

Integrative Negotiation

A win-win negotiation where parties collaborate to create value and find mutually beneficial solutions by sharing information and exploring underlying interests.

Triple-I Strategy

A method used in integrative negotiation to explore value-creating elements: Interests (what parties care about), Issues (topics to negotiate), and Information (facts or background needed).

Fixed-Pie Perception

The assumption or belief that one party's gain must come at the other party's loss, which prevents parties from exploring creative, win-win solutions.

BATNA

Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement; the course of action a party will take if negotiations fail, which provides leverage and bargaining power.

Aspiration Point

The ideal, optimistic yet realistic outcome a negotiator hopes to achieve to guide their negotiation goals.

Reservation Point

The lowest acceptable value a party is willing to accept (the bottom line), used to determine when to reject an offer and pursue an alternative.

ZOPA

Zone of Possible Agreement; the range where both parties' reservation points overlap, bounded by the buyer's maximum price and the seller's minimum price.

Winner’s Curse

A situation where a negotiator accepts an offer too quickly and later experiences regret or dissatisfaction, realizing they could have obtained a better deal.

Anchoring

A cognitive bias where individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered, using it as a reference point that influences subsequent counteroffers.

Third-Party Intervention

Involving an external party to assist in resolving a dispute when negotiators can no longer manage the conflict themselves through an agreed-upon process.

Arbitration

A process where a neutral third party imposes a decision after both sides present their cases; parties control the process but have little or no control over the outcome.

Non-Binding Arbitration

A form of arbitration where the disputing parties are not legally required to comply with the arbitrator's decision.

Binding Arbitration

A form of arbitration where parties are mandated to comply with the arbitrator's decision by law or prior contractual agreement.

Chilling Effect

A tendency for parties to avoid making compromises or to make unrealistic demands because they anticipate that an arbitrator will split the difference.

Final-Offer Arbitration

An arbitration format where the arbitrator must select one party's final offer as the binding resolution rather than splitting the difference.

Similarity Principle

The tendency for individuals to be more receptive, trusting, and cooperative toward people they perceive as having similar backgrounds, values, or communication styles.

Concessions

Giving up something or adjusting an established position during negotiations in exchange for progress toward reaching an agreement.

Gradual and Delayed Concessions

Concessions offered incrementally over time, which are valued more highly by the other party because movement and effort are visibly perceived.

One-Sided Concessions

Yielding ground or making adjustments without receiving anything in return from the opposing party, projecting vulnerability.

Packaged Concessions

Grouping multiple concessions into bundles to manage priorities and negotiate across several terms simultaneously for better outcomes.

Reciprocal Concessions

Concessions made in response to adjustments offered by the counterpart, fostering mutual give-and-take.

Boulwarism

A take-it-or-leave-it bargaining strategy where no concessions are offered, often resulting in resentment and long-term resistance.

Graceful Exit Strategies

Tactics used to retreat from or modify a previously committed position while maintaining credibility and preserving respect between parties.

Plan a Way Out

A graceful exit strategy where a negotiator prepares a backup plan or conditional language prior to committing to a position.

Let It Die Silently

A graceful exit strategy in which an earlier commitment is quietly dropped and replaced later with a new proposal without referencing the past stance.

Restate Commitment

A graceful exit strategy that involves rewording a previous hard commitment in broader, more generalized terms to allow flexibility.

Minimise Damage

A graceful exit strategy where a shift in stance is justified by appealing to a higher purpose, collective interest, or shared organizational values.

Simultaneous Negotiation

An approach where multiple issues are discussed at the same time, enabling parties to package offers and make trade-offs across terms.

Sequential Negotiation

An approach where negotiation topics are handled and settled one at a time, which can risk stalled progress if a single issue deadlocks.

Logrolling

An integrative strategy where parties trade concessions on issues of differing importance, exchanging low-priority concessions for high-priority gains.

MESOs

Multiple Equivalent Simultaneous Offers; presenting several packages at the same time that are equally acceptable to the presenter to uncover the other party's priorities.

Perception

The process of screening, selecting, and interpreting stimuli so that they carry meaningful significance to the individual.

Stereotyping

A perceptual distortion that involves attributing characteristics or behaviors to an individual based exclusively on the social or demographic group they belong to.

Halo Effect

A perceptual error where an observer forms an overall favorable or unfavorable assessment of someone based on a single observed trait.

Selective Perception

A cognitive filter where a negotiator focuses exclusively on information confirming pre-existing views while ignoring contradictory evidence.

Projection

A perceptual bias where a person imputes their own feelings, motivations, or attitudes onto the opposing negotiator.

Framing

A subjective mechanism through which individuals define, evaluate, and interpret situations, directly shaping how they react and negotiate.

Substantive Frame

A frame focused directly on the central subject matter or specific material issue under dispute.

Outcome Frame

A frame oriented toward achieving a specific end result or predetermined settlement target.

Aspiration Frame

A frame directed toward satisfying broad underlying needs, core interests, and developmental desires.

Process Frame

A frame centered on the procedural manner and method through which a negotiation or dispute should be conducted.

Identity Frame

A frame based on how parties perceive themselves, their social membership, roles, and group dignity.

Loss/Gain Frame

A frame that casts potential negotiation settlements in terms of either prospective benefits gained or hazards and costs avoided.

Reframing

The active process of reshaping or disputing how an issue is conceptualized to find common ground or reconcile opposing views.

Interests Frame

A perspective focused on discovering and addressing the deeper core motivations, needs, and wants of the parties.

Rights Frame

A perspective focused on establishing legitimacy or resolving claims using formal rules, laws, fair standards, or historical precedents.

Power Frame

A perspective where parties resolve conflict or apply pressure through the leverage of economic resources, authority, or specialized expertise.