Negotiation is the art and science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties who have different incentives, but attempt to reach mutual agreement to maximize their outcomes. Many negotiations occur between people who never meet in person, but instead communicate via information technology, including: phone, skype, text, email, conference call, etc. These 'virtual' negotiations present novel social and communication challenges for managers and their teams. This course provides participants with the opportunity to develop their negotiation skills in a series of business negotiations conducted with others who are not physically co-present. Students in this course will master the key skills of successful negotiation and become proficient in virtual communication. We will never meet in person. Instead, the course will be conducted online, with students negotiating with others via the communication medium of their choice (e.g., face-to-face; phone; email; text; skype; or a combination of these). IMPORTANT: The course begins on the first day of the new term. All of the course information will be on the CANVAS course website. That will be our go-to-place for everything! Mandatory assignments are due the first Tuesday of the new term.

MORS offers three unique courses in the area of negotiation and conflict resolution: Negotiation Fundamentals, Negotiating in a Virtual World, and Advanced Negotiations. Students ideally begin the negotiation coursework by taking Negotiation Fundamentals and then taking the advanced courses: Negotiating in a Virtual World and/or Advanced Negotiations. Please note that students are required to take Negotiation Fundamentals prior to taking Advanced Negotiations. Students are allowed to take Negotiating in a Virtual World without having taken Negotiation Fundamentals but will be expected to catch up on core concepts asynchronously through the course’s virtual format. Once a student has taken Negotiating in a Virtual World, they are no longer eligible to take Negotiation Fundamentals but may go on to take Advanced Negotiations.