The Win Win Game

Description

Learning Objectives: ■ Having a thought-out negotiating strategy ■ Having a fall-back position ■ Building in contingencies ■ Being able to compromise - and setting limits on the level of compromise ■ The ability to ‘put yourself in other people’s shoes’ ■ The importance of good preparation ■ Demonstrating the vital importance of open dialogue More about the activity: Four not altogether friendly countries cover a mountainous area that contains possible sites for a telecommunications tower. The tower could benefit them all but each country has its ideas about the exact details. The elements that teams must agree on include: • the style and height • the precise location • the construction start date • the budget And if that wasn't enough cause for conflict, each country has its laws and traditions. At the negotiation deadline, each team has the opportunity to present what it sees as the agreed terms (if any!), and from this follows a discussion of how the interactions worked for them and the other teams. Can teams, each representing the negotiating team for a different country, negotiate their way through this complex dilemma and reach a four-party, win/win outcome?