Four Questions Answered Completely

1. Eventually, the United States and Iran will have to sit down and negotiate the use of nuclear power. Discuss the issues that could be involved in such a negotiation. What cognitive mistakes might be made by the negotiators in this case? How could these mistakes be overcome in order to reach an acceptable agreement?

2. Recently, General Motors and the United Auto Workers had to sit down and negotiate a change in the labor agreement in order to keep the company from going bankrupt. Consider what might have gone on during these negotiations and discuss how framing might have been used, and what issues might have been discussed, in order to reach an acceptable agreement.

3. We have each had to negotiate during the process of purchasing a home or automobile. Analyze the last major purchase that you were involved with and discuss that purchase in terms of the decision-analytic approach. What was your BATNA and how did that come into play?

4. Assume that you are part of a mediation team that has been brought in to help overcome an impasse between negotiators who are deliberating the use of embryonic stem cells for a research project. The decision makers are polarized along ethical and religious lines. Since this is a potentially emotional issue, what would you do in order to break this impasse? How could the fixed pie concept come into play in this situation?