Enhancing negotiation skills using foreign service simulations (original) (raw)

A Review of 'High Stakes Diplomacy': Fostering Effective Negotiation Skills through Experiential Learning

For some time, simulations have been used to understand the complexity of international relations and diplomacy. Many contemporary teacher-scholars believe using simulations, games, and strategic exercises is the most effective way to teach learners negotiation skills. This multi-day immersive setting allows students to develop character profiles and apply theorydriven strategies to a real-world diplomatic crisis. Develop the High Stakes Diplomacy (HSD) model of principled negotiation for use in international relations and diplomacy courses. HSD is an experiential learning simulation designed to educate learners on the perils of positional bargaining in international negotiation, enhance student leadership and followership experiences, and engender positive diplomacy skills. The High Stakes Diplomacy simulation, developed in January 2022, supports the application of experiential learning techniques for knowledge retention, student learning, student motivation, and theory-building. To assess learning, this study draws on Kolb's (1984) model of experiential learning, which consists of four points of awareness: (1) concrete experience, (2) reflective observation, (3) abstract conceptualization, and (4) active experimentation. The frequentative negotiation rounds occurred across three 75-minute class sessions. The author used pre-assessments, multiparty peer observations, and a post-assessment survey and debriefing to gauge learning outcomes and experiment validity. The post-simulation survey revealed that 83.3 percent of participants found the High Stakes Diplomacy simulation facilitated greater learning of the method of principled negotiation. This result reflects a 50 percent increase in student learning from pre-assessment levels.

Learning Negotiation Skills Through Simulation

Simulation & games, 1983

This paper describes a simulation exercise that enables participants to assess and improve their negotiation skills. The simulation exercise provides a vehicle where prospective negotiators can learn specific skills in a safe environment and be provided with performance feedback.

Training the Warrior-Diplomat: Enhancing Negotiation and Conflict Management Skills through Experiential Learning

International Negotiation, 2010

Despite the wealth of experience among simulation scholars, there is still little consensus on how to link gaming attributes to specific learning objectives. This article aims to contribute to this discussion and argues that specific simulation design can lead to reaching pre-defined learning objectives. The authors present a teaching project developed and executed for the Netherlands Defense Academy, how it was set up in 2005, and the way it evolved over time. The authors discuss how the methodology fits into the academic debate on the strengths of experiential learning. The simulation methodology used is rooted in experiential learning and typically supports standard learning goals and styles. When dealing with a specific target group, it is possible to pinpoint one specific, overarching learning objective. This allows trainers to link each individual aspect of the simulation design to that particular learning goal and, in turn, provides a valuable framework to develop, run and evaluate simulation exercises. The authors discuss how two innovative elements in simulating gaming can help to make such an approach work: combining closed and open scenarios, and new communication software that allows for continuous supervision during the game. The conclusions discuss how students respond to the challenges during the game and what the data from debriefings tells us about the methodology's learning appeal for a military target group. * ) Ulrich Mans works as a policy analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. ** ) Gideon Shimshon is the co-founder of the Pax Ludens Foundation and works as senior consultant for Accenture.

Learning through repetition: using "simple" simulations to teach basic principles of international negotiations

How to efficiently teach in an increasingly complex field like European Studies is subject to a burgeoning literature. At the same time, the use of simulations to convey fundamental concepts and theories at an undergraduate level is catching on particularly in international relations (IR). To complement more traditional forms of teaching at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) such as lectures, the broadening of pedagogical methods to include simulation-based learning has the potential to impart important competences to the student body, including public speaking, debating, communicating and negotiating skills.

Negotiation Skill Development Exercise

Marketing Education Review, 2017

Conflict occurs naturally in all marketing related activities. When such conflict is handled well through proper negotiation, it helps solve problems and build stronger, deeper relationships between the negotiating parties. Nevertheless, many students feel uneasy about negotiating, yet they know it is a crucial skill that needs to be developed. This innovative exercise provides students an experiential learning opportunity to apply their selected negotiation approach in a role-play assessment activity. Furthermore, incorporating it into the course curriculum has consistently resulted in an increase in student satisfaction and perceived learning.

Culture and Negotiation: The Pedagogical Dispute Regarding Cross-Cultural Simulations

International Studies Perspectives, 2009

This article examines one especially challenging aspect of active-learning international studies courses-the use of cross-cultural simulations. What is the significance of culture for negotiation? What difficulties might cross-cultural negotiations pose, and how might negotiators work with cultural differences to achieve successful outcomes? Is it possible to model the effects of cultures on negotiators in a classroom role-play? What are the advantages to using cross-cultural simulations, and what difficulties do they entail? How might an instructor make best use of materials that focus on cultural issues and their effect on negotiation? When teaching students of different cultures by active-learning methods, what ought an instructor to bear in mind? What cross-cultural simulations are available, and what readings might be assigned to accompany them?

Teaching intercultural negotiation and communication skills

1999

I diritti relativi ai testi firmati sono dei rispettivi autori. La riproduzione è vietata con qualsiasi mezzo analogico o digitale senza il consenso scritto dell'autore. E' consentita la copia per uso esclusivamente personale. Sono consentite citazioni parziali a titolo di cronaca, critica o recensione, purché accompagnate dal nome dell'autore e dall'indicazione della fonte. Università della Svizzera italiana Facoltà di scienze della comunicazione Lugano Istituto per la comunicazione aziendale Abstract This paper reports on the initial phase of an international teaching experiment involving the use of videoconferencing for the teaching of intercultural business communication and negotiation skills. The experiment has the following aims: (a) to give insight into how students from different cultures operate in nearly identical situations, (b) to give students exposure to intercultural communication through videoconferencing, (c) to allow students to assess videoconferencing as a tool for international business communication, and (d) to develop intercultural case studies.

On Teaching The Effectiveness of Negotiation Training

In the last 25 years negotiation has become widely recognized both as a topic of serious research and as an essential, frequently used set of skills. Organizations currently spend tens of billions of dollars annually on training, and mounting evidence suggests that training in interpersonal and problem-solving domains typically has a significantly positive effect. But little systematic research has been conducted concerning the actual effectiveness of negotiation training.This article reviews the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of negotiation training using four levels of outcome measurement. As it turns out, solid evidence remains less prevalent than one would wish but what evidence suggests is that negotiation training does, indeed, have positive effects. In this article, I review the specific effects of different teaching methods, and recommend additional research.

The Effectiveness of Negotiation Training

Negotiation Journal, 2008

In the last twenty-five years negotiation has become widely recognized both as a topic of serious research and as an essential, frequently used set of skills. Organizations currently spend tens of billions of dollars annually on training, and mounting evidence suggests that training in interpersonal and problem-solving domains typically has a significantly positive effect. But little systematic research has been conducted concerning the actual effectiveness of negotiation training. This article reviews the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of negotiation training using four levels of outcome measurement. While far less prevalent than one would wish, existing evidence suggests that negotiation training can have positive effects. In this article, I review the specific effects of different teaching methods, and recommend additional research.

BiLAT: A game-based environment for practicing negotiation in a cultural context

2009

Negotiation skills are essential in everyday life, whether in a professional or personal context. Negotiation enables two parties to address misunderstandings and avoid conflicts through an exchange that depends as much on the interpersonal skills of the negotiators as the tactics employed. Acquiring these skills requires not only sound conceptual knowledge but also practice and mentoring. This paper describes the BiLAT game-based simulation and tutoring system developed to provide students, initially United States Army soldiers, with an environment to practice preparing for and conducting bilateral negotiations. We describe the models that were created to implement BiLAT, with a particular focus on the challenge of designing for and tutoring in the ill-defined domain of negotiation. An initial assessment of the training effectiveness of the system indicates significant situation-judgment gains by novices.