Course Syllabus
Welcome to BUS403: Negotiations and Conflict Management
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Perfect your negotiation and conflict resolution skills to build and maintain healthy business relationships by examining the concepts, processes, strategies, and ethical issues related to negotiation and conflict resolution.
Course Introduction
Negotiation is the interactive process we engage in to advance individual and joint interests. Almost every transaction with other individuals involves negotiation – in the personal, social, professional, and political spheres. In this course, we recognize that negotiation, conflict resolution, and relationship management are complex processes. Successful practitioners apply analytical, interpersonal, perceptual, and persuasive skills to create a productive business environment.
Short and long-term relationships can thrive or break down based on their management approach. Functional conflict can be a positive force for change in the workplace when employees are able to freely voice their ideas and improve the status quo. This free expression is a form of negotiation that prompts leadership to promote new, innovative, and more efficient ways to accomplish tasks or goals. However, misunderstandings and personal clashes can create dysfunctional conflict and a caustic work environment.
Conflict resolution can be formal or informal. The proper approach can resolve debates, differences, disputes, and other issues among individuals and larger parties. Failures result from misunderstandings, misperceptions, and miscommunications about the positions and interests of the other party.
In this course, we study the negotiation framework and how to manage conflict. We focus on business negotiation skills and strategies to maintain healthy relationships. We explore concepts, ethical issues, processes, and strategies related to negotiation and conflict resolution. Finally, we identify appropriate conduct in multicultural business contexts.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Negotiation Strategy
- Unit 2: Managing Business Negotiations
- Unit 3: Conflict in the Workplace
- Unit 4 Conflict Resolution Strategies
- Unit 5: International and Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- explain negotiation theory and strategies such as problem-solving, relationship management, and shared interests;
- explain various types of negotiation, including distributive negotiation, cooperation, competition, and phases of negotiation;
- discuss strategies for managing dysfunctional conflict, avoiding biases and stereotypes, promoting inclusivity, and working toward a common goal;
- compare alternative dispute resolution models, such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation; and
- describe international negotiation strategies, such as cross-cultural communication, cultural dimension theories, and political and legal issues.
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you may take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. Once you have successfully passed the final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.
There are also end-of-unit assessments in this course. These are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.
Tips for Success
BUS403: Negotiations and Conflict Management is a self-paced course, which means that you can decide when you will start and when you will complete the course. There is no instructor or an assigned schedule to follow. We estimate that the "average" student will take 24 hours to complete this course. We recommend that you work through the course at a comfortable pace that allows you to make regular progress. It's also a good idea to schedule your study time in advance and try to stick to that schedule as best as you can.
Learning new material can be challenging, so we've compiled a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories that you come across. This can help you put each concept into context and will create a refresher that you can use as you study later on.
- As you work through the materials, take some time to test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned is important for your long-term memory and will make you more likely to retain information over time.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.
- To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor Academy account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one for free here. Although you can access the course materials without logging in to your account, you should log in to maximize your course experience. For example, you cannot take assessments or track your progress unless you are logged in.
For additional guidance, check out Saylor Academy's FAQ.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. Everything linked in the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, is available for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.