Good Fences, but Good Neighbor?

Author
Joe D. Dobbins, Alexander R. Bolinger
Region
North America
Topic
Strategy & General Management
Length
7 pages
Keywords
integrative negotiation
multi-party negotiation
Conflict Management
conflict
entrepreneur
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Undergraduate Students

This case reported the experience of Trent, an entrepreneur who moved to the outskirts of a small town to purchase and revive a dilapidated orchard and farm. After planting trees to resupply the orchard, Trent discovered that American mule deer were coming down from the foothills and the open fields to eat the foliage from the trees, causing irreparable damage. Trent decided to have deer fencing installed to protect the trees. However, the deer fence installed by the first fence contractor was defective and Trent was forced to negotiate with a new contractor to reinstall the fence.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Identify and describe the fundamental components of a negotiation.
  2. Apply the principles and tactics of integrative negotiation to interpret the negotiation process between Trent and Cody and explain how Trent moved from a distributive to a more integrative focus.
  3. Analyze how the perceptions and cognitive biases of the parties to this negotiation influenced the negotiation outcome.
  4. Evaluate Trent’s effectiveness as a negotiator and assess mistakes that contributed to his inability to successfully close the deal.