Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC.

Course Description

Conflict is an inescapable feature of life, occurring between family members, friends, coworkers, political organizations, citizens, nations, and even within oneself. No matter what discipline or career you pursue, you will often find yourself in situations where your responsibility exceeds your authority. That is, to achieve your goals and meet your obligations, you must be able to secure the legitimate cooperation of others without resorting to force or fraud. Ultimately, it is up to you, and you alone, to negotiate and secure that cooperation in order to do your job, advance your career, and even maintain meaningful personal relationships with your family and friends.

Using the latest research in conflict resolution and negotiation, this course will prepare you for these challenges. In that, my primary goal is to cultivate your cognitive and affective capacities for practical deliberation with others when your wishes may differ from theirs. These are often difficult conversations involving strong emotions that test your abilities to influence and persuade. I will therefore encourage you to develop a more resilient identity for confidently approaching these conversations as opportunities for mutual problem solving that, in turn, allow you to meaningfully engage with those around you.

We begin this course by developing a framework for understanding the nature of conflict and the factors contributing to its escalation. Here you will also reflect on your own tendencies during disagreements with others while discovering where you may expand your negotiation abilities. After that, we consider different negotiation strategies, ranging from bargaining to conflict resolution techniques. Finally, we examine how to more productively approach interactions that may cause stress, anxiety, or frustration.

Throughout, you will practice developing your powers of communication and persuasion. Take this seriously, and you will learn a great deal about yourself and improve your abilities for navigating even the most difficult of conversations. Indeed, I hope you finish the course a more reflective and effective negotiator, better able to handle the conflicts you will inevitably face.

Photo: Vivian Zink / NBC.

Learning Outcomes

This course on Conflict and Dispute Resolution develops your negotiation and conflict resolution skills.

By this December, you will be able to…

• Apply models explaining the nature of conflict and the process of negotiation,
• Compare and contrast different strategies for negotiation and conflict resolution,
• Reflect on and develop your own approaches to negotiation and conflict resolution, and
• Transform conflict into an opportunity for joint problem solving with others.

I have designed each of the course requirements with these outcomes in mind.

Mockup: Mark / Covervault.

Learning Resources

The following three books are required for the course:

Fisher, R., & Shapiro, D. (2005). Beyond reason: Using emotions as you negotiate. Penguin Books.

Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in (3rd ed.). Penguin Books.

Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (2010). Difficult conversations: How to discuss what matters most (2nd ed.). Penguin Books.

You will find additional required and optional readings in PDF on the class schedule. I expect you to read that material according to that schedule.

This website and UB Learns will also have assignments and other course materials, along with any updates to the course schedule.

Class Structure

This course follows the principle of experiential learning, where you learn not only from me but also from your discussions and interactions with your classmates. Like any activity, negotiation and conflict resolution must be learned through practice. Therefore, we will work in- and out-of-class with many examples. This means that the quality of the course depends critically on your individual attention and participation. The purpose of us coming together as a class is to learn and practice negotiation and conflict resolution as a group.

Our class meetings will therefore be driven by discussion of the readings and their applications. Time is also set aside for in-class activities. This gives you the chance to actively practice negotiation and conflict resolution, rather than passively absorb what others may say about them. To help keep you engaged, I will do my best to make our class meetings worthwhile and time well spent. I will also take special care to create an environment where you feel comfortable asking questions and expressing your own views.

However, a few words of warning about this format:

• Negotiation and conflict resolution are full-contact sports, but conducted as cooperative processes. You and your classmates must wrestle together with difficult problems and situations, while not attacking each other. Disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated.
• To get the most out of our class meetings, please do not confuse this cooperative style of learning with mere conversation or informal, organized chatting.

All this should explain the strict attendance policy, along with my demanding expectations associated with your individual participation.

Announcements & Other Communication

I will email important information to you throughout the semester, so routinely check your UB email for updates. Otherwise, I will gladly answer your questions, discuss your work, or respond to your concerns. Please see me at my office (Park Hall 118) or send me an email.

Keep in mind that I primarily read university-related email during my regular “business” hours (weekdays from 9:00AM to 5:00PM). Emails received outside of that time may not receive a response until I am back on campus. Of course, simple requests may be answered more promptly.