CBN Negotiation Strategies & Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'good cop/bad cop' tactic is most effective when the negotiating team wants to:
- Build long-term trust with the counterpart
- Create psychological pressure while maintaining a cooperative relationship with one team member (Correct answer)
- Avoid making any concessions
- Signal they have a strong BATNA
Correct answer: Create psychological pressure while maintaining a cooperative relationship with one team member
The tactic uses role contrast so the 'good cop' can extract concessions while preserving rapport.
Question 2: A 'time pressure' tactic in negotiation is most effective against a counterpart who:
- Has a stronger BATNA than you
- Faces a real or perceived deadline (Correct answer)
- Is using principled negotiation
- Is a repeat player with a long-term view
Correct answer: Faces a real or perceived deadline
Deadlines compress decision-making and can cause parties under time pressure to accept less favorable terms.
Question 3: Which approach best describes 'logrolling' in a negotiation?
- Trading concessions on issues where parties have differing priorities (Correct answer)
- Presenting a single comprehensive offer on all issues simultaneously
- Walking away to increase perceived scarcity
- Using a mediator to resolve impasse
Correct answer: Trading concessions on issues where parties have differing priorities
Logrolling creates value by allowing each party to give up less important items in exchange for gains on high-priority issues.
Question 4: The 'broken record' technique involves a negotiator:
- Repeatedly citing the same objective criteria
- Calmly restating their position each time pressure is applied (Correct answer)
- Introducing new issues to distract the counterpart
- Requesting an impasse mediator
Correct answer: Calmly restating their position each time pressure is applied
Persistent, calm repetition of a position resists manipulation while avoiding escalation.
Question 5: In a distributive negotiation, the 'settlement range' is defined as:
- The gap between each party's opening offers
- The overlap between the seller's minimum and the buyer's maximum acceptable price (Correct answer)
- The range of issues available to trade
- The mediator's suggested zone of agreement
Correct answer: The overlap between the seller's minimum and the buyer's maximum acceptable price
A settlement range (or ZOPA) exists only when the buyer's maximum exceeds the seller's reservation price.
Question 6: When a negotiator employs 'conditional concessions' (e.g., 'If you do X, then I'll do Y'), the primary goal is to:
- Signal weakness to build goodwill
- Ensure reciprocity and prevent unilateral giving (Correct answer)
- Avoid using objective criteria
- Establish a competitive positional stance
Correct answer: Ensure reciprocity and prevent unilateral giving
Conditional concessions link movement to reciprocation, preventing one-sided give-and-take.
Question 7: Which factor most distinguishes integrative negotiation from distributive negotiation?
- The number of parties involved
- The ability to create mutual gains by trading on differing priorities (Correct answer)
- The presence of a formal contract at the end
- The use of anchoring techniques
Correct answer: The ability to create mutual gains by trading on differing priorities
Integrative negotiation expands total value by identifying and exploiting differences in priorities, unlike distributive negotiation which divides a fixed resource.
CBN Negotiation Strategies & Techniques 3
The 'good cop/bad cop' tactic is most effective when the negotiating team wants to: