CPN Negotiation Fundamentals & Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In principled negotiation, which of the following is NOT one of the four core elements?
- Separate people from the problem
- Focus on interests, not positions
- Insist on using objective criteria
- Always make the first offer to set the anchor (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Always make the first offer to set the anchor
Fisher and Ury's principled negotiation framework consists of separating people from the problem, focusing on interests, generating options for mutual gain, and using objective criteria — not anchoring strategy.
Question 2: What does the term 'reciprocity norm' mean in the context of negotiation?
- Both parties must reveal their BATNAs simultaneously
- Negotiators feel socially obligated to return concessions made by the other party (Correct answer)
- Each party must make equal monetary concessions
- Mediators must treat all parties equally
Correct answer: Negotiators feel socially obligated to return concessions made by the other party
The reciprocity norm is the social obligation to respond to a concession with a concession, which negotiators can leverage strategically.
Question 3: Which tactic involves a negotiator claiming they need approval from a higher authority before agreeing to a deal?
- Good cop / bad cop
- Limited authority tactic (Correct answer)
- Nibbling
- Bracketing
Correct answer: Limited authority tactic
The limited authority tactic delays commitment and can extract additional concessions by claiming the negotiator must defer to a principal not present at the table.
Question 4: What is 'bracketing' as a negotiation strategy?
- Setting a range within which you expect the final deal to fall by making an extreme offer (Correct answer)
- Refusing to negotiate unless preconditions are met
- Alternating between soft and hard bargaining styles
- Listing all demands simultaneously at the start
Correct answer: Setting a range within which you expect the final deal to fall by making an extreme offer
Bracketing means making an offer designed so that if the parties split the difference, the result lands at your target outcome.
Question 5: In multi-issue negotiations, presenting multiple issues simultaneously rather than sequentially is advantageous because:
- It prevents the other party from anchoring on any single issue
- It allows package trades and reveals differing priorities between the parties (Correct answer)
- It legally protects the negotiator from bad-faith claims
- It reduces the cognitive load for both parties
Correct answer: It allows package trades and reveals differing priorities between the parties
Negotiating issues in packages allows parties to make trade-offs across issues, revealing priority differences that enable value-creating deals.
Question 6: Which of the following describes 'post-settlement settlement' (PSS)?
- Renegotiating a deal after it has been implemented
- After reaching an agreement, jointly searching for a better deal for both parties (Correct answer)
- Settling disputes through post-contract arbitration
- Adding penalty clauses after the main contract is signed
Correct answer: After reaching an agreement, jointly searching for a better deal for both parties
PSS is a process where parties who have already agreed to a deal attempt to jointly improve on it, using the original agreement as a fallback, often uncovering Pareto-superior outcomes.
Question 7: Which cognitive bias leads negotiators to irrationally continue investing in a failing negotiation because of prior time or resources spent?
- Anchoring bias
- Overconfidence bias
- Sunk cost fallacy (Correct answer)
- Reactive devaluation
Correct answer: Sunk cost fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy causes negotiators to persist in unproductive talks because they focus on unrecoverable past investments rather than future value.
CPN Negotiation Fundamentals & Strategies 3
In principled negotiation, which of the following is NOT one of the four core elements?