Simulating the essence of negotiation : transforming lived experience

Abstract

Abstract Motivated by the challenge of combining psychological theories and methods with high-tech gaming and simulating technology, a project was carried out to develop a simulator that could train people in the skill of negotiation. An analysis of the existing theory, interviews with experienced negotiators and observations of negotiation in action formed the basis for a User Centred Design process. Through the application of Contextual Design methods, traditional qualitative methods, and a Usability test, this process has currently resulted in the overall design of a training program and an early design prototype. This work is described in the following document. As well as this six professional Norwegian negotiators have been interviewed in order to investigate how they experience negotiation on a daily basis. By the means of an interpretive phenomenological analysis their narratives have been reduced into meaning units comprising what the informants’ narratives have had in common. These meaning units are tied together in a common descriptive statement discussed in relation to main theoretical currents within negotiation theory. This study has two main findings. First, how negotiation can be looked upon as a process where two or more parties move towards finding and owning a common solution by the means of communication. In other words, that negotiation is characterised by three themes; negotiation is a process, the solution must be common, and the importance of communication. The second finding is how these three themes are themselves distinguished by specific situational, inter-personal, and personal characteristics.