The two-dollar bargaining game


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Negotiation class is off to a great start! 

We were asked to play the two-dollar bargaining game. The premise for this game is simple: two people find $2 on the ground and have to decide what do do with it. Should they split it in half, should one of them keep the $2, or should they share it some other way? To guide our negotiation we each get one little card with instructions: mine said I shouldn't settle for less than $1.60; my partner's said she should get at least $0.50 for her bus ticket, but I wasn't aware of this at first. She was very cunning and told me she needed the $2 to get home and her argument was quite persuasive: she lived one hour and a half away and it was very cold outside. Of course her argument was provided for her by the card. 

I, on the other hand, had to come up with an argument of my own. In the heat of the discussion I told her that I only had $8 left on my bank account and needed the $2 extra to buy myself some dinner for the night. Of course, this is an easily debunked argument because you can buy something for $5. I should have mentioned a lower amount.

The negotiation ensued, and the amounts we demanded started to decrease. I even offered to walk her home in exchange for the $2. She was adamant on getting at least $0.75 which was already more than what she actually needed; in the end she got $1, so she won the negotiation. 

Even though we both started wanting $2, my margin was lower ($0.40) than hers ($1.50), so I had less room for compromise. Also, the fact my card didn’t have a story for me to tell and that I had to make it up on the spot made it way more difficult for me to be convincing.

In the end we reached a compromise (1$ each) which is better than nothing at all. Thus, two valuable lessons can be learned: always negotiate for more than what you need but keep it reasonable (your anchor) and always reach a compromise that satisfies both negotiators! Think about the future: be competitive but don't let the other leave the negotiation feeling resentful. Cooperation is key! 




Comments

  1. Mme Dutriaux10/09/2017 3:03 AM

    Try to focus more on the analysis than on the description of the simulation: which of your arguments were effective? What can you do to make them more effective? Are there persuasion techniques that you could use?

    ReplyDelete

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