Customer Reviews

Negotiating Rationally

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The review by Payne from Thunderbird appearing in this website is too harsh. Bazerman's strength as a negotiation author comes from his background in decision-making. This book does an excellent job of laying out the cognitive aspect of negotiations (far better than Raiffa's classic, for example). Admittedly, the book may be a bit simplistic to be the primary reading in a rigorous MBA course, but it is a good supplement and of great value for the executive or professional who is several years or more removed from his or her schooling.

Absolutely excellent! Read it 3 times, highlighted important information on nearly every page. Now I refer back to it and study it prior to any important negotiations. In chapter 1 (on page 2!), Bazerman outlines negotiating strategy and seven methods for improving one's negotiating skills. The next 7 chapters systematically address each principle in clear and concise detail. It's a must read book. (It even has some very interesting facts about home buying or selling.)

Negotiating Rationally seemes promising but falls short. It provides food for thought on the interface between distributive and integrative bargaining and on biases that get in the way of a good solution. But as a framework for negotiation, Negotiating Rationally is inadequate. Getting to Yes is a far better structure and is easier to understand -- both for the novice and the experienced negotiator.

Negotiation is central to my business, and I believe for many people as well.

After reading several books on the subject, "Negotiating Rationally" outperformed my expectations.

"Rationally" is the keyword most of us lack in negotiations and we are trapped in several humanely biases just to get the deal done. These biases include: the tendency to irrationally escalate commitment to a previously chosen strategy, the mythical fixed-pie, anchoring & adjustment, the framing of the negotiation, the winner's curse, overconfidence, etc. The book has several examples of previous negotiations, the mistakes and the wisdom to learn from all this.

Very good, quick and easy read! There are some really good tips as to how to prepare oneself for different types of negotiations. I also enjoyed the real-life negotiation examples provided. I also suggest reading Getting to Yes as a complement to this book.

If you really want to study negotiation, this book teaches you how to adjust your adjust your perception to be far more effective in decisions and negotiating. So many people need this advice which makes it important to learn! It allows you to understand how people think when they make poor decisions and analysis. After reading this I found myself saying, "What information did you use to make that assessment?" This is really great for the serious and humble negotiating student.

This books provides a good starting point to improve negotiation skills. Some basic theory on distributive and integrative negotiation helps in framing the opportunities and traps occurring during negotiation. The book is easy to read, and it is a useful tool for beginners

The book was what I needed for a program we had, but shipping needs to be improved. To order a large quantity of books and receive them piece meal over two weeks in ridulous.

I recently took Max's Negotiating Strategies course at Northwestern. Much of the class material is taken from his research in this book. He covers the potential pitfalls, offers alternatives, and them applies these in a very readable format. He uses illustrations and cases affectively to challenge one to think through the negotiating situation.

I imagine for some, my comments will be taken as some sort of school rivalry, and for those who choose to take this view, so be it. I challenge you to find anything really substantive though that hasn't already been written about.

That said, the book was a complete let down. The authors, from the prestigious Kellogs Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, are clearly leveraging their affiliation with the school. Unfortunately, the book falls well short of what one would expect from two "Distiguished Professors of Dispute Resolution and Organizations."

While the authors bring in many real life examples of various studies, the book is too simplistic and fails to dig beyond the obvious. One such study explained that experienced negotiators who had completed a training course, did better in a controlled negotiation than experienced negotiators who had not undergone the same training. Experience alone will not make you a good negotiator. Then of course, there is the insightful "Smiling made her seem more friendly so she got more tips." (paraphrased)

I was also dissappointed in the authors' consistent reference to the other negotiator as the "opponent." How does one expect to expand the pie and be thought of as "friendly" when you are always thinking of the other side as an opponent?

Check it out at the library if you must, but save your money.