The Art of Bargaining / Edition 1

by Richard Ned Lebow

Overview

Bargaining for what we want or need is a part of our everyday lives. But how often do we stop to consider all the factors that go into the bargaining process? How often do we look at the strategies and tactics available to us? And how often do we hurt our own position by failing to do so?

In The Art of Bargaining, Richard Ned Lebow draws on his years of experience with the United States government, NATO, and numerous European and American businesses to explain the principles of negotiation—from buying a car to planning business mergers to signing an international treaty. Unlike studies that examine only what is said and done at the negotiation table, The Art of Bargaining looks at the context in which negotiation takes place—and shows why some of the most critical decisions about bargaining are made even before the parties sit down to talk.

Lebow begins with a discussion of the nature of bargaining and why people choose to bargain. Because bargaining is a strategy, it is imperative to consider the end goal before deciding on the means for achieving it. Lebow explores the relationship between bargaining and its goals and compares the bargaining process with some other strategies—such as coercion or threats—that can achieve similar goals.

An in-depth study of the decision to negotiate reveals that there are three distinct approaches to the process: coordination (mutual accommodation of both parties' interests); punishment (the use of threats to influence agreement); and reward (making agreements seem more attractive through incentives). Lebow explains how all three approaches can be used effectively once the context of the negotiation has been properly analyzed.

Using concrete examples of negotiation from everyday life as well as world politics, The Art of Bargaining provides the reader with ways to increase bargaining leverage, analyze the strategies and goals of bargaining opponents, and overcome the obstacles that present themselves at the negotiation table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801851988
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	02/09/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard Ned Lebow is the director of the Program in International Relations at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Part I: The Nature of Bargaining
Chapter 1. What is Bargaining?
Chapter 2. Why Bargain?
Chapter 3. Is Bargaining Feasible?
Chapter 4. From Theory to Practice
Part II: Strategies of Bargaining
Chapter 5. How to Choose a Strategy
Chapter 6. The Strategy of Coordination
Chapter 7. The Strategy of Rewards
Chapter 8. The Strategy of Punishment
Chapter 9. How to Gain Leverage
Part III: A Bargain is Just the Beginning
Chapter 10. Ratification
Chapter 11. Implementation
Part IV: Problem Shooting
Chapter 12. Misperceptions and Misjudgments
Chapter 13. Setting Things Straight
Afterword
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This is a sophisticated, powerful book with useful ideas. The examples are entertaining in their own right and bring the book to life. Lebow's close contact with the international examples should intrigue and interest many readers looking for the inside line on well-known international events.
—Peter Carnevale, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Peter Carnevale

This is a sophisticated, powerful book with useful ideas. The examples are entertaining in their own right and bring the book to life. Lebow's close contact with the international examples should intrigue and interest many readers looking for the inside line on well-known international events.

— Peter Carnevale, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Editorial Reviews

This book constitutes the text for an introductory course on bargaining. . . While many of the examples are taken from international relations, the book, with its clearly written rules and logical order, is of general interest to anyone seeking to analyze a bargaining situation.
—Foreign Affairs

From the Publisher

This book constitutes the text for an introductory course on bargaining. . . While many of the examples are taken from international relations, the book, with its clearly written rules and logical order, is of general interest to anyone seeking to analyze a bargaining situation.

Foreign Affairs

The author draws on his experiences with the US government, NATO, and business to explain the principles of negotiation common in transactions from buying a car to signing an international treaty. He emphasizes the importance of the context in which negotiation takes place in discussion of the nature of bargaining, why people bargain, and the relationship between bargaining and other strategies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews