Royalty Free Exercises

This is a two-party negotiation set in a contemporary context that offers many opportunities for creative value creation if negotiating parties are able to identify common interests. Many negotiators tend to focus on value distribution at the expense of value creation. In this exercise, there are several quantitative aspects, including the payment structure and campaign success and metrics. Limiting discussions to these distributive items can make this a less successful negotiation. Instead, successful outcomes that are in line with both participants’ interests require participants to uncover innovative options for joint value creation. Moreover, this exercise teaches lessons around how to deal with differing performance expectations.

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This is a short group exercise that shows negotiating strategies can rarely maximize all possible outcomes, and that low probability/high outcome events should not be expected. No preparation necessary. Please note: There is no charge for this exercise. Everything you need to run the exercise is included in the Instructor Packet. Click on “learn more” to download it.

This is an asymmetric prisoner’s dilemma game for two individuals or two parties. It is an excellent exercise to show how unequal payoff distributions, when known, can throw a wrench into potentially cooperative relations. Diamond Bidding Game works well as a follow-up to Gas Station Game. Please note: There is no charge for this exercise. Everything you need to run the exercise is included in the Instructor Packet. Click on “learn more” to download it.

This is a classroom exercise that was originally created by Martin Shubik in 1971. It creates a context in which escalation of commitment almost always results. It shows how public commitments often lead to additional investments, often to the investor’s ultimate detriment. It also shows how emotions and the desire ‘to get a deal’ can be tremendously costly. The teaching notes for this exercise document several extreme cases, where the bidding really got out of hand. Please note: There is no charge for this exercise. Everything you need to run the exercise is included in the Instructor Packet. Click on “learn more” to download it.

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This is a large group social dilemma game where the parties can win or, more likely, lose real money. Based on an exercise described by Dave Messick and Christel Rutte, it shows how difficult cooperation is for large groups of people who cannot interact to boost commitment. Please note: There is no charge for this exercise. Everything you need to run the exercise is included in the Instructor Packet. Click on “learn more” to download it.

Analogical Reasoning introduces students to learning by analogy (comparison based on structural versus superficial similarity) with the goal of improving their ability to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real world (business) situations. The unit consists of 5 exercises or “demos” – the Tumor and Fortress Demo, the Contingent Contract Demo; the Logrolling Demo, the Sunk Cost Demo and the Proverb Demo. These “demos” can be used singly or in combination to help students and improve their ability to learn, store, and access structural knowledge. Please note: There is no charge for this exercise. Everything you need to run the exercise is included in the Instructor Packet. Click on “learn more” to download it.