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Introduction to Negotiation
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:55:26
Abstract
The course introduces students to the concepts, theories, and strategies of negotiation and is enriched with an extensive exploration of real-life case-study examples.
Objective
The objective of the course is to teach students to recognize, understand, and approach different negotiation situations, by relying on a range of primarily quantitative and some qualitative analytical tools.
Content
We all negotiate on a daily basis – on a personal level with friends, family, and service providers, on a professional level with employers and clients, among others. Additionally, negotiations are constantly unfolding across various issues at the political level, from solving armed conflicts to negotiating trade and market access deals. The course aims to provide students with a toolbox of analytical methods that can be used to identify and disentangle negotiation situations, as well as serve as a reference point to guide action in practice. The applicability of these analytical methods is illustrated through examples of negotiation situations from international politics and business. The theoretical part of the course covers diverse perspectives on negotiation: with a key focus on game theory, but also covering Harvard principles of negotiation, as well as the negotiation engineering approach developed by Prof. Ambühl at ETH Zurich. The course also dedicates some time to focus on conflict management as a specific category of negotiation situations and briefly introduces students to the social aspects of negotiation, based on the insights from psychology and behavioral economics. The empirical part of the course draws on case-studies from the realm of international politics and business, including examples from Prof. Ambühl’s work as a career diplomat. Every year, the course also hosts two guest lecturers – representatives from politics or business leaders, who share practical experience on negotiations from their careers.
Resources
Literature
The list of relevant references will be distributed in the beginning of the course.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DS , DR , MSC , NDS
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- end-of-semester examination
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise | Introduction to Negotiation |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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GESS Science in Perspective (Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "GESS Science in Perspective" courses. Further below you will find courses under the category "Type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses. During the Bachelor’s degree Students should acquire at least 6 ECTS and during the Master’s degree 2 ECTS. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (Suitable for all students. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type B: Reflection About Subject-Specific Methods and Contents (Subject-specific courses: Recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the same course again. All these courses are listed under the category “Typ A”, this means, every student can enroll in these courses.)
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Doctoral Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (More Information at: )