MIR 886 Negotiations and Dispute Resolution
MIR 886 takes the arena of union-management relations as a point of departure to examine the processes and issues related to negotiations and conflict resolution. Negotiations take place everyday in a wide variety of contexts: between labour and management, within organizations, across social groups and even between friends and family members. While this has always been the case, many of the forces which are changing the nature of the global economy in general and the Canadian workplace in particular, such as globalization, increases in workforce diversity, and shifts in organizational structures, are making negotiating skills more critical.
Course objectives
This course will explore the major concepts and theories of the negotiations process and the dynamics of organizational conflict and resolution. A key purpose of the course is to provide opportunities for class participants to develop their negotiating abilities for use in organizational and other settings. This course assumes that negotiating concepts are best learned through a practice grounded in rigorous analysis and reflection. Although theoretical principles and concepts from various disciplines (e.g. industrial relations, social psychology, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and economics) will be presented through lectures and readings, this course will primarily focus on developing practical skills