Ementa:
The activity’s goal is to involve realtors in the negotiation techniques application, following the Harvard negotiation method through the concrete case solution involving Property Law. The development of the activity is separated in three parts, wherein the definitions will occur as the subsequent part takes into account the progress report filled by the students. GOALS:
Objetivo:
- GENERAL GOALS: the target of this course was a challenge for this professor, just because of students’ professional acting – realtors -, since they are “excellent negotiators”. This challenge took the professor to adopt a different pedagogic-didactic strategy: the use of problem-based learning methodology combined with a cases simulation in the Property Law area, also grounded on a progressive diagnosed analysis (class-to-class) of their own performance. During the course, the professor had a huge preoccupation of building with the students a new or innovative knowledge for their expertise.
- SPECIFIC GOALS: The activity application (cases "Mendes Family", "Fagundes Couple" and "Reopening of Property negotiation from Fagundes couple") during the course were punctual to achieve the intended pedagogic-didactic goals, that were: to cause on the students a deep reflection about their own way to negotiate; to break “old ways of negotiation”; propose “new techniques”; awakening students existents skills or develop them; and finally establish and repaint a “negotiation process”. The activities could achieve these goals proposed following this format:
1st) before the proposition of the Harvard Negotiation Method, the activity brought a group diagnosis, like how they negotiate through a diagnosed report; 2nd) in the theoretical thematic that was worked, the activity proposed to the students that they could realize how they would negotiate using another way (paradigm break); 3rd) In the end of each activity, they always answered a report that gave to the professor a diagnosis of the skills and abilities to be worked on, in a progressive form. 4th) in the developed activities, they always worked Property Law questions, aiming to the students a bigger possibility to reason according to their professional daily life.
- DEVELOPED ABILITIES: Primarily, the worked skills were: “how” could the students change the negotiation way or “how to improve” this way of negotiation. Then, there were other skills and abilities that were worked, such as: how to deal facing the power contest; how to get power facing the situations of psychological and economics pressure; how to achieve a decision making with a rightest form around complex situations; and finally, to work more the listening and observing techniques
Dinâmica:
- TEACHING METHOD: problem-based learning and simulation
- REQUIREMENTS: In relation to the students, before some meetings they had a previous reading that changed according to the theme.
In relation to the professor, in the final part of the applied activity, there was a report answered by the students. The reports brought the diagnosis of each student about how they were developing throughout the course and what should be worked, which served to the professor for his adoption into the next course stages.
- DEVELOPMENT OF THE DYNAMICS: the course had a total duration of 20 hours divided into the following:
1st meeting (4 hours) – class about applicable communication and negotiation.
2nd meeting (4 hours) – introductory class to negotiation/paradigm break and application to the activity named “Part 1”, lastly the report/diagnosis.
3rd meeting (4 hours) – class about applicable communication and negotiation.
4th meeting (4 hours) – class about the Harvard negotiation method – application of the activity named “Part 2”, lastly the report/ diagnosis.
5th meeting (4 hours) – class about the Harvard negotiation method/Negotiation process formation – application of the activity named “Part 3”
The meetings, with duration of 4 hours each, took place on the following format: There was a brief exposition about the theoretical thematic (negotiation techniques and strategies) in about 1 hour. After that, the class went to the resolution of proposal problems, always in the Property Law Area. Throughout this activity, it was used the simulation methodologies and problem-based learning. The application of this activity had duration of 1 to 1 hour and 30 minutes and the class was divided in groups of 5 or 6 people, depending on the number of characters inside the case. If it was necessary, there was an adequacy of the characters’ number, in reason of students in the classroom. At the presented and developed case by the professor, the characters brought in their own characteristics, which these attributes that stimulated the students to negotiate inside their abilities and negotiation skills or not, which made them eager to use. The activity “parts”, which were named like this, were built progressively by the professor throughout the course, always using the reported diagnosed of each class. The rest of the meeting time was used for dynamics’ applications..
The activity’s script can be found in the attachments of this file. As explained before, the activity was formed by three parts:
Part 1 : Mendes Family case – there are five characters
Part 2: Fagundes Couple case - there are five characters
Part 3: Reopening of Property negotiation from Fagundes family. - there are six characters
Each character had an impressed color paper, to make it a bigger difference among the participants. All the characters had the confident information that could or not be revealed, according to the necessity of the negotiation’s context. The students were oriented, during the negotiation, that they should use all techniques and strategies suggested until that moment of the course.
During part 1 and 2, they answered the reports that promoted a progressive student diagnosis, as well as the collection of the data by the professor at the moment of each case.
After the cases application, the professor also discussed with the students the results gained with the activity.
- ATTENTION IN THE CLASSROOM: At the moment of the application of the activities, the professor always stayed very attentive to each detail from the negotiation involved people, such as: If a student was more shy or expansive, what he said about the case, as well as the similar experiences lived and how he conducted the real situation. These elements always were considered for the activity elaboration of the next meeting, and the students who were more shy were placed in the groups that contained more expansive students.
Avaliação:
- FEEDBACK: The professor gave the feedback to the students during the activity and also according to their individual reports.
- GRADE EVALUATION: As a course of short duration, there is no grade attribution. However, there was a course evaluation made by the students, who brought as a feedback, a high satisfaction level with the course for their professional performance, as well as their own reflections about negotiations acting forms.
Observações:
1) The activity was applied in a Negotiations Techniques and Strategies course. It was a short duration course, taught with the supervision from the professor, at the FACAMP Graduate School. Their target publics were Seniors Realtors (the vast majority). The course had a total of 20 hours/class, being 12 hours/class about negotiation and 8 hours/class about communication applied to negotiation. The 12 hours/class were taught by this professor, and the rest of the class by another invited professor, who has a psychology and actuation inside the people management backgrounds.
2) It would be more interesting if there could be a higher number of meetings. It is justified by the bigger enhancement of their abilities and skills as well as a better look of the narratives brought by them about their professional daily work, in order to enhance and solidify the negotiating skills.
