Midwest Vending Negotiation: Case Study

The purpose of the negotiation simulation was to determine a proper punishment for a Midwest Vending employee, Jim Smith, who had broken a new policy put in place by the company after another employee was caught violating the old policy. Two parties would meet, one party representing Jim Smith and other party representing the company. The two parties met to discuss what happened and agree on an appropriate punishment for Jim’s violation. The Midwest Vending negotiation was a simulation in which the differences in framing and patterns of behavior between labor and management heavily impacted the presented arguments and flow of the negotiation between the two parties. “Talking it through: communication sequences in negotiation,” is the play-by-play …show more content…
Reference Frames were evident when Amanda came to the table to talk. A reference frame is similar to a reference point, it is how “potential outcomes are coded as either gains or losses” (Schweitzer & DeChurch, 2001, pg 101), to a given party. It was decided to bring in someone new to the negotiation because she was able to reframe the situation for the negotiating parties. By framing the situation to say both parties had a fault and acknowledging to the other party that she understood and agreed with certain arguments, the emotions between the parties were able to simmer enough to come to an agreement. After Amanda came in to talk with Jim’s representatives the company group did experience some losses due to us acknowledging the fault we had in the Jim Smith case and we had to adjust our offers to maintain a level of fairness to the …show more content…
“Negotiators should recognize that framing effects represent both opportunities and threats. On the one hand, negotiators and mediators can use frames to motivate agents working on their behalf or to facilitate agreement. On the other hand, negotiators may inadvertently adopt frames that influence their behavior in ways that are inconsistent with their underlying goals” (Schweitzer & DeChurch, 2001, pg 109). The Midwest Vending simulation can support DeChurch and Schweitzer’s results. Both parties started with initial frames whose purpose was to motive and facilitate an agreement. However as the negotiation started to unfold new frames were adopted that began to move away from the initial goals of the party. The parties did refocus on their goals and adjusting their framing and actions accordingly to reach an