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Managerial, executive, and entrepreneurial success requires the ability to negotiate. The essential reading and recommended module plan will help readers become more effective negotiators by: 1) mastering a negotiation framework that will help them analyze, prepare for, and execute negotiations more systematically-and hence, more effectively-in a wide variety of contexts; 2) building a negotiation toolkit that consists of practical strategies for creating and capturing value in negotiation; and 3) learning how to create a negotiation environment that helps diagnose individual needs, and allows negotiators to identify techniques for mitigating weaknesses and leveraging their strengths. The supplemental reading addresses two additional topics: cross-cultural negotiations and gender issues in negotiation.

Every day, millions of people around the world face long commutes to work. In the United States alone, approximately 25 million workers spend more than 90 minutes each day getting to and from their jobs. And yet few people enjoy their commutes. This distaste for commuting has serious implications for well-being. Studies have found that workers with lengthy commutes feel more anxious and less happy and satisfied with life than those with shorter ones and are more likely to get divorced. They also are less likely to find their daily activities worthwhile, are more exhausted and less productive at work, and have lower job satisfaction. But it doesn't have to be this way. Research, including studies that the authors conducted, suggests that small tweaks to the way you conduct your commute can improve the experience, leaving you both happier and more productive. They offer five strategies that commuters can try: Use the time to shift your mindset; prepare to be productive; find your "pocket of freedom"; share the spirit; and reduce your commute.

By embracing a vigilant mindset as a 'default state' and employing four tools-including 'asking lots of questions' and 'attending to artful dodges'-managers in any industry can develop a keen ability to notice unethical behaviour. The authors show that this is a critical step towards reducing both 'bounded ethicality' and 'bounded awareness' in today's organizations.

This Reading argues that decision making is systematically flawed and introduces methods to improve decision-making effectiveness. The Essential Reading section covers the rational decision-making model and three important ideas that challenge it: Herbert Simon's concept of bounded rationality, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's work on heuristics and biases, and Keith Stanovich and Richard West's conceptualization of System 1 and System 2 thinking. The Reading then discusses seven common biases or heuristics, along with ways to mitigate them, and lists additional common biases to show the broad range of issues that can influence decision making. The authors also describe biases and additional decision-making challenges that are particular to groups. Finally, the Essential Reading draws on Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's concept of choice architecture to present a new framework for better decision making. The Reading includes two Supplemental Reading sections that deal with how motivation and emotion affect decisions, and how flawed decision-making processes can compromise ethics. The Reading also features two videos and one Interactive Illustration.

Pal's Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the quick service restaurant business. With a deep emphasis on process control and improvement, zero defects, extensive training, and a high level of employee engagement, Pal's has been able to achieve excellent operating and financial performance. The case examines the challenges it potentially faces as it contemplates growing the chain significantly from the 28 units it currently operates.

"I hate networking." It's a familiar refrain. But in today's world, networking is a necessity-and fortunately, an aversion to it can be overcome. Drawing on laboratory experiments and on studies at a large law firm, the authors have identified four strategies that can help people become more excited about and effective at building relationships: Focus on learning. Adopt a "promotion mindset" and concentrate on the positives, and you're more likely to perceive networking as an opportunity for discovery rather than a chore. Identify common interests. Consider how your goals align with those of people you meet, and networking will feel more authentic. Think broadly about what you can give. Remember that you have something valuable to offer, whether it's knowledge, gratitude, or recognition. Find a higher purpose. Frame your networking in terms of a larger goal-the collective benefits for your company, say-and the activity will feel more authentic and will lead to connections that bear fruit for everyone.

A 2-party negotiation role play between a search engine startup, YOUReka, and Quantron, a supplier of the subassembly boards used at YOUReka's data centers. At issue is a possible breach of contract. Roles include Role for Quantron (#916035) and Role for YOUReka (#916036).

By 2013, the U.S. wireless industry was in the midst of a costly transition. As consumers began to embrace more sophisticated mobile devices, the industry's four main players spent heavily to improve their infrastructures for providing reliable high-speed data services. T-Mobile, the smallest of the four major carriers, lacked the scale of its competitors and risked falling further behind in the contest for market share. Faced with this daunting business environment, T-Mobile's new CEO declared war on the rest of the industry, decrying competitor pricing practices and upending the traditional contract-based business model. This case provides background information on the state of the wireless industry in 2013 and follows T-Mobile's early steps to transform its market position.

Boston-based fast-casual chain, b.good, was founded on the idea of healthy food, sourced locally, and prepared in-store. They'd worked to build a value-based business, and worked hard to cultivate a sense of family--among employees, customers and suppliers. In 2015, they had entered a period of substantial growth, with the company doubling in size over the past 12 months, and plans to double again over the coming twelve months. The management felt this purpose and sense of family had served them well, but were worried that growth would water down these key ingredients to their success. As they enter 2016, they are particularly focused on ensuring that they get the "people" systems right.

A 2-party negotiation role play between a search engine startup, YOUReka, and Quantron, a supplier of the subassembly boards used at YOUReka's data centers. At issue is a possible breach of contract. Roles include Role for Quantron (#916035) and Role for YOUReka (#916036).

For any enterprise to be competitive, continuous learning and improvement are key--but not always easy to achieve. After a decade of research, the authors have concluded that four biases stand in the way: We focus too heavily on success, are too quick to act, try too hard to fit in, and rely too much on experts. Each of these biases raises challenges, but each can be curbed with particular strategies. A preoccupation with success, for example, leads to an unreasonable fear of failure, a mindset that inhibits risk taking, a focus on past performance rather than potential, and blindness to the role of luck in successes and failures. Managers therefore need to treat mistakes as learning opportunities, recognize and foster workers' capacity for growth, and conduct data-based project reviews. To counter the bias toward action--and the unthinking perpetual motion and exhaustion that ensue--leaders can schedule more work breaks and make time for reflection. They can redress the tendency to conform, which stifles innovation, by encouraging workers to cultivate their individual strengths and to speak up when they have ideas for improvements. And they can develop and empower their employees to solve problems instead of turning automatically to outside experts.

Everyone from CEOs to frontline workers commits preventable mistakes-for example, underestimating how long it will take to finish a project or focusing too much on information that supports their current view. It is extraordinarily difficult to rewire the human brain to undo the patterns that lead to such mistakes. But there is another approach: Alter the environment in ways that encourage people to make decisions that lead to good outcomes. Leaders can do this by restructuring how work is performed, say Harvard Business School's John Beshears and Francesca Gino. In this article, they offer a five-step process for mitigating the effects of cognitive biases and low motivation on decision making: Understand the kinds of systematic errors people make and the factors that affect motivation. Define the problem to determine whether behavioral issues are at play. Diagnose the specific underlying causes. Design a way to tweak the environment to reduce or mitigate the negative impact of cognitive biases and insufficient motivation on decisions. Rigorously test the proposed solution.

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee handbook) includes 100% self-allocated time, no managers (and therefore no managerial oversight), a structure so fluid that all desks have wheels to allow free movement between ""cabals"" (teams) on a regular basis (which happens frequently enough that Valve created a homegrown tracking app to allow peers to find each other), a unique hiring apparatus that supports recruitment of T-shaped individuals, and a purely peer-based performance review and stack ranking. As customer demand and market forces draw Valve into hardware in 2013, Valve questions whether their organizational model will need to change as it expands from software into hardware-and, if so, whether they should prioritize strategy over structure or structure over strategy. The case therefore presents students with a strategic and organizational challenge which tests students' understanding, and Valve's resolve, with regard to the congruence between their organizational model and strategic direction. Students should have read and discussed the (A) case, and Valve's options for entering hardware, prior to the (B) case being distributed. The (B) case provides significant detail on Valve's initial decisions but keeps the final outcome as a work-in-process.

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee handbook) includes 100% self-allocated time, no managers (and therefore no managerial oversight), a structure so fluid that all desks have wheels to allow free movement between "cabals" (teams) on a regular basis (which happens frequently enough that Valve created a homegrown tracking app to allow peers to find each other), a unique hiring apparatus that supports recruitment of T-shaped individuals, and a purely peer-based performance review and stack ranking. As customer demand and market forces draw Valve into hardware in 2013, Valve questions whether their organizational model will need to change as it expands from software into hardware-and, if so, whether they should prioritize strategy over structure or structure over strategy. The case, therefore, presents students with a strategic and organizational challenge that tests students' understanding, and Valve's resolve, with regard to the congruence between their organizational model and strategic direction.

Morning Star, a collection of affiliated companies, had grown steadily since 1970 when Chris Rufer, president and founder, started the business hauling tomatoes to processing plants in a truck. The company's main products continued to be tomato-based, including a 40% share in the tomato paste and diced tomato market in 2013. Different from traditional manufacturing companies, Morning Star relied on self-management to execute the work in any part of the organization. The company was built on individual freedom, with the expectation that employees would take responsibility for holding their peers accountable and address performance failures directly. The case explores how the company can establish a compensation model that fairly compensates employees for their performance and provides a broad incentive to hold others accountable, while being consistent with self-management. This case includes color exhibits.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article.

In this fictionalized case study, an in-house lawyer at a cosmetics company is trying to decide the best approach to negotiating with a government entity. The company is the largest extractor of volcanic ash in the Northern Mariana Islands and the governor of the territory has proposed a large tax increase. The lawyer believes the company should approach the negotiation carefully, but the company's CEO wants to take a harder line and threaten to shut down. The CEO wants to issue a press release to that effect. The lawyer must decide whether making a statement to the press is the right tactic. Written by Francesca Gino and featuring expert commentary by Andrzej Klesyk and Michael Hartman.

In this fictionalized case study, an in-house lawyer at a cosmetics company is trying to decide the best approach to negotiating with a government entity. The company is the largest extractor of volcanic ash in the Northern Mariana Islands and the governor of the territory has proposed a large tax increase. The lawyer believes the company should approach the negotiation carefully, but the company's CEO wants to take a harder line and threaten to shut down. The CEO wants to issue a press release to that effect. The lawyer must decide whether making a statement to the press is the right tactic. Written by Francesca Gino and featuring expert commentary by Andrzej Klesyk and Michael Hartman.