Book Description

Success in negotiation is not a matter of chance, but the result of careful planning and specialized skills. Some of these skills are inborn, others need to be learnt. In this book the social scientist and economist Professor Dr. Raymond Saner draws on his long years of experience as a negotiation adviser, teacher, trainer, researcher and university lecturer to show that twothirds of negotiation practice is learnable. Yet very few people are specifically trained in this everyday task. Without sacrificing scientific accuracy, Professor Saner offers a highly readable and fascinating guide to the subject. In so doing, he does not limit himself to the over-simplified tips generally put out on successful bargaining in every imaginable situation. Rather, he treats the different aspects of negotiation practice in a way that is useful to both academics and practitioners, such that the general laws and principles gradually become evident as and of themselves. The aim of this approach is to reveal the essence of negotiation through the experience of both the author and the reader. Such an understanding of the processes involved in negotiation is of far greater practical value than a mere collection of recipes with no discussion of the underlying theory, while the most comprehensive treatment of the theory without reference to its application in practice would be only half the story. Thus, the text is supplemented by a series of illustrative examples and case studies from the business, political, NGO and international organization arenas, plus some seventy figures and tables. With all this, the author has paid considerable attention to writing a text that is both entertaining to read and rigorous in content.