PGP PRO 2023-24 I Communications, Negotiations, Power and Influence

This course builds a foundation for developing effective leadership communication, negotiation, influence, and persuasion skills. The course focuses on general negotiation principles and techniques, and then applies these concepts specifically to inter-cultural situations. A discussion of the meaning of culture and the ways in which various cultures differ anchors the course. The last part of this course focuses on equipping participants with techniques for negotiating effectively using digital platforms.

Faculty

Prof. Robert McCann

Prof. Robert McCann

Professor

Dr. Bob McCann is a part of the School’s Management & Organization faculty, where he creates, directs, and teaches management communication and leadership classes across virtually all of Anderson’s MBA degree programs.

He is currently the Chair of the UCLA Thailand Executive Committee, and also serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee of UCLA’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Bob was formerly the Associate Dean for Global Initiatives and the Associate Faculty Director of the Center for Global Management at UCLA Anderson.

Dr. McCann’s areas of research interest include workplace ageism, intergroup communication, and intercultural communication.  He is the principal investigator on UCLA’s multi-year CIBER grant. Dr. McCann has been published in several major refereed communication journals and has won numerous research awards. Bob also serves on the executive editorial board of the Journal of Asian Pacific Communication.

Dr. McCann’s latest book is entitled Ageism at Work: The Role of Communication in a Changing Workplace. The book is available in three languages (Spanish, Catalan, and English).

Prior to his return to the United States, Dr. McCann lived in Asia for nearly 20 years. Most of this time was spent in Thailand, where he worked both in academia at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University and in the private sector (in the spirits industry).

Aside from communication, Dr. McCann teaches courses including Global Leadership, Persuasion & Leadership, Leading & Doing Business in Thailand, and Doing Business in Southeast Asia in Anderson’s FEMBA, EMBA and Executive Education programs. He also teaches undergraduate classes each year in Hong Kong.

Dr. McCann is a frequent media consultant in the areas of management communication, leadership, workplace ageism, and age diversified workplaces, most recently appearing on National Public Radio and in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, US News and World Report, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, GQ, Esquire, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Capital Times, and the International Herald Tribune.

Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. McCann taught at the USC Marshall School of Business. At USC, Dr. McCann was a recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching Award, an honor bestowed by Marshall’s full-time, first year MBA class on its favorite professors. Dr. McCann has received numerous dean’s commendations at UCLA and USC for exemplary teaching.

Education

Ph.D. Communications, UC Santa Barbara
M.A. Applied Linguistics, UCLA
B.A. International Studies, Emory University

Interests

Ageism, Organizational Communication, Social Psychology in Thailand and South East Asia, Persuasion, Personal Development, Communication In and Between Firms, Communications, Cross-Cultural Issues, Culture, Leadership, Human Resources, Asia

Recognition

  • Golden Apple Graduate Teaching Award
  • National Communication Association Outstanding Dissertation Award in Communication and Aging
  • Western States Communication Association Milton Dickens Award for Exemplary Empirical Research
  • Brython Davis Research Fellowship
  • James J. Bradac Award for Excellence in Research
  • George D. McCune Research Fellowship
Prof. Miguel Unzueta

Prof. Miguel Unzueta

Professor

Miguel Unzueta is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at UCLA Anderson School of Management. His research explores how people understand their position within social and interpersonal hierarchies and the impact this understanding has on their perceptions of self, others, and group-based inequality.

Professor Unzueta teaches the core organizational behavior course for full-time MBA students (@MGMT 409). In 2010, he was awarded the George Robbins Assistant Professor Teaching Award.  More recently, he was selected by Poets & Quants as one of the best 40 business school professors under age 40.

Professor Unzueta is currently serving on the editorial board of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies and is a member of the Riordan Programs’ advisory board.

Course Learning Objectives:

  • Use both verbal and nonverbal principles in the context of inter-cultural communication.
  • Explain cultural differences pertaining to age, nationality, business, and leadership.
  • Prepare for and engage in negotiations, including those taking place in inter-cultural settings.
  • Synthesize the key points concerning nonverbal communication to create an explanatory graphic.
  • For one culture not your own, develop a one-page list of tips on cultural characteristics to assist travelers to that culture.
  • Use the research findings of Dr. Amy Cuddy to experiment with “power posing” and report the results.
  • Create a list of methods supporting an age-friendly workplace, regardless of culture.
  • Describe the major determinants of culture.
  • Analyze the similarities and differences of two nations, according to Hofstede’s Interactive Dimensions.
  • Prepare for a negotiation, including determining aspiration/target point, reservation point, BATNA, and first offer.
  • Estimate the aspiration/target point, reservation point, BATNA, and first offer of a negotiating counterpart and compare them with your own.
  • Write a rationale for making the first offer in a negotiation, supporting your position with psychological reasons.
  • Analyze a specific interest to generate a list of possible positions that could satisfy the negotiator’s needs.
  • Examine a stalled negotiation between members of different cultures to develop recommendations for restarting the discussion and moving it in a positive direction.
  • Familiarize with the process, benefits and challenges of negotiating on email, social media, phones and video conferencing.
  • Maximize digital negotiation outcomes using strategies and tips for effective digital negotiations.
  • Communications, Negotiations, Power and Influence

Syllabus

Learning Objectives:
  • Synthesize the key points concerning nonverbal communication to create an explanatory graphic.
  • For one culture not your own, develop a one-page list of tips on cultural characteristics to assist travelers to that culture.
  • Use the research findings of Dr. Amy Cuddy to experiment with “power posing” and report the results.
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • Introduction to Nonverbal Communication
  • Power Poses by Amy Cuddy
  • Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and National Culture
  • Strategic Nonverbal Communication

Quiz:

  • Nonverbal Communication
Learning Objectives:
  • Create a list of methods supporting an age-friendly workplace, regardless of culture.
  • Describe the major determinants of culture.
  • Analyze the similarities and differences of two nations, according to Hofstede’s Interactive Dimensions.
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • Age and Culture based Communication
  • Nation and Culture related differences in Communication
  • National Differences in Business Leadership Styles

Readings:

  • Cross-Cultural Etiquette and Communication in Global Business
  • The Hofstede Centre: Country Comparison

Quiz:

  • Cross Culture Communication
Learning Objectives:
  • Communications, Negotiations, Power and Influence
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • What is Persuasion?
  • The Difference Between Persuasion and Negotiation
  • How to Influence Different Types of Individuals
  • Difference Between Persuasion and Influence
  • An Example – Persuasion and Influence

Readings:

  • What is Influence?
  • A Framework for Building Influence at the Workplace

Quiz:

  • Influence and Persuasion – Quiz
Learning Objectives:
  • Prepare for a negotiation, including determining aspiration/target point, reservation point, BATNA, and first offer.
  • Estimate the aspiration/target point, reservation point, BATNA, and first offer of a negotiating counterpart and compare them with your own.
  • Write a rationale for making the first offer in a negotiation, supporting your position with psychological reasons.
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • Understanding the art of Negotiation
  • Real-World Examples from Negotiations
  • The Psychology of First Offers

Readings:

  • The Art of Negotiating
  • Basic Negotiating Tips Anyone Can Use
  • Negotiation Tips for Beginners
  • Five Things You Should Never Say While Negotiating

Quiz:

  • The Art of Negotiation
Learning Objectives:
  • Analyze a specific interest to generate a list of possible positions that could satisfy the negotiator’s needs.
  • Examine a stalled negotiation between members of different cultures to develop recommendations for restarting the discussion and moving it in a positive direction.
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • Building and Managing Positions and Interests
  • Cross-Cultural Negotiations

Readings:

  • Cross-Cultural Communication and Negotiation
  • Mapping Cultures-Strategies for Effective Intercultural Negotiations

Quiz:

  • Global and Cross Cultural Negotiation
Learning Objectives:
  • Familiarize with the process, benefits and challenges of negotiating on email, social media, phones and video conferencing.
  • Maximize digital negotiation outcomes using strategies and tips for effective digital negotiations.
Module Components:

Video Lectures:

  • Negotiating Using Email and Social Media
  • Negotiating on Phone
  • Negotiating on Video Conference
  • Non-Verbal Communication in Virtual Negotiations

Readings:

  • How Technology is Changing Negotiation
  • Tips for Negotiating Virtually
  • Overcoming Challenges in Virtual Negotiations

Quiz:

  • Digital Negotiations

Support

Please email [email protected] for any support required with respect to the program, course or platform.