Commercial and Contractual Management of Projects

CETM10

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3

Types of Negotiation..................................................................................................................4

Literature Review.......................................................................................................................4

Negotiation in Project Management...........................................................................................5

Comparisons with Harbour Company Ltd Negotiation Game...................................................6

Reflection on Challenges in the Negotiation Game...............................................................7

Case Study - Harbour Company Ltd Negotiation Game...........................................................9

Conclusion................................................................................................................................11

References................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Negotiation is an important skill for project managers to have and often makes the difference
between successful projects. Businesses need to be able to deal in order to get what they want
in today's complicated business world. With the help of new research and examples from real
life, this study report guides readers through the complicated process of project management
negotiations. The report is mostly about the interesting discussion game played by Harbour
Company Ltd. In a fake business setting, this hands-on activity is like a kiln where vague
ideas are heated up and turned into real-life situations. Harbour Company Ltd.'s bargaining
game is a lot like the real world of business. It is a new way for us to see how thoughts about
negotiating work in real life. Actual negotiation situations are like a furnace that is always
changing. They try, push, and sometimes change ideas because of how the currents flow. This
report looks through the Harbour Company Ltd negotiation game, looking for shadows and
refractions that show how negotiation theory and the real-world cases of project management
are connected.

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Types of Negotiation
Negotiation in management of project is the dynamic process of reconciling the diverse
interests of the stakeholders which helps in collaboration and achievement of shared
understanding. The two prominent types of negotiation that emerge are:

 Integrative negotiation: Which empathizes the gains that earns mutually and with
cooperation.
 Distributive negotiation: This negotiation focuses on dividing resources which is
offset of the gain of one party while the loss of other (Smolinski & Xiong, 2020).

These negotiations play an important role in conflict management, interests of stakeholders

alignment, and navigating strategically the complexities inherent in the environment of the
project.

Literature Review
Negotiation is an important and useful skill that becomes very important in project
management because it has a big impact on how projects go and how successful they are in
the end. There is a lot of writing on this topic that explains complicated relationships and
shows how important negotiation is in project management, what problems it can cause, and
how it can be used strategically. Pedersen (2020) set the stage by saying that negotiation is a
process of changing things and bringing people with different interests together to reach an
understanding. This idea is deeply rooted in project management A lot of different kinds of
people with various hopes and goals gather in this place. The only way to get these different
groups to work together is to negotiate.

A strong theme that runs using a lot of the writing is how essential it is to be able to negotiate
for a project to go well. Smolinski and Xiong (2020), talk about how good negotiators can get
things done in difficult projects. The bargaining game for Harbour Company Ltd. showed that
these negotiators are experts at bringing together the interests of different parties. This is
similar to how they work as architects of cooperation. In this case, being able to negotiate
well is not just helpful; the real job must go well.

Negotiation is still going on and there are problems to solve. It is very hard to communicate,
people have different goals, and power is not shared equally, as Menkel-Meadow et al. (2020)
explain in great depth. Surprisingly, these issues can be seen and felt in the negotiations that

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the Harbour Company Ltd game sets up. This connects what is talked about in school to what
is used in real life in virtual project settings.

Literature talks about a lot of different ways to deal, which helps us learn more about how to
do it well. Sutherland and Janene-Nelson's (2020) moral approach to communication, which
is based on having to get what you require while keeping your relationships whole, works
great with the way people work together on projects. At the same time, Gates (2022) backs
negotiation strategies that focus on making things better for everyone. This idea is made clear
by the fact that the talks in the Harbour Company Ltd game went well.

By looking at a lot of different pieces of writing, we have a good case for the idea that
discussion is an important part of project management. Not only does it show how important
negotiations are to the project's success, but it also talks about how hard they can be. To reach
these goals, strategies are given that can be used even when the bargaining situation changes.
This mix of in-depth theory and real-world use helps you fully understand how important
communication is in the complicated world of project management.

Negotiation in Project Management

To be a good project manager, you need to be able to deal with clients, team members, and
outside groups all the time. Being able to work well with groups of people who have different
interests and goals is important as the world changes. They make things clear, even though
they know that the needs and wants of different groups don't always match up. Project
managers need to be very good at talking things down in order to get things done. The Harbor
Company Ltd trading game makes this very clear. Not only is being able to deal with
different people a skill, but it is also important from a business point of view. It helps groups
get help and an answer, even if some people don't agree.

Negotiation is like a careful dance on project teams, where everyone works together to make
choices, give tasks, and settle disagreements. They say that it is important to bargain as a
group, taking into account everyone's different ideas, goals, and skills. This way, everyone
can stay on the same page and get things done. The Harbor Company Ltd game is based on
real events and simulates cases where figuring out who on the team is in charge of what is
very important to the success of the project.

Outside groups, which have a lot of power in the project setting, are also very important in
the negotiation process. Regulatory bodies, sellers, and other groups need to be good at

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negotiating in order to get the resources, approvals, or relationships they need. Higgins and
Pinelli (2020) say that if you want a project to work, you need to negotiate with people
outside of the project. This theme can be seen in the Federal Licensing Agency (FLA) talks in
the Harbour Company Ltd game. This is where talks with outside groups happen, showing us
how these kinds of deals can affect the growth of the project.

There will always be disagreements on projects, but these disagreements can be used to come
to effective agreements. Russell's model of conflict management from 2022 talks about
different styles that work well with bargaining tactics. Some of these styles are compromising
and merging. Open conversation and working together to solve problems are seen as
important ways to end disagreements (Bachynsky, 2019). In the Harbour Company Ltd game,
these thoughts keep coming up during talks. The different parts of the project don't work well
with each other, and there are due dates that need to be negotiated well.

So, to sum up, talk is an ongoing process that is an important part of project management.
People on the project's team, with users, and outside groups can all sense it. It impacts the
project's success in many ways. A lot of research has been done on how to understand and use
strategies for negotiation in these different situations. This fits well with the useful things I
learned from playing the hard Harbour Company Ltd game. The only way to fully understand
the important role that bargaining plays in the tricky world of project management is to learn
about it in the classroom and then do it in real life.

Comparisons with Harbour Company Ltd Negotiation Game

We learned a lot about how to negotiate in project management by reading the book and
playing the game made by Hafen Company Ltd. They tell a good story together, with some
ideas that are the same and some that are a little different. This comparison brings together
theoretical ideas and images from real life because of this. It shows how tough it can be to
negotiate when running a job.

Getting along with different groups of people is a big part of both the book and the Harbour
Company Ltd game. Because of this, we can see how important it is to know that everyone
has different tastes. The game experience tells us something about how Weretecki et al.
(2021) talk about managing the ties between stakeholders. If you want to get people on board
and keep disagreements from happening, you need to be good at negotiating. Why is it
important for everyone to work on a project together? Because these ideas all fit together
well.

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Smolinski and Xiong (2020) talk about how team negotiations work best when everyone
works together. This is a theme that comes up again in the Harbour Company Ltd game. The
literature stresses the importance of negotiating team roles, responsibilities, and goals in order
to keep project teams working together. The game provides a practical platform for this. This
alignment draws attention to the natural connection between working together to negotiate
and manage projects well.

Moust et al. (2021) go into a lot of detail about how to negotiate with people from outside the
group. This is very clear from both the books and the Harbour Company Ltd game. The talks
with the Federal Licensing Agency (FLA) in the game are a lot like the problems people have
when they try to get help and permission from outside groups. In the real world, negotiating
with people outside of a project can change its path. This example shows how this can
happen.

Negotiation as a way to solve conflicts is an important topic that Silva and Fontana (2021)
and other experts have looked into. The negotiations in the Harbour Company Ltd game are
the same as those in other studies. Styles of conflict management and collaborative problem-
solving were used together in both cases. This shows that these rules can be used to handle
problems in any project setting.

The book and the game are similar, but they are also different. The literature gives us a
theoretical base and models that can be used in a lot of different scenarios. The Harbour
Company Ltd game, on the other hand, puts players right into the tough negotiations of a
deep-water port project, showing them in more depth and realistically how hard negotiations
can be. The game's useful parts add to its academic value, giving a full picture of negotiation
in project management.

There is a way that the books and the Harbour Company Ltd bargaining game are alike that
makes both of them better. It's clear how important it is to negotiate with outside groups,
teams, and stakeholders, as well as find ways to settle disagreements when you share goals.
The realistic situations in the game add to these insights by giving players problems that are
unique to each situation. This helps everyone learn how to deal in the world of project
management, which is always changing. These thoughts back up the idea that bargaining is
more than just an idea; it's a real, useful tool that affects the success of projects in the real
world.

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Reflection on Challenges in the Negotiation Game
The Environmental League was very against the idea for environmental reasons, and one of
the most important things you had to do in the game was to talk to them. As Ajayi and
Mmutle (2021) say, the literature focuses on stakeholder analysis and strategic
communication. This fits nicely with how the game showed how important it is to understand
and address stakeholders' needs and wants. When the task came up, it became clear how
theoretical ideas can be used to deal with environmental concerns in real life.

During the game, there were a lot of team talk problems. This is similar to how Kossek and
Kelliher (2022) describe project teams: they work together. To work well together and get the
most out of everyone's work, teams need to be able to negotiate well. This was shown by the
idea of finding a balance between different team roles and goals. It was easy to see from the
game how hard it is to bargain as a group. This made it more clear why project teams need to
make decisions together.

Talking to the Federal Department of Coastal Resources (DCR) brought up external

discussion problems similar to those described in the literature about how hard it is to get
resources and permissions from outside groups (Nguyen et al., 2023). The way the game
showed dealing with government rules and getting money for projects was similar to what
research has said about how important it is to negotiate strategically with outside groups for
projects to succeed. This negotiation task with an outside group showed how important it is to
deal with regulatory bodies and outside groups in a project management setting.

A lot of the time, people in talks have trouble settling disagreements. Liddle (2023) style for
handling disagreements made sense when it came to that. The game taught us how to use
strategies like integrating and compromising, which fits with a study that says people should
work together to solve problems and come to an agreement. The game's bargaining tasks
were based on the same ideas as the theory. This made the point even stronger that solving
problems in a good way takes several skills that are based on well-known frameworks.

But some parts of the discussion game added things that were not in the books. This showed
how hard it is to negotiate in real life. People could not be sure what Governor Sherwood
would say about politics, and negotiating a big building project was different from other
types of negotiations, so it was harder than expected. It became clear from the game how
important it is to be adaptable and plan. It also showed that bargaining skills aren't just
learned in school and need to be used in a variety of situations.

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The issues that came up during the negotiating game were a great example of how the
literature says we should negotiate with outsiders, work as a team, and negotiate with
stakeholders. There were clear differences between the groups, which showed that project
managers need to be able to deal in ways that are not based on theories. The negotiation game
was a real-life test that showed how important it is to use both what we have learned in
school and different methods that can be used in different job negotiations. This mix of theory
and experience helps us understand what people are talking about in the broad field of project
management.

Case Study - Harbour Company Ltd Negotiation Game

The Harbor Company Ltd. negotiating game was fun and taught us a lot. As a virtual project
manager, it gave us a chance to use and test our communication skills. Negotiating was hard
because there were a lot of people with different goals. It was a lot like negotiating for real
jobs.

The Environmental League was a big part of the talks. This group was against the plan
because it would hurt the environment. Rock (2023) says that the principled negotiation
method should be used to keep problems from becoming personal and to put interests ahead
of positions. The literature says that you should get to the heart of stakeholders' concerns, and
this strategic way fits right in with that. The strong opposition from the Environmental
League, on the other hand, made things harder and needed creative solutions. This showed
how theoretical negotiation strategies work with the need to protect the project's viability
while also taking into account environmental worries.

Taking a look at team talks at Harbour Company Ltd. for the discussion game showed how
hard it is for people to work together. Based on the research on integrative bargaining, people
on the team tried to find things they had in common and be given good jobs. Still, it was hard
to find a balance between the goals of the different team members. This showed how difficult
it can be for a team to negotiate. People with different goals were able to work together better
after learning more about collaborative discussion.

We had trouble with the Federal Department of Coastal Resources (DCR) during our talks
because of things that happened outside of the talks. Knowing the roles of outside groups and
making sure that project goals were in line with theirs were important parts of the
negotiations (Rock, 2023). Strategic communication was used to stress how the deep-water
port fit in with the DCR's dual mission of protecting the environment and growing the

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economy. This real-world example backed up what we know about how to negotiate
effectively with other countries.

A common subject was how to solve conflicts, especially when negotiating with existing
ports and dealing with different groups of people with competing interests in the business.
Using Rahim's typology of conflict management styles (Hendijani and Mohammad Milad
Ahmadi, 2023), a collaborative method was chosen. This method fits with the literature's
focus on working together to solve problems and make a decision. It also showed how hard it
can be to balance different people's needs in a big project like this one.

Even though theoretical models were useful, the discussion game showed issues that were not
directly dealt with in the literature. It was clear that we needed to be able to change with the
times instead of sticking to rigid models because Governor Sherwood was worried about
politics and big building talks are hard to plan for. It seems like this fits with the idea that
bargaining is a process that shifts based on what's going on. This shows how important it is to
be open when a real project manager has to deal with a tough spot.

Finally, the Harbour Company Ltd talk game was a fun way to test and practice how to
negotiate when running a project in real life. Think about the people who have a stake in the
project, work together as a team, talk to strangers, and settle disagreements. These ideas are
supported by the events. The tough problems that came up were a strong reminder that talks
are always changing. In real-life project management talks, this made it even more important
to be flexible.

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Conclusion
Lastly, the Harbour Company Ltd talk game taught us how to work together to get things
done. Like what we have read, the trip taught us how important it is to include everyone who
has an interest in the project, work together, talk to outsiders about the project, and find ways
to settle disputes during project talks. You cannot always use what you learn in school to
answer problems in real life because the game's setting changes all the time. There is a way
for hands-on instruction and learning the basics of education to work together. This is proof
of how important it is for project managers to use both to make good deals. This in-depth
look shows that discussion is always changing and has many sides. It backs up the idea that
people who run projects well need to fully understand how hard it is to negotiate. These skills
help project managers solve problems and see their projects through to completion once they
get used to how hard their jobs.

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