What the Boss Wants

Negotiating as an agent on behalf of someone else presents logistical challenges, uncertainties about scope of authority, and implications for deviating from instructions. This experiential exercise offers a realistic workplace scenario where students roleplay a negotiation to determine the meeting cadence and oversight of a new interdepartmental task force. They discover some of their own (agent) preferences conflict with those of their boss (principal) but are incentivized to negotiate against their own interests. The nontraditional presentation of the scenario and roles as an email and text message heightens student engagement. The debrief explores the extent of the agent’s discretion to agree to concessions that deviate from the principal’s instructions and tensions between subordinating one’s own wants and interests to those of the principal and the desire to negotiate an outcome favorable to oneself. This simulation is ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses with units on decision-making, negotiation, or professionalism.