Year of Study:	3
Credit Units:	3
Duration:	45hours
Prerequisites:	BUS1002 Principles of Management or with the Instructor’s permission and upon endorsement of the relevant Chairperson and Programme Director

Relationship is essential in today's business context, particularly when purchasing or supply chain management (SCM) is involved. Unlike negotiation for individual consumption that involves short-term and one-of-a-kind interactions, relationship in the SCM context often involves long-term and continuous relationships, dealing with the desires to influence the behaviour of other parties on behalf of their organizations over time and the tasks for large sums of money.


This module is designed for students to gain a thorough understanding of relationship and negotiation in this particular context. The course is divided into four parts. The first part has to do with the fundamental concepts of negotiation. The second part focuses on the understanding of the negotiators. The third part addresses a variety of strategies, tactics, and approaches in the process of negotiation and relationship building. The last part examines negotiation in the SCM context where long-term purchaser-supplier relationships are concerned. Using a problem-based approach, a number of case studies and reading exercises about negotiation are used, while students are expected to be involved actively in independent study before the lectures.

Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. describe the nature of negotiation and its key concepts;
   
   


2. assess their strengths and weaknesses as a negotiator;
   
   


3. make use of effective strategies and tactics in the negotiation process; and
   
   


4. beware of purchaser-supplier relationships and ethics issues in the SCM context.