Round 1 evaluates negotiation preparation skills. You will not actively engage in a negotiation for this round. 

Review the case and prepare a negotiation strategy. A well-prepared strategy should:

• Demonstrate your insight into the best way to approach the negotiation
• Define the best results from your perspective
• Identify any other issues you think might be significant 

Format

• Submit your negation preparation by written negotiation strategy in Word or PDF format.
• You may choose bullet point format or in any other form you prefer
• There is no minimum or maximum word or page count
• Clear, concise communication of ideas will be evaluated 

Submission deadline:

Round 1 submission is due by 11:59 PM on Sunday, October 9^th, 2022 (CDT) 

Results of Round 1 will be announced at 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 13^th.

Only a select number of participants will advance to next the round. 

Questions?

Contact April Graham at grahamap@umkc.edu or (816) 235-1396.

RULES 

1. Round 1 participation. Negotiators must submit a response to Round 1 by 11:59 PM CDT on Sunday, October 9, 2022. Late submissions will not be judged and negotiators with late submissions will not be eligible to advance to Round 2.
2. Waitlist for Round 1. A maximum of 40 negotiators will compete in Round 1. Additional registrations will be placed on a waitlist in the order they are received. Waitlist participants will be invited to submit a response for Round 1 but the response will only be judged for the purpose of advancement to Round 2 if/when places in Round 1 open up as a result of withdrawal, forfeiture, or disqualification.
3. Round 2 & Round 3 participation. Negotiators in Round 2 and/or Round 3 must be present at the designed start time for each round. A negotiator who fails to report on time will forfeit their seat in the competition and not be permitted to compete.
4. Waitlist for Rounds 2 and 3. A maximum of 20 people will be selected from Round 1 to compete in Round 2. A maximum of 10 people will be selected from Round 2 to compete in Round 3. If seats open in Rounds 2 or 3 due to withdrawal, forfeiture, or disqualification, the next highest scoring negotiator(s) from the previous round will be invited to compete until all open seats are filled. If the seats are not able to be filled, competition will continue with uneven teams.
5. Negotiation Team Assignments. The one-on-one pairings for Round 2 and the team selections for Round 3 will be determined at random by the tournament committee.
6. Uneven Participation. If Rounds 2 or 3 have an uneven number of negotiators that cannot be remedied, competition will continue with uneven teams.
7. Withdrawal from the tournament. Negotiators who have registered must make every effort to participate. However, we understand that sometimes unexpected events may require a negotiator to withdraw from the competition. Please notify April Graham by email at grahamap@umkc.edu as soon as possible should you be unable to participate.
8. Code of Conduct. Negotiators must adhere to the UMKC Student Code of Conduct, even if the negotiator isn’t a current student. Failure to adhere to the UMKC Student Code of Conduct may result in disqualification.
9. Scoring. The decisions of judges are final. In the event of a tie, judges will decide the final rank based upon subjective criteria at the judge’s discretion. A points system will be used for Rounds 1 and 2 but not for Round 3. Negotiators and teams may not share their points or confidential instructions for the negotiation with the opposition.
10. Judging—Round 1. Round 1 submissions will be assigned to two judges each at random. The average of the two scores will serve as the negotiator score for Round 1. Results and any comments/feedback from the judges will be provided to each participant through email by 5:00 PM CDT Thursday, October 13^th.
11. Judging—Round 2. A minimum of 3 judges will evaluate negotiations during Round 2. Judges will rotate observation of teams during the preparation and live negotiation periods so that each judge will observe each team for a fixed period of time.
12. Judging—Round 3. A minimum of 5 judges will evaluate negotiations during Round 3. The audience will be invited to observe the Round 3 negotiations and vote on the audience choice awards.
13. Judges orientation. An orientation for judges will be held at least a week in advance of the start of Round 1. A written handbook will also be provided to judges.
14. Judge responsibilities. Judges for the tournament are volunteers and will not be compensated for time or travel. Judges who volunteer for the tournament commit to attending the judge’s orientation and reporting on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to the Bloch School between 7:00 and 7:15 AM to sign in and receive details for Round 2. Judges who have registered must make every effort to participate. However, we understand that sometimes unexpected events may require a judge to withdraw from the competition. Please notify April Graham by email at grahamap@umkc.edu as soon as possible should you be unable to participate.
15. Audience observation and participation. The live negotiation in Round 3 will be open to the public to observe. Audience members will be invited to participate in voting for the Audience Choice award.
16. Questions during competition. Negotiators can ask questions pertaining to the negotiation scenario at any time before the Round 1 submission deadline and at any time during the negotiation preparation phase of Rounds 2 and 3. Questions should be submitted by email to April Graham at grahamap@umkc.edu. Answers to questions will be shared with all participants as the tournament committee deems appropriate. Questions will not be permitted once live negotiations have commenced, but questions pertaining to tournament rules or that otherwise pertain to both sides equally may be answered at any time at the discretion of the judges.

DISCLAIMERS 

The Bloch Business Negotiation Tournament Organizing Committee reserves the right to disqualify any applicant or registrant who violates competition rules or behaves in any manner that is not aligned with expectations for UMKC student conduct.

CONFIDENTIALITY 

Confidentiality is not guaranteed in any way. Do not include confidential material in your submissions or communications.

REPRODUCTION 

The staff of the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management may take photographs and/or videos during the live negotiations and corresponding activities on October 15, 2022 for public relations and event promotion purposes.

CONTACT 

Contact April Graham at grahamap@umkc.edu with any questions about the Bloch Business Negotiation Tournament.

The best negotiators are trusted negotiators. Your performance in this tournament should reflect the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. 

As you are negotiating, keep these guidelines in mind: 

• Prepare an effective strategy and use it to your advantage. Many negotiators fail to prepare for negotiations, fail to follow their strategies, or inflexibly follow a strategy that is not appropriate for changing circumstances. Each of these leads to suboptimal results; prepare a strategy and be ready to re-evaluate it when the situation requires.
• Remember your alternatives. A well-prepared negotiator should know how they can fulfill their interests without the present negotiation and use that knowledge to be prepared to walk away if necessary. Walking away from a negotiation that is going to produce a worse result than your best alternative is the right move.
• Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Ask more questions. You cannot know too much about your counterpart. 

Here are some useful links with other insights into habits and characteristics common to good negotiators: 

The Top 7 Characteristics of Good Negotiators 

10 Winning Characteristics of Successful/Effective (Win/Win) Negotiators 

Top 10 Negotiation Skills You Must Learn to Succeed    

10 Dos and Don’ts of Business Negotiating