Budget Time

Abstract

This article presents a gender-based negotiation simulation designed to make participants aware of gender-based stereotypes and their effect on negotiation outcomes. In this simulation, the current research on gender issues is animated via three role sheets: (a) Vice president (VP), (b) advantaged department head, and (c) disadvantaged department head. While the VP role is the same for everyone, the participants who play the role of department head are unaware that there are two versions of that role. Participants playing either of the department head roles negotiate one-on-one with their VP for an increase in next year’s budget. The participants are purposefully not made aware that the exercise is based on gender issues; thus, both males and females may play any role. Significantly different negotiation results are recorded at the end of the exercise, learning objectives are revealed, and an excellent platform for exploring numerous gender-based issues is in place. The benefits for participants include (a) an enhanced and sophisticated awareness of gender issues in negotiation and (b) prescriptions for mitigating disparate outcomes that are often a function of gender.