Managing the negotiation agenda

Conclusion The agenda is one of the main structural elements of negotiation, in addition to such questions as site, identification of participants, and elements of timing. Together, they answer the who, what, when, and where questions. As with other aspects of negotiation, the agenda can be used either manipulatively to enhance leverage or to improve the prospects for agreement and the possibilities for mutual gain. In most cases, it will be used both ways, reflecting the nature of negotiation as a mixed-motive situation.Although it can be instrumental to volunteer as a sole source to write the agenda, in most cases it becomes a joint activity to construct a consensual basis for subsequent negotiation. In these situations, agenda-building becomes one of the pre-negotiation activities that set the tone for the relationship (Saunders, 1985). In other situations, the parties may engage in actual negotiation without a formal or written agenda. When this occurs, the risks and uncertainties may be high but the party who appreciates the importance of the informal agenda has a tremendous advantage.Whether one plans it or not, during the course of negotiation the parties will discuss a finite set of issues in some sequence and from a particular perceptual framework. Consciousness of the universality and centrality of the agenda is prerequisite to guiding negotiation to a successful conclusion. William R. Pendergast is Associate Dean at Boston University's Metropolitan College, 755 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass. 02215, where he teaches graduate courses and executive development seminars on negotiation. He is preparing research on power and influence, and on strategic choice in negotiation.     

B. Reviews and notes: bibliographies and works of reference

LE MONDE ARABE ET MUSULMAN AU MIROIR DE L'UNIVERSITE FRANÇAISE: REPERTOIRE DES THESES SOUTENUES DANS LES UNIVER‐SITES FRANÇAISES, EN SCIENCES DE L'HOMME ET DE LA SOCIETE, SUR LE MONDE ARABE ET MUSULMAN (1973–1987). By MARIE BURGAT, DANIELLE BRUCHET, JACQUELINE QUILET [& others]. Aix‐en‐Provençe, Institut de Recherche et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman, 1989–92. 4 vols.

MAPAS, PLANOS Y FORTIFICACIONES HISPANICOS DE MARRUECOS (S.XVI‐XX)/CARTES, PLANS ET FORTIFICATIONS HISPANIQUES DU MAROC (XVIe‐XXe S.). By JUAN BTA. VILAR. 604pp. Text in Spanish. Table of Contents, Preface (by José Antonio Calderon Quijano), and Introduction in Spanish and French. Madrid, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Secretaría de Estado para la Cooperación Internacional y para Iberoamérica: Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales y Científicas, Agencia Española de Cooperación International, Institute de Cooperación con el Mundo Arabe, 1992. 7210 ptas.

A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY AFGHANISTAN. By LUDWIG W. ADAMEC. Graz, Akademische Druck‐ u. Verlagsanstalt, 1987. vi, 252 pp. Photo section. ÖS 450.‐

TÜRKIYE DI?INDAK? TÜRKLER B?BL?YOGRAFYASI. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TURKS OUT OF TURKEY. By ?SMET B?NARK and others. Ankara, T.C. Ba?bakanlik Devlet Ar?ivleri Genel Müdürlü?ü Dokümentasyon Dairesi Ba?kanli?i (Yayin No.5), 1992. 2 vols. lxv, 1379 pp.

GULF CRISIS CHRONOLOGY: DAY‐TO‐DAY COVERAGE OF EVENTS IN THE GULF CONFLICT FROM 2 AUGUST 1990 TO THE 3 MARCH 1991 CEASEFIRE. Compiled by the BBC WORLD SERVICE. Harlow, Longman, 1991. 454 pp. £65.‐

FRAUENFRAGEN IM MODERNEN ORIENT: EINE ERGANZUNGSBIBLIO‐GRAPHIE. WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: A SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY. By INGEBORG OTTO & MARIANNE SCHMIDT‐DUMONT. (Biblio., 16.) Hamburg, Deutsches Übersee‐Institut, Übersee‐Dokumentation, Referat Vorderer Orient, 1989. xvi, 126 pp. DM19.‐

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1993. London, Europa Publications, 1992. xxi, 988 pp. £130.     

The struggle over retiree medical benefits: who's on top?

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of litigation addressing an employer's right to unilaterally amend or terminate medical benefits provided to retirees. The sheer volume of these cases and the variety of facts and legal theories have combined to obscure the patterns and trends that actually are emerging from this litigation. This article will describe the context of the struggle over retiree benefits and discuss those leading decisions in which the federal courts of appeals have established their rules for deciding retiree benefits cases.