Principled negotiation: a new tool for case advocacy

Area of Science:

• Social Work Practice
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiation Theory

Background:

• Social work methods like brokering and advocacy often involve dispute resolution.
• Effective negotiation strategies are crucial for successful social work interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of principled negotiation in social work practice.
• To explore how principled negotiation aligns with social work values and methods.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of principled negotiation principles from the Harvard Negotiation Project.
• Application of principled negotiation to social work practice methods, including case advocacy.
• Examination of a case example illustrating principled negotiation in action.

Main Results:

• Principled negotiation offers a framework for just and mutually beneficial conflict resolution.
• The approach respects ongoing relationships, a core social work value.
• Case advocacy and other social work methods can be enhanced by this negotiation strategy.

Conclusions:

• Principled negotiation is a valuable and applicable tool for social workers.
• Integrating principled negotiation supports ethical and effective practice in social work.