Kuwait – 21 December 2015: Gulf Bank and Alghanim Industries recently held two joint interactive workshops on negotiating for select employees conducted by Harvard Business School Professor Andrew Wasynczuk. The '3-D Negotiations' workshop was aimed at creating a deep understanding of the negotiation process and to sharpen critical skills needed for effective and and successful negotiations.

Alghanim Industries and Gulf Bank both believe that a key to success in their respective businesses relies upon attracting and retaining the best human capital and talent.  As part of their ongoing commitment to invest in their staff and provide opportunities to further their personal development and professional skills, the Human Resources departments of both companies organized the workshop to hone participants' strategic perspectives and interpersonal skills. The workshop was attended by approximately 120 executives from both Alghanim Industries and Gulf Bank.

Mrs. Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager for Human Resources at Gulf Bank, said: "Workshops such as these are very important to the ongoing development of staff from Gulf Bank and Alghanim Industries.  Negotiating is an essential part of being an effective manager and this approach to negotiating and can be used by employees in various job functions and in everyday life.  Skilled 3-D negotiators can uncover hidden sources of value and then create agreements that might otherwise be out of reach. This Harvard Business School course content and expert instruction by Professor Andrew Wasynczuk has helped to equip our respective staff with the skills they need to excel professionally and personally."

Mr. Hashim Gillani, Alghanim Industries' Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Business Development, and Mergers and Acquisitions, who participated in the workshop said: "The workshop by Professor Wasynczuk was extremely helpful in building a negotiation nomenclature, conceptual framework for negotiations, and a tool kit for practical applications. Team members from Alghanim Industries and Gulf Bank learned about value claiming, value creation, and negotiation set-up. combination of teacher instruction, case studies, simulations and interactive negotiation sessions provided valuable lessons in a class-room setting. We confident that the participants are now more aware of the multi-dimensional aspects of negotiations and will be more effective in their jobs using the skills learned."

The workshop began with an explanation of the ideas behind '3-D Negotiations' and which were then put into practice through individual and group negotiating sessions. The three dimensions of negotiation were explored through a combination of structured negotiation simulations and cases studies that highlighted key analytical issues and important behavioural dynamics.  This 3-D approach to negotiating removes common barriers to deals and offers useful approaches to adapting styles to the bargaining process, framing your case persuasively, managing counteroffers, and avoiding common pitfalls.

The first dimension focuses on tactics with the focus on people and processes, the approach is how to improve interpersonal processes and tactics. The second dimension focuses on deal design with the focus on value and substance, the approach is to unlock creative deals which create value.  The third dimension focuses on the setup, emphasizing the scope and sequence of the negotiation to create a more favourable scope and thus outcome.

To learn more about Gulf Bank, please visit one of its 56 branches, call the customer care center at 1805 805, visit its website at www.e-gulfbank.com.kw or its social media channels on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Gulf Bank and Alghanim Industries employees participating in first workshop session

Professor Andrew Wasynczuk of Harvard Business School