UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The ability to effectively negotiate and influence decisions is essential in management, and a new certificate from Penn State provides the foundation for this vital workplace skill.
Penn State is accepting applications for its new graduate certificate in negotiation and influence, which was developed by the internationally ranked Smeal College of Business and is offered online through Penn State World Campus. The certificate can also be applied toward two master’s degrees offered online by Penn State.
“If you are interacting with others at a job, the ability to influence them is critical,” said Stephen Humphrey, professor of management at Smeal and the director of the certificate program. “You have to be able to talk to other people and get them to say ‘yes’ to the things you want to do.”
Everyone has a need for negotiation skills, from middle managers to department heads to CEOs, Humphrey said.
“Negotiation, power and influence are core, social relation aspects of work,” he said. “The most critical factors for a leader are the ability to get the right people in the organization to agree with you. You have to lead them and motivate them.”
The curriculum of the nine-credit certificate covers preparing a negotiation strategy, understanding ethical challenges, negotiating in multiparty scenarios, recognizing the sources of power, and influencing without power. It consists of three courses taught by Smeal faculty.
Students will take a negotiation theory and skills course and a complex negotiation course, both of which will have students negotiate in various scenarios and receive feedback from their instructors and peers. The remaining course, power and influence, uses case analyses to explore where power comes from and how to leverage it at work.
Credits from the certificate in negotiation and influence may be applied to the master’s degree in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship and the Penn State Online MBA, both of which are offered by Smeal.
Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information about the graduate certificate in negotiation and influence.