Negotiation skills benefit everyone in a management position — not just sales and procurement executives. While a lot of training is indeed dedicated to these functions, negotiation happens in the daily lives of all people. Some employees possess a natural talent for deal making, but training can still make them better at leadership, collaboration and big-picture thinking. Being an effective negotiator is not about shouting demands and putting on a good poker face. It requires an understanding of negotiation techniques, developed interpersonal skills and a commitment to developing a knowledge-driven negotiation strategy. To reach agreements that can be implemented successfully, negotiators must be prepared. Long before anyone comes to the negotiating table, they should know their goals, their alternatives, and what they may be willing to give up to meet their objectives. They must also understand the other side’s position and objectives and anticipate ways in which these can be met. In the corporate world, negotiation is typically about creating value by aligning resources, and non-monetary issues often prove to be key in negotiating acceptable outcomes. Negotiation training seeks to make professionals better at their jobs by helping them develop the ability to lead a collaborative process that aims to achieve the best outcome for everyone while developing high-quality relationships.
In 2013, ShangGong Group — a Chinese sewing machine manufacturer — had successfully acquired three German manufacturing companies that were more technologically advanced than it was. The aim of these acquisitions was to help ShangGong catch up to other multinational players in the international market. While the CEO had learned a few lessons from the first acquisition, the strategic and operational challenges were different this time. He needed to act decisively while dealing with the companies’ many stakeholders in Europe and China. One of his goals was to strengthen ShangGong’s market position in China using both its German and domestic brands. Beyond the recent acquisitions in Germany, how could he solidify ShangGong’s leadership in China and eventually challenge the Japanese companies who were leading the global market?
The chairman of one of India's leading tire manufacturers must devise a strategy to maintain his company's significant position in the tire industry. To date, the company has generated most of its revenues from sales in India, and it has become a leading player in the Indian commercial vehicle segment. With an overall slowdown in the manufacturing sector, the commercial vehicle segment has been hard-hit. The passenger car segment, however, is expected to grow. The manufacturer must find a way to effectively align its tire sales network and decide which segment to focus on.
The director of JMD Oils, an edible oils firm, is considering the strategic options to drive his company to the next level of sales and profitability. The business has been showing a steady performance, but he feels that it could improve substantially. To increase profits, the director could increase sales volumes or increase gross margins. An increase in volume could be achieved by increasing the geographical footprint, which would require setting up additional factories. Increasing the margins would require a shift from a dealer push strategy to a consumer pull strategy, which could be achieved by brand building. The director needs to estimate returns from brand building and geographical expansion. The financial risks for each are different and the implementation challenges complicate the decision. What strategy will gain the confidence of investors and yield the best results for JMD Oils in the long term?
Culture has long been considered marginal to the functional areas of business, but in the digital age culture is the new corporate interface. This article addresses common misconceptions about culture and suggests that we view it as information, while assuming that information makes and destroys communities. Firms must devise cultural strategies that allow them to deal with the communities that make up their ecosystem and take advantage of the digital age. Culture and trade have always gone hand in hand, and firms like Google, Facebook and Amazon have anticipated and capitalized on changes that have turned culture — information that affects our behaviour — into the most decisive asset for business. Nowadays many human activities occur almost entirely in digital format. Google, Facebook and Amazon all share the capacity to create communities where people make payments within a closed, secure environment. To successfully transition into a culture-oriented company, firms should remember that culture is a company’s interface with stakeholders that must be dealt with in terms of information and behaviours. Firms must focus both on individuals that produce and consume information, and also community members who share information and respond to a flock dynamic. Converting relevant business data into meta-information about the behaviour of individuals and groups is fundamental to aligning the organization with its objectives and processes.
Argentina's default on its foreign currency denominated sovereign debt in 2001 had proved to be a never-ending nightmare. Now, in June 2014, 13 years after the default, the U.S. Supreme Court had confirmed a lower-court ruling which would now force Argentina to consider defaulting on its international debt obligations once again. But the story was a tangled one, which included investors in both the United States and Europe, international financial law, a battle between hedge funds and so-called vulture funds (funds which purchased distressed sovereign debt at extremely low prices and then pursued full repayment through litigation), and State of New York and European Union courts. Time was running out.
With over one million employees, Mega Railway Network is one of the largest recruiters in the world. As the result of criminal activity in one of its largest rail yards, a worker lost his life in the line of duty. The circumstances of the incident have led to a high-stakes strike action by workers at one of its busiest rail depots. As the divisional operations manager, chief transportation manager or the head of locomotive engineers (drivers), you must reconcile differences between management and staff or risk stalling the hundreds of freight and passenger trains that pass through each day. As a worker, you need safety and other concerns addressed.
In December 2013, an entrepreneur based in Orange, a small town in Australia, is considering the difficulties besetting his five-year-old start-up, the Orange Watch Company. He faces seemingly insurmountable challenges: his business is located far away from major cities; Australia is not close to the demand or supply market for high-end watches and watch parts, which is largely in Asia and Europe; and he has limited financial resources. Yet he continues to persist in his efforts to grow the firm. He has come close to bankruptcy several times and his venture is far from being able to provide a steady stream of income. He is wondering whether to continue to push forward or if he should shut his business down.
With over one million employees, Mega Railway Network is one of the largest recruiters in the world. As the result of criminal activity in one of its largest rail yards, a worker lost his life in the line of duty. The circumstances of the incident have led to a high-stakes strike action by workers at one of its busiest rail depots. As the divisional operations manager, chief transportation manager or the head of locomotive engineers (drivers), you must reconcile differences between management and staff or risk stalling the hundreds of freight and passenger trains that pass through each day. As a worker, you need safety and other concerns addressed.
A planning analyst at Cancer Care Ontario has been tasked to recommend a strategy for allocating new linear accelerator capacity to the province’s cancer treatment centres over a five-year period. Because the introduction of additional capacity requires the investment of capital resources and long implementation timelines, accurate and timely predictions are critical to the treatment of cancer patients. The planning analyst needs to devise an allocation strategy that will ensure quality radiation treatment across the province.
In December 2013, an entrepreneur based in Orange, a small town in Australia, is considering the difficulties besetting his five-year-old start-up, the Orange Watch Company. He faces seemingly insurmountable challenges: his business is located far away from major cities; Australia is not close to the demand or supply market for high-end watches and watch parts, which is largely in Asia and Europe; and he has limited financial resources. Yet he continues to persist in his efforts to grow the firm. He has come close to bankruptcy several times and his venture is far from being able to provide a steady stream of income. He is wondering whether to continue to push forward or if he should shut his business down.
Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education requires an even greater investment in science and sports--at a time when Dana Hall's resources are lower than ever before. Can the school stay true to its mission? How will it find the funding? Through the story of Blair Jenkins, head of school, this case examines the difficult mission and funding decisions facing many nonprofit organizations.
This is a multi-issue one-on-one internal negotiation between a recently promoted boss, Joanna, and an older-than-her employee, Rupert, who is disgruntled at having been passed over for promotion. Joanna needs his advice to design the new strategy for the Indonesia operations, which she must present to the board soon.
This is a multi-issue one-on-one internal negotiation between a recently promoted boss, Joanna, and an older-than-her employee, Rupert, who is disgruntled at having been passed over for promotion. Joanna needs his advice to design the new strategy for the Indonesia operations, which she must present to the board soon.
The owner and chief executive officer of the India Holiday Bureau (IHB), was besieged by calls from irate travelers seeking an explanation for the poor customer service they had received. It was the peak of the tourist season in India, with international visitors pouring into the country to explore its temples, palaces, hills, beaches and wildlife reserves. IHB had accepted several online hotel-booking requests, but because the hotel did not have sufficient staff to follow through on these requests, several customers were left stranded at the airport without their promised airport transfers. Others had been forced to go without hotel rooms altogether. IHB knew that a lack of accurate forecasting and proper planning was at the root of this problem. How could the owner accurately predict the growth that would continue to overwhelm IHB unless the company prepared for it?
A planning analyst at Cancer Care Ontario has been tasked to recommend a strategy for allocating new linear accelerator capacity to the province's cancer treatment centres over a five-year period. Because the introduction of additional capacity requires the investment of capital resources and long implementation timelines, accurate and timely predictions are critical to the treatment of cancer patients. The planning analyst needs to devise an allocation strategy that will ensure quality radiation treatment across the province.
The inventory manager of sales and distribution for Toffee Inc., a confectionery company, had just concluded a meeting with all relevant personnel. The meeting had not been entirely positive. The words of the production manager still echoed in his ears: “If the ingredient inventory is not re-examined and re-worked to the firm’s advantage then [soon] the final products based on these ingredients will cease to yield the kind of profits that the firm expects.” The inventory manager needed to prepare a comprehensive forecasting and inventory management plan with a view to minimize the cost of managing the supply chain by judicious use of resources, better forecasting, and improvement in the ingredient inventory purchasing and management systems.
The Vanca, an online apparel brand and supplier to online retailers (“e-tailers”) has achieved a fair degree of success by focusing on quality, innovative designs, “fast fashion” and a strong network with its customers. Management is looking to grow the business further; however, there are challenges such as uneven sales across some of its product ranges, maintaining its competitive edge and the threat from private labels being introduced by the industry’s three largest e-tailers. The Vanca’s chief executive officer, a successful entrepreneur, has called a meeting to consider these challenges and to prepare the company’s next growth model.