negotiations case study

Case titled “HOW GIVING FACE CAN BREW SUCCESS” (Rob March) page 2

•   Read the case and write a report for a client who is preparing to negotiate in China. The report needs to address ALL the following questions and include recommendations.:  

  “Before tendering began, we were working with the client to develop the brief while the other companies were sitting around” Evaluate the way Benjamin did his due diligence and make recopmmendations in the report about conducting the ‘Information Phase’ of negotiation.
  List all the players involved in this case study and indicate which players had BATNAs. Explain how determining this was in the negotiation.
  ‘When Benjamin pitched the environmental benefits of his brewery design, he shifted the focus from distributive negotiation to mutual-gains bargaining’. Is this a tactic or a strategy? Comment
  “We (the competing bidders) met every afternoon in the hotel bar and compared notes” Evaluate the ethics of this approach and in general of the case.

•   In the report, organize the answers to the questions in a logical order and use headings to make this clear. In the report, refer to theory, supply definitions and give examples where necessary.

BCO313 NEGOTIATION FINAL ASSESSMENT 2020_2021 Task brief & rubrics

Task

 Individual written Assignment

 Material:

o Case titled “HOW GIVING FACE CAN BREW SUCCESS” (Rob March) page 2

 Read the case and write a report for a client who is preparing to negotiate in China. The report needs to address ALL the following questions and include

recommendations.:

1. “Before tendering began, we were working with the client to develop the brief while the other companies were sitting around” Evaluate the way Benjamin

did his due diligence and make recopmmendations in the report about conducting the ‘Information Phase’ of negotiation.

2. List all the players involved in this case study and indicate which players had BATNAs. Explain how determining this was in the negotiation.

3. ‘When Benjamin pitched the environmental benefits of his brewery design, he shifted the focus from distributive negotiation to mutual-gains

bargaining’. Is this a tactic or a strategy? Comment

4. “We (the competing bidders) met every afternoon in the hotel bar and compared notes” Evaluate the ethics of this approach and in general

of the case.

 In the report, organize the answers to the questions in a logical order and use headings to make this clear. In the report, refer to theory, supply

definitions and give examples where necessary.

Formalities:

 Wordcount: 1400 – 1600 words

 Cover, Table of Contents, Bibliography and Appendix are excluded from the total word count.

 Font: Arial 12 pts.

 Text alignment: Justified.

 The in-text References and the Bibliography need to be in the Harvard citation style.

 Format: PDF file

Release date: Sunday January 10th 2021, 00:00 CEST

Submission: Sunday January 17th 2021, 23:59 CEST – Via Moodle (Turnitin)

Weight: This task is 60% of your total grade for this subject.
It assesses the following learning outcomes:

 Outcome 2: Critically appreciate negotiation styles, strategies, and tactics

 Outcome 6: Apply the framework of ethics in negotiation

 Outcome 7: Critically understand the cultural differences in negotiation and understand the reason for and purpose of mediation

CASE STUDY: HOW GIVING FACE CAN BREW SUCCESS
Overview

Peter Benjamin, the owner of an Australian chemical engineering consultancy, has a warning for those wanting to do business in China: “Many Chinese see it as

their patriotic duty to shoot down foreigners, so you can be like a clay pigeon at target practice.” Despite this, Benjamin has been successful in China and is

responsible for the design of many of the country’s modern breweries. He was invited to submit a proposal for a huge Guangdong brewery by Dr. Pasteur Lai,

the son of a former Chinese minister of health and now an Australian citizen. Lai had many connections deep within the Chinese government, had done his

homework on Benjamin, and was able to report to the Chinese that Benjamin was the premier brewery designer and builder in Australia.

The Scene

Benjamin was initially cynical. “We get a lot of ‘tire kickers’ in this business—people who aren’t serious about a project but just want to test the waters,” he

explained. Benjamin sent the Chinese a questionnaire, asking for information about specifications, resources, brewery capacity, products they planned to

produce, budget, and business plans. The response he received convinced him to head to China to discuss a potential deal to build Guangdong province’s largest

brewery—a $20 million project. But, having heard from others about their China experiences, he decided to pitch only for the business in which his company had

special technology to offer. “One of the first things you need to understand about China is that you can’t compete against cheap, local rivals,” he advises. “The

Chinese only want foreigners involved if we can offer special technology they can’t get at home. We knew if the Chinese could have got locally what we offered,

they would not have approached us.”

Preparing to Negotiate

In the lead up to the negotiations, Benjamin knew his business could provide strengths the Chinese business lacked. He had access to technology that could

increase the capacity of the planned brewery while also reducing waste. He specialized in understanding and predicting market trends and had access to

sophisticated, international market data the Chinese company lacked. The Chinese party had no experience in designing breweries whereas, since 1983,

Benjamin had built or redesigned all Australia’s major breweries and most of its boutique breweries. Before starting negotiations, he did extensive research on

the Chinese market, including its beer industry and the Guangzhou company. He found that, despite the company’s listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it

had direct links to the Chinese government. “If you’re working with a brewery in China, you’re working with the government, because the industry is so tightly

regulated. I also found that the government department in charge of the alcohol industry is run by ex–Red Guards, so I knew I was dealing with people who had

to report back to important government figures. I thought that, if I could find ways to make them look good in the eyes of their bosses, it would help in

developing a beneficial business relationship,” he said. When Benjamin arrived in China, he discovered that the Chinese were also talking to German, French,

and Belgian companies, and that the Chinese company’s plans for the brewery were not as well defined as had initially appeared. “I decided my job was to be

the expert, and I knew I should tell them what they needed, rather than let them tell me. It was clear they knew nothing about designing breweries.” Benjamin

also understood the sensitivities in pointing out the shortcomings of the Chinese plans. He had spoken with Chinese Australians (including two on his staff who

had become the key members of his team in China) and read widely on Chinese culture, so he recognized the risk of causing the Chinese to lose face. To avoid

doing so, he offered to work with the Chinese on developing the competitive brief using the latest technology. This would allow him to begin building

relationships with the Chinese before the tendering process had begun. It would also give the Chinese lead negotiator face with his bosses (and the Chinese

government officials), as he would be able to develop a better business brief using foreign technology. It also gave Benjamin’s business a head start in the tender

competition.

Uncommon Tactics

“Before tendering began, we were working with the client to develop the brief while the other companies were sitting around,” he said. The Chinese arranged

the accommodation for the tendering companies. Each foreign team—the French, Germans, Belgians, and Australians—was lodged by the Guangdong

government at the same hotel. “We would go and have a meeting with the Chinese. When we got back to the hotel, the other businesses would always be

waiting in the lobby to be picked up for their meetings. It was made pretty clear that we were competing against each other,” Benjamin said. Working in such a

specialized field—brewery design—meant that the foreign negotiating teams knew each other, and they used this to their advantage. “We knew the Chinese

were trying to pit us against each other, so we turned their tactic around. We met every afternoon in the hotel bar and compared notes. We could then work out

together whether this negotiation was about price, technology, reputation, or some other driver. Of course it was about price and technology—it always is,” he

said.

The negotiations took place over several weeks, during which each of the foreign companies met with the Chinese team almost daily. “We talked about the price

and technology constantly. We were always discussing the scope of the project, to fit it in with a budget with which they were happy, but which still delivered

excellent technology. There were perhaps thirty Chinese, and every time we met, there would be different people talking. You’d think you had an agreement,

and then one of the Chinese would suddenly pull you aside and tell you the complete opposite. It was very confusing.”

Shoring Up Advantage

To ensure he was not misunderstanding the negotiations, which were being conducted through an interpreter with the Chinese team, Benjamin had brought

from Australia two of his China-born staff—a chemical engineer and an accountant. “I decided I needed to use my two Chinese team members as my

interpreters, because the Chinese language is often not explicit: The meaning of what they were saying was often only implied. It was the best decision I made,

because I got the chance to log onto real feedback.” Benjamin also began to see the language barrier as an advantage. “Not knowing the language gave me carte

blanche to completely change my mind on things I already had said, because I could use the excuse that I had not properly understood. They kept changing the

negotiations on me, so it gave me the chance to do the same back and get away with it.” Benjamin had great respect for his competitors. They were professional

managers, corporate people. But they also had superior attitudes toward the Chinese, and indeed also toward Benjamin and Australia. They refused to believe

that a world-class brewery designer could be found in Australia. After several weeks, the French and Belgian businesses pulled out, frustrated at the drawn-out

negotiating process. They had offered their best price when first challenged and had left themselves no room to maneuver. Between them, the French and

Belgian negotiators had two other problems. First, they were both professional managers involved in a number of projects, so it was easy for them to give up

and go home to take up other projects waiting on their desks. Second, no one on the French team liked Chinese cuisine, so returning home looked very

attractive to them. Benjamin, however, was a specialist chemical engineer who owned his own business, had already invested $350,000 in preparation, and was

not inclined to walk away.

Patience Pays

“I went in suspecting we were going to spend ninety percent of the time arguing price, particularly since the Chinese started negotiating by crying poor. They

kept saying they had a limited budget, so I started high and kept shaving off the smallest amount, but never near my limit. I knew from my initial questionnaire

and research they could afford to pay what the technology and I were worth. Even though this represented a great opportunity to enter the Chinese market, I

also needed to get properly rewarded,” he explained. “When I first got to China I was told of a Chinese saying—‘China has 5,000 years of history, so what’s an

extra hundred years?’ This basically means that they are patient and will wait for the right deal. We had invested a lot of money to go to China, and we were not

about to turn around and come home just because it was taking longer than we wanted.” The Chinese team tried to use Benjamin’s planned return date as

leverage, in a bid to pressure him into agreeing to their price terms on the basis that he was leaving the country. But he recognized the ploy. “I realized they

were dragging negotiations out until my departure, so I told them my date was flexible and I’d just stay until we finished. I acted as though I no longer had a

deadline, and politely pointed out they were the ones who had to build a brewery within a certain time frame.” Benjamin spent every evening with his Chinese

negotiating team, analyzing each day and trying to figure out the Chinese strategy. They would probe and explain to him Chinese cultural perceptions, which

Benjamin found invaluable for understanding the Chinese tactics.

Being Tested

“There was one meeting in which one of the Chinese team became very angry and distressed. That night one of my interpreters told me that the individual had

probably been testing my reaction. He explained that Chinese don’t do business with people they don’t know, and that sometimes they will use different

emotions to see how the other party reacts under pressure. “Chinese culture is so different that you need that local Chinese input. You can never have intuitive

understanding of everything that influences and drives them—that would take fifty lifetimes. The next best thing is to have local contacts to guide you.”

Benjamin found other confusing elements about the negotiating process. “We would have in-principle agreement on issues, and then they would just change

their mind. We have since learned this is standard. Even if you have something in writing, it is only ever a ‘discussion document.’ The Chinese expect you to ‘be

like bamboo and bend with the wind.’

With the negotiations down to just two companies, Benjamin tried a new tactic. He pitched the environmental benefits of his brewery design, explaining how his

technology could make the Chinese brewery a world leader in waste management. His technological solution would diminish environmental waste while

ensuring maximum capacity and building up the Chinese company’s reputation as a world leader. Meanwhile, the Chinese team had also done its homework and

was secretly favoring Benjamin’s company based on its reputation for delivering on time and to specifications. In the end, the specialist technology Benjamin

could offer ostensibly won him the contract. But Benjamin believes it was more about relationships and face. “I put effort into helping them look good. I

designed the brief with them using the latest technology. I helped solve other problems they had not considered, such as environment management that would

save them money. I suggested my solutions would make their business a world leader. It was about giving them an opportunity to shine.”

The Last Round of Negotiations

Before agreement was reached, and after the last of three proposals had been delivered and considered, nine separate negotiations were held to discuss:

 Payment terms and advance payments

 Currency decisions

 Inspections policy

 Warranties

 Delivery of overseas and local components

 Commissioning and training of the Guangzhou company’s personnel

 Penalties

 Performance requirements

 Capacity to deliver
By this time, the Chinese team was reduced to twelve people. While Benjamin and his team were in China on the last occasion, the Chinese team split in half and

each went abroad—to Europe and Australia—to evaluate Benjamin’s suppliers (and through them, him) of pump valves, electronic equipment, stainless steel,

and laser welding. His suppliers all appear to have given him a pass mark, but one subjective problem remained. While Benjamin’s team was well ahead of the

other teams on all criteria, some members of the Chinese team remained opposed to the Australian team—because it was Australian—saying they wanted, on

the basis of image and reputation, a brewery designer and builder from Europe. The vice governor of Guangdong province finally stepped in, we understand, and

made the decision in favor of Benjamin’s company. Within forty-five minutes of his decision, the negotiation leader was on the phone to Benjamin at his hotel.

“We want you to sign the contract,” he said out of the blue and with no preamble. “Come to the office now. Also bring $2,000 to pay for the celebration banquet

at lunchtime.”

Benjamin and his team went directly to the provincial office. Before he signed the contract, he said to the team leader, “Thank you very much for your

agreement to commission us to build your brewery. In consideration of that, we wish to present you with a five percent discount.” The step was artful. Bringing

the project in five percent under budget gave face to everyone on the Chinese team, including the vice governor. They would not forget this.

Commentary

After winning the job to design the Guangdong brewery, Benjamin was exclusively commissioned to design a $5 million winery in Xinjiang province. This

demonstrated how trusted he had become in China.

Rubrics

Exceptional 90-100 Good 80-89 Fair 70-79 Marginal fail 60-69

Knowledge &
Understanding

(20%)

Student follows the
instructions and
demonstrates excellent
understanding of key
concepts and uses
terminology in an entirely
appropriate manner.

Student demonstrates
good understanding of the
task and generally follows
the instructions. Most
relevant concepts and
demonstrates use of the
relevant terminology.

Student understands the
task and follows the
instructions in part. The
student provides minimum
theory and/or some use of
terminology.

Student understands the task
and attempts to answer the
question but does not follow
the instructions very well.
There is little or no mention
of key concepts and/or a
minimum amount of relevant
terminology.

Application (30%) Student applies fully
relevant knowledge from
the topics delivered in the
course.

Student applies mostly
relevant knowledge from
the topics delivered in the
course.

Student applies some
relevant knowledge from
the topics delivered in the
course. Misunderstanding
may be evident.

Student applies little relevant
knowledge from the topics
delivered in the course.
Misunderstandings are
evident.

Critical Thinking
(30%)

Excellent critical
assessment, drawing
outstanding conclusions
from relevant authors.

Good critical assessment ,
drawing conclusions from
relevant authors and
references.

Student provides some
insights but generally
remains on the surface of
the questions. References
may not be relevant.

Little or no critical thinking,
few insights, the student
does not quote appropriate
authors, and does not
provide valid sources.

Communication
(20%)

Student communicates
ideas extremely clearly ,
respecting word count,
grammar and spellcheck.
The report is very well
organized and easy to read.

Student communicates
ideas clearly, respecting
word count, grammar and
spellcheck. The report is
well organized and easy to
read.

Student communicates
ideas with some clarity.The
paper may be slightly over
or under the word count
limit. Some misspelling
errors may be evident.
Acceptablel organizion of
ideas and mostly easy to
read.

Student communicates ideas
in a somewhat unclear
manner. The paper is well
below or above the word
count requested and
misspelling errors are
evident. Organizion of ideas
needs improvement; not
always easy to read.