Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. United Rentals (A), Spanish Version case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante, Emily McTague. The United Rentals (A), Spanish Version (referred as “Rentals Indebtedness” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Organizational Development. It also touches upon business topics such as - negotiation strategy , negotiation framework, Boards, Ethics, Marketing, Mergers & acquisitions.
Negotiation strategy solution for case study United Rentals (A), Spanish Version ” provides a comprehensive framework to analyse all issues at hand and reach a unambiguous negotiated agreement. At Oak Spring University, we provide comprehensive negotiation strategies that have proven their worth both in the academic sphere and corporate world.
What’s my BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) – my walkaway option if the deal fails?
What are my most important interests, in ranked order?
What is the other side’s BATNA, and what are his interests?
In December 1997 United Rentals (URI) went public on the NYSE. Ten years later, during the peak of the economic meltdown, the company's performance was in decline. United Rentals had experienced its share of problems in the prior years and was still struggling to emerge from this turmoil.In the spring of 2008, the recession had decimated the company's core business, construction equipment rental. The economic downturn resulted in a significant decrease in North American construction and industrial activities and had adversely affected the company's revenues and operating result. The stock of the company quickly fell from the mid-$30 range in late 2007 to $3 in March 2009. In addition, two of the company's former chief financial officers had been charged with securities fraud and other violations, by both the U.S. Attorney's office and the SEC. The Board was faced with the resignation of the founder and chairman, management succession issues, the failed merger with Cerberus, and the lawsuit in Delaware. The Board was responsible for overseeing the change in a number of senior management and board positions which became increasingly difficult due to the turmoil and poor performance of the company. Recruiting and retaining talent in senior management and the board was central to the success of the company, which relied on their people for strong performance. In addition the company's total indebtedness was approximately $3.3 billion, including $146 million of subordinated convertible debenture. The company's substantial indebtedness had the potential to have adverse consequences in a number of ways, including: increase their vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or competitive developments; require the company to devote a substantial portion of their cash flow to debt service, reduce the funds available for other purposes; limit their ability to obtain additional financing; and decrease their profitability or cash flow. And the company was still dealing with multiple purported class action and derivative lawsuits that had been filed against it. It was during this time the board started looking for candidates both for the CEO and Chairman positions.
By interests, we do not mean the preconceived demands or positions that you or the other party may have, but rather the underlying needs, aims, fears, and concerns that shape what you want. Negotiation is more than getting what you want. It is not winning at all cost. Number of times Win-Win is better option that outright winning or getting what you want.
Options are the solutions you generate that could meet your and your counterpart’s interests . Often people come to negotiations with very fixed ideas and things they want to achieve. This strategy leaves unexplored options which might be even better than the one that one party wanted to achieve. So always try to provide as many options as possible during the negotiation process . The best outcome should be out of many options rather than few options.
When soft bargainers meet hard bargainers there is always the danger of soft bargainers ceding more than what is necessary. To avoid this scenario you should always focus on legitimate standards or expectations, clearly understanding the arbitrage . Standards are often external and objective measures to assess the fairness such as rules and regulations, financial values & resources , market prices etc. If the negotiated agreement is going beyond the industry norms or established standards of fairness then it is prudent to get out of the negotiation.
Every negotiators going into the negotiations should always work out the “what if” scenario. The negotiating parties in the “United Rentals (A), Spanish Version” has three to four plausible scenarios. The negotiating protagonist needs to have clear idea of – what will happen if the negotiations fail. To put it in the negotiating literature – BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. If the negotiated agreement is not better than BATNA (Negotiations options), then there is no point in accepting the negotiated solution.
One of the biggest problems in implementing the negotiated agreements in corporate world is – the ambiguity in the negotiated agreement. Sometimes the negotiated agreements are not realistic or various parties interpret the outcomes based on their understanding of the situation. It is critical to do negotiations as water tight as possible so that there is less scope for ambiguity.
Many negotiators make the mistake of focusing only on the substance of the negotiation (interests, options, standards, and so on). How you communicate about that substance, however, can make all the difference. The language you use and the way that you build understanding, jointly solve problems, and together determine the process of the negotiation with your counterpart make your negotiation more efficient, yield clear agreements that each party understands, and help you build better relationships.
Another critical factor in the success of your negotiation is how you manage your relationship with your counterpart and other people doing the mediation. According to “Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante, Emily McTague”, the protagonist may want to establish a new connection or repair a damaged one; in any case, you want to build a strong working relationship built on mutual respect, well-established trust, and a side-by-side problem- solving approach.
According to
Harvard Business Review
, there are three types of negotiators – Hard Bargainers, Soft Bargainers, and Principled Bargainers.
Hard Bargainers – These people see negotiations as an activity that they need to win. They are less focused less on the real objectives of the negotiations but more on winning. In the “United Rentals (A), Spanish Version ”, do you think a hard bargaining strategy will deliver desired results? Hard bargainers are easy to negotiate with as they often have a very
predictable strategy
Soft Bargainers – These people are focused on relationship rather than hard outcomes of the negotiations. It doesn’t mean they are pushovers. These negotiators often scribe to long term relationship rather than immediate bargain.
Principled Bargainers – As explained in the seven elemental tools of negotiations above, these negotiators are more concern about the standards and norms of fairness. They often have inclusive approach to negotiations and like to work on numerous solutions that can improve the BATNA of both parties.
Open lines of communication between parties in the case study “United Rentals (A), Spanish Version” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante, Emily McTague (2018), "United Rentals (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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