Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Tanuka Ghoshal, Geetika Shah, Arun Pereira. The Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice (referred as “Reinvention Officer's” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - negotiation strategy, negotiation framework, Market research.
Negotiation strategy solution for case study Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice ” 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?
This case is designed to highlight the vital role of promotion, the fourth "P" of the marketing mix, in a brand reinvention exercise. Using the context of the brand reinvention journey of Officer's Choice Whisky (OCW), the case highlights the importance and need for syncing brand objectives and communication objectives so as to build brand relevance in a competitive environment, increase revenue and enhance customer loyalty. The case also highlights the importance of systematic market research in identifying brand weaknesses and providing direction for effective marketing communications.Ahmed Rahimtoola, Head of Marketing at Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), was leading the process of conducting an extensive brand reinvention exercise for Officer's Choice. Market research had established the need for brand reinvention, indicating that Officer's Choice had to overcome the challenges of low brand salience, lack of emotional connect with customers, and outdated brand communication. Accordingly, the best advertising agencies in India were invited to come up with creatives that would answer the following question: How should Officer's Choice reposition and repackage itself and reconnect with consumers? ABD had the tough task of choosing the creative that held the magic recipe that would strategically weave brand objectives and communication objectives to yield optimal benefits. In discussing the firm's creative options, the case brings to light the crucial aspects of a brand reinvention process, the role of communication objectives in brand reinvention, and the mechanics of a successful marriage of marketing communication and brand strategy objectives.
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. 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 “Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice” 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 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. According to “Tanuka Ghoshal, Geetika Shah, Arun Pereira”, 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 “Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice ”, 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 “Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Tanuka Ghoshal, Geetika Shah, Arun Pereira (2018), "Reinventing Officer's Choice Whisky: Spoiled for Choice Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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