Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Benoit Leleux, Aoife Hegarty. The "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE (referred as “Larsens Rohan” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - negotiation strategy, negotiation framework, Talent management.
Negotiation strategy solution for case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE ” 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?
Rohan Patel was looking at the building site outside the window of his third-floor office in Westlands, the upmarket business district of Nairobi, Kenya. Although the construction work would be finished in a few weeks' time, it had taken a total of 18 months to complete and was seriously behind schedule. In early 2009, time was definitely money for Rohan's family firm, Grenadier Limited. The building was to be the first of a chain of contemporary five star hotels catering to the needs of business travelers in urban centers in Africa.The chain would be the latest addition to Grenadier's portfolio. Rohan hoped it would not be plagued by the occupancy problems that Larsens Camp was experiencing - one of the three properties that made up Wilderness Lodges, the company's other luxury hospitality business. The tourist trade in Kenya had been hit by the double whammy of political violence followed by the credit crunch and global recession, both of which had been nothing short of disastrous for the hospitality business. The tourism crisis, in turn, led to a renewal of public debate around the sustainable management of Kenya's natural resources. Some operators saw an opportunity to push for a relaxation of existing rules for establishing hotels and resorts in and around nature reserves, which would create new jobs and increase tax revenues for the state and local councils. However, nature preservationists and environmental NGOs wanted to protect the animal sanctuaries and the local communities that often lost their ancestors' lands to the nature reserves without getting much in return. In addition to getting the new venture off the ground and taking the risk of stepping on the toes of established players, Rohan needed to tackle these other challenges: How could the group rebuild a value proposition for tourists and restore occupancy rates at Larsens Camp? What was the best way to restructure the company to ensure financial stability? How could it find the proper balance between its business and the environment, thus ensuring the future of its resorts? Learning objectives: The case discusses various issues including social responsibility in the context of a hospitality business in Kenya's Samburu Nature Reserve; the heritage of the Indian diaspora in East Africa and its business activities and modus operandi; the transition of a third-generation family member who returns from Europe to join the family business; and sustainability management of the family's sprawling business empire. The case also provides an original setting for the discussion of stakeholder management (the bush).
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 “"LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE” 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 “Benoit Leleux, Aoife Hegarty”, 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 “"LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE ”, 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 “"LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Benoit Leleux, Aoife Hegarty (2018), ""LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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