Introduction to Negotiation Strategy
At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Negotiation Strategy and other business case study solution. Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Jean-Francois Manzoni, Jean-Louis Barsoux. The Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life (referred as “Terry Leahy's” 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, .
Negotiation strategy solution for case study Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life ” 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 covers Terry Leahy's career at Tesco, the UK-based retailer, and especially the ten years since he became CEO in 1997. Tesco has come a long way since the early 1990s, when it was playing second fiddle to Sainsbury's. It now has a 30% share of the UK groceries market, almost as big as its two closest competitors, Sainsbury's and the Wal-Mart-backed Asda, put together. It has used its solid domestic base to develop its international operations, culminating with the launch of a chain of convenience stores on Wal-Mart's home turf in late 2007. The case looks at the leader who has overseen this remarkable progress, Terry Leahy. It traces his rise from council house kid to Britain's most admired business leader (five times running) and adviser to the British prime minister. His success is all the more surprising given his low-key style and lack of charisma. We look at the other factors - such as ambition, passion and personal example - that have contributed to his rise, effectiveness and longevity as a leader. Learning Objectives: This case allows instructors to examine Terry Leahy's leadership through three lenses: in terms of the desirable personal traits of an effective leader; the main competencies required; and the critical roles played by the leader. These three perspectives are complementary and allow participants to get a full appreciation of the challenge of leadership - covering how leaders need to be, what they need to know, and what they need to do. The case also allows exploration of other issues, related to learning, surrounding oneself, time allocation and maintaining one's edge over time.
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 “Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life” 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 “Jean-Francois Manzoni, Jean-Louis Barsoux”, 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 “Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life ”, 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 “Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life” can make for an effective negotiation strategy and will make it easier to negotiate with this party the next time as well.
Jean-Francois Manzoni, Jean-Louis Barsoux (2018), "Terry Tesco's Long Shelf Life Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.
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