Last class : conclusions

For our last (but not least) role play, I had to play the role of Wu Hong, a representative of the Communist Party of China, and I was part of the Chinese team. I had to negotiate with Dr. Ming Tat-Li, John Smith, the CEO of the Toronto Zoo and Clement Dupont, the CEO of the Calgary Zoo, in order to find an agreement to enable the zoos to welcome a pair of giant pandas. The first thing we wanted is a contract for 12 years, it was the most important for us. We also cared a lot about the security of our Panda (taking into account that the Calgary zoo has lost more than 200 of its animal one year). Our last demand was the price, and we wanted to obtain at least $1 million per year for the loan of the pandas, which was not easy at all. Indeed, the other part was not very cooperative. They wanted a contract of 5 years and $500 000 per year. We succeed in reaching a contract of 10 years after a long negotiation, and the contract was divided in 5 years for each zoo. But it was not sufficient for us, because the first mistake we made is that we hadn’t asked for more than 12 years, but we immediately asked for 12 years. Thus, the other part made everything to reduce this duration. We should have asked for 15 years in order to be in a stronger position, to obtain 12 years. We also took a lot of break during the whole negotiation to adapt our strategy to their demand. Then we tried to negotiate the price, and they didn’t want to negotiate the later at all. Indeed, for them, we didn’t make any concessions and we asked for too much. But in reality, it was because they saw the situation from a short-term point of view; they did not consider the loss of money they will face the first years will disappear they years after. That’s is why they didn’t want to negotiate at all. Sometimes, we need to have a long-term point of view to know where are your strengths and your weaknesses. 

At the end of the negotiation process, we finally achieved what we wanted. Indeed, the other part understood that we had a stronger BATNA than their own and that they needed to be more cooperative. However, the negotiation last and I they were not stratified at all. It was not a win-win situation. 

To conclude, I can say that when you want to obtain something, you need to leave a negotiation margin in order your interlocutor feel like you have made a concession. Moreover, sometimes you have to take into account the long-term effects of the negotiation and not just the things you can get from the negotiation right now, at this precise moment. You need to have a global perspective of the negotiation in order to negotiate effectively. 

I am very disappointed to arrive at our last course because the practice of the negotiation made me progressed a lot both in my capacity of expression and in my capacity of reflection.