Winner Take All?

Winner Take All?

 One of our first classes in the fall was International Business Cultures with Dr. Leigh Ann Liu. One of the key learning exercises was negotiation simulation. What many of the American students discovered is that we are poor negotiators. Often, not always, when paired with one of our international classmates we found our negotiating skills paled in comparison, usually evidenced by having given up almost everything and gotten very little in return.

The biggest lesson was not to learn how to gouge your opponent, but rather how to maximize the total amount gained by satisfying both parties. Today, at Peking University we had another opportunity to practice finding that profitable middle ground. Dr. Li Ma, one of Dr, Liu’s counterparts in Beijing, put it well; “In a negotiation you have two tasks, the first is to divide the pie and the second is to grow the pie.”

As for me, I definitely need more practice on both, I discovered my natural tendency is more of an adversarial, ‘winner take all’ strategy. It turns out, that tactic results more in a lose-lose situation. The party with whom I am negotiating walks away with very little but I too could have come away with more if I had given more.

IJ and Marijana, on the other hand, grew up in environments where negotiating the price on everyday items is more commonplace. I have seen them haggle at the Silk Market and let’s just say; the next time I need to buy a car I am taking them with me.

Negotiations in China

Negotiations in China

            Visit to Guanghua School of Management at Peking University is one of my favorite visits so far. I had a chance to do a recruiter- employer negotiation exercise with a young Chinese student that doesn’t have any international or negotiation experience but definitely has a right mind set when it comes to negotiation and expending a pie that benefits both sides. What was really interesting to me is that he understood that I was using somewhat aggressive style in the negotiation and at some point told me “This should not be a competition.” Interestingly enough I didn’t even try to compete but I was repeating what was said or agreed upon to make sure I have all details correctly.  Cultural differences were definitely in play here. After the negotiation was done he wanted to analyze what was the best possible deal for each section and wouldn’t give up until we clearly analyzed them and reasons why we didn’t agree on the best alternative. He admitted that this was one of the most interesting exercises he had done and that he learned a lot. It was a learning experience for me as well.

            Negotiation didn’t stop at Peking University. I spent the rest of that day at the Silk Market where my negotiation skills were put to the test again as I was looking for custom made suits. “One world, one good deal” the sign said at the entrance of the Silk Market. The Silk Market is definitely an experience you shouldn’t miss in Beijing. There are hundreds and hundreds of merchants all shouting for your attention. Sometimes the noise becomes too much and you have to go outside to take a break.  I was so tired and after about 45 minutes of negotiation I decided to give a seller my last price, close the deal or walk away. Luckily she accepted it. All sellers speak English but I’ve heard many of them speaking Spanish and Russian too.

            My first reaction was amazement! Having followed news related to China, I know that copyright violation is a topic that regularly hits the headlines. The Chinese authorities claim they are fighting against copyright violation in order to defend trademarks. And yet in the middle of Beijing, next to the most important road in the city, there is a full block on which every commercial transaction seems to be copyright violation in one form or another!

Crunchtime!

Emotions are running high in Tower Place 200 right now. We’ve just finished our huge Nissan negotiation simulations and our half of the class stepped outside the box in attempt to come to an unconventional agreement. Though no agreement was ultimately reached, I can already tell we will have learned a lot from this by the time we are through. Mostly about each other and about ourselves.

This all comes at us during the last two weeks of the first semester of GPMBA and stress is at an all-time high– moreso than we have experienced as of yet in the program. However, we are fully prepared to push through these two weeks and we are prepared to get lesser amounts of sleep than we’d like. I think we all realize the benefits of this experience and understand that this is not the first, nor the last, time in our lives that we will experience “crunchtime”. We keep reminding ourselves that this program and the experience that comes along with it will prove invaluable as we progress to our careers. And, of course, we have sights of Rio beaches in the backs of our minds to soon look forward to.

Ipanema Beach — where we’ll be staying in Brazil!