Post #10 Post Roleplay Canada China Panda Acquisition

Canada-China Panda Acquisition Negotiations

"How your family is going?" 

That was the first question asked by the Canadian zoos representers. Being a part of Chinese team in that game it was a good start for me because our opponents were very thoughtful for Chinese culture in which the family is an important subject to discuss even during a business meeting.

Anyway, the last roleplay was about giant panda acquisition and I played a role of MA Zhong, Deputy Secretary General of Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG). So, my main goal was the well-being of the giant pandas and related research and conservation. I was responsible for delivery, duration of the contract and, of course, safety of giant pandas. I had many conditions to our Canadian friends. According to my role Chinese staff should accompany the panda and stay with them for at least three months and so on.

Honestly, after one hour’s preparation of our strategy, the negotiation meeting was very hard. Indeed, one of the Canadian Zoos (Calgary Zoo) had a really bad reputation due to the death of 214 animals in 2009. So I had a strong reservation about sending pandas there. Moreover, neither zoo had much money to offer for pandas loan per year. Our reservation price was $1 million, but the Canadians found this amount huge. Actually they did not understand that pandas for us were a national item and we could not rent it easily. We discussed a lot about loan price. 

The next misunderstanding was duration of the contract. Time for the Chinese is a very important thing, so we wanted the contract to last for 10-12 years. Of course, the Canadians wanted 8 years. Moreover, they wanted to share the term. Actually, we did not really care about this deal, so we were quite reserved in reference to our conditions. Moreover our BATNA was much stronger and we were in high-power position. Indeed, who does not want to get a panda ? Nobody! We had many other countries and zoos pretending to our giant pandas and which would be ready to pay even more than $1 million. After 30-40 minutes of our negotiation, my team wanted to make no deal. But we did not and at the end we agreed on 10 years and $1 million fee per year. 

That was our deal, but it was hard. ;)

Post #9: The Hidden Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations + "This is crap" in different cultures

The Hidden Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations

Do cultural differences matter in business negotiations? How to anticipate and overcome possible barriers on the road to get an agreement at international scale? I will try to answer these questions in this post.

Each time sitting at the negotiation table, we need to be sure who are the players. Often, there are not only two companies making decision but other higher substances which have their own interests to the table, as well as varying abilities to block or foster negotiations. Once the players are identified, we should analyze who owns which decision rights. It is very important and in case of failure could conduct to very dramatic consequences. Moreover, we should take in consideration the fact that some countries have organisations which are more powerful than two parties making a deal. These organisations usually do not have the formal standing of government agencies but can control or affect business decision making (Italy has powerful families, Russia has mafias and very corrupt systems).

Thus, only when we know exactly who these players are, we can develop a strategy of making a deal at international scale.

During negotiations, we are seeking to influence the outcome of an organizational process which is different in different cultures. So we have to adapt to them considering several forms, two of which are:
* Top down: there are no delegates but direct interaction with the boss. It almost always results in bigger contracts, and negotiation process is more effective. Top down authority is at one end of the decision-making spectrum.
* Consensus: in my opinion, it is the best way as a bargaining strategy in order to establish compatible goals and to protect interests of each side. However, it may require more time, relationship building, and information than expected. It is also about recognizing what we can’t do and setting realistic expectations.

To conclude, I have to say that before bargaining with people from different cultures we need to study carefully every single nuance of their cultures. The key to cross cultural success is to develop an understanding of, and a deep respect for, cultural differences. We should also move beyond stereotypes. Then, we must design your strategy and tactics so that we are reaching the right people, with the right arguments, in a way that allows us maximum impact on the process to yield a sustainable deal.

How to Say "This is crap" in different cultures

The last article was particularly interesting to me. It is about direct and indirect cultures regarding the manner of speaking to others. People with direct cultures like the Germans tend to be honest and to give the message straight in order to make sure the message registers clearly, while people with indirect culture tend to use words that soften the criticism like the British. 

I am from Russia and even if I have been living in France for 6 years, many Russian cultural character traits stayed with me. Like all Russians I am very direct and prefer to be honest and say directly what I think about a situation or a person in front of me. It is foreign to me to soften words just to seem to be nice. Sometimes, people overestimate their capabilities and they need to be criticized to get back to earth. I, very down-to-earth person which other people often do not appreciate. Anyway, it is better to say directly that there is something wrong rather than hide it under beautiful words and make people think that everything is fine. Nobody likes being criticized, but sometimes it is necessary to understand mistakes and to try so to improve attitudes. If someone tells me that my work is total crap I would like him/her to deliver the message in direct form. 

Post #8: Roleplay CPA.Inc + Hiring A Newtonian

Roleplay CPA. Inc

This time the roleplay was about management conflict. 

Someone in CPA.Inc stole and cashed payroll checks. While handwriting experts and other investigators from City-Wade Forensic Services were conducting investigation, Roo Smith and Dana Petski, long-term employees of the company, accused new employee Sandy Brown of wrongdoing and wanted her to be fired. The CPA manager, J.T. wanted to resolve conflict and called co-workers for an appointment. 

Thus, I played the role of Roo Smith and Dana Petski. According to my instructions I was very loyal to CPA and its image and reputation were very important to me. I was absolutely convinced that Sandy was guilty and should be immediately fired. During the appointment, I had to show considerable righteous anger and to be very emotional interrupting the manager. 

I had not any prepared strategy, there were only emotions controlling and ruling everything during the meeting. My arguments were very subjective and did not prove Sandy’s culpability. The main arguments I was screaming again and again were: 

* Sandy has just bought a house, although she has been working for the company for a few months only;

* She has been staying late working alone, why?

* I grew up in that company and know everyone in CPA.Inc

After a hard and noisy discussion, we decided to call another investigator to make an examination again. Moreover, I said I would quit the company if they confirm that Sandy was still not culpable. 

I think that this roleplay taught us how to manage emotions during conflict while working collaboratively. The main role in that play role was actually the one of CPA manager who had to keep empathy, emotional intelligence and patience. In fact, guilty or not it did not matter. The most important was to eliminate conflict inside the company, to keep the CPA’s reputation and to find solutions. That roleplay was also about finding the compromise and how to handle angry public (previous post of November 25).

Hiring A Newtonian

I played the role of a computer programmer from Newtonia who had a job interview with the HR director of one company. According to my instructions I had to negotiate on three following issues:

* Salary: I could accept only a salary with odd numbers and above $53,000; moreover, it was very uncomfortable to talk about salary first.

* Benefits: I expected to get paid holidays in Newton’s birthday, my birthday and my mother’s birthday. 

Start date: I wanted to start the job on Friday but not on Monday (bad luck in Newtonia). 

Actually, I had a strong belief in good and bad luck. But I should not have spoken of this much since speaking of luck might invite bad luck. Moreover, I could not reveal the reasons for my decisions and needs to the HR director. 

Honestly it was hard to follow all those instructions. I was confused and seemed to be very stupid because I could not to explain any reasons of my requests. To my surprise my negotiator quickly agreed to all of them. 

Indeed, this exercise highlighted the cultural elements of negotiation and helped sensitize negotiators to potential cultural differences. This exercise also highlighted the potential discrepancy between intent by one party and impact on another party. Thus, for the Newtonian programmer apathy to his family and personal life from the director would be considered as a bad manner which is not the case for the director’s culture. In negotiation regarding cultural differences it is very important to pay attention to all habits and traditions of the culture of your negotiator. Every single detail is important and might offend your negotiator. If we manage cultural differences, it is important to move beyond stereotypes.