Joy's negotiations

The Cinnamon case: sales negotiation             For this simulation, I was the owner of Offshoot Intermediaries Limited, a family-run enterprise offering drug formulations and baby-food products.             I just had been informed by one of my contacts in the government that an ordinance was going to be issued mandating the use of a specific set of ingredients in baby-foods and one of these ingredients is high-grade cinnamon.             Because of an old issue, the government wasn’t willing to extend the state subsidy of 10% for the manufacturers of baby foods who use high-grade cinnamon in their products but the day before the negotiation with the cinnamon supplier, I met the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) commissioner and could plea my case in front of him and the government council....

  Before any negotiation, there are some aspects that have to be considered. Those are: BATNAs What will both parties do if they don’t come to an agreement?             The BATNA concept might be simple, but its application is quite complicated. Indeed, it is necessary to think about all the alternatives possible to an agreement and the solution might involve other aspects than just money.             It is also important to know that your BATNA is you preferred course of action and NOT your bottom line. And this precise bottom line must be flexible otherwise it can prevent you from thinking “outside the box” and finding creative solutions.             Evaluation the BATNAs (yours and your opponent’s) is something difficult that requires experience.        ...