Group 1

Project A
NEGOTIATION
SCENARIO
This Negotiating About Pandas for San Diego Zoo case concerns the executive director of a
zoo in the U.S. who seeks two giant pandas, an endangered species, from their only source on
the planet: China. Compounding the difficulty, many other zoos are also trying to obtain giant
pandas—the “rock stars” of the zoo world. Yet, as if relative bargaining power were not
enough to preoccupy the zoo director, it is not his only major challenge.
His zoo’s initiative attracts attention from a wide range of stakeholders, from
nongovernmental (NGO) conservation groups to government agencies on both sides of the
Pacific Ocean. Several of these organizations ardently oppose the zoo’s efforts, while others
change their positions over time. All of this attention influences the zoo’s negotiations.
Therefore, a second challenging task for the zoo director is to monitor events in the
negotiating environment and manage their effects on his negotiations with Chinese
counterparts.
MEDIATION
DELTA DELTA AND THE SISTERS
General Instructions
A couple of months ago Delta Delta and The Sisters jointly sponsored a ball. The men of
Delta
Delta wanted to have the ball at The Sisters' house because it is very attractive, and the
women
agreed. DD and TS are next door to each other. Before the ball the two Presidents, Michael
and
Rose, agreed that the bills would be split 60:40, with Delta Delta paying more because the
event
was at the sorority. No maximum was set on party expenses by either house. The party was
open to members of the two organizations and their guests from outside, but not the general
public.
The alcohol at the party was monitored, but several men and women arrived already very
drunk.
Several people were quite rowdy, threw up on the carpet, and broke things. There were
people at
the party not from DD or TS. There was no agreement before the party about paying for
damage.
Delta Delta has paid all the bills, and now there is disagreement about The Sisters paying
part.
Michael, president of DD, sent Rose, president of TS, a bill for $800 for TS's share of the
expenses. Rose called him and said that because of what happened at the ball and the
expenses
of repair and clean-up, TS did not feel they should pay anything. Michael said that he was
stunned by her response and felt it violated their agreement. They did not meet to discuss the
disagreement.
DD went to the IFC to complain that TS should have to pay up. The IFC recommended
mediation. Michael requested mediation, and Rose agreed. They are representing their
organizations with authority to settle the disagreement.
Instructions for Michael
You are quite concerned about the finances of that party. You are incensed by the bills
coming
in. Your house has paid $2,000 for this ball which is more than you expected. You asked
Rose
to pay $800, and she refused. You expected to pay for some modest decorations, but The
Sisters
claim they spent hundreds of dollars (was it $500 or $600?) on painting and rug cleaning and
carpentry for repairs. That is really a capital improvement to their house and not just for a
party.
You are also amazed at the amount of beverages that were consumed and wonder if the
sorority
may have kept some of the extra cases of soda.
You also just cannot believe that TS is now refusing to pay anything for the party, and you
are
really worried about this.
You cannot afford to break off relations with them as you have been friends for long.
Besides, they throw the best parties at MIT, and the men of DD will want to continue these
balls each fall.
To you it seemed like a good dance. Maybe a bit raucous -- and of course, there were one or
two
miserable messes when the brothers drank too much pre-party -- but that is not unusual.
So, what could have persuaded Rose into reneging completely on
$800? She is the new president of a relatively new sorority -- is it inexperience? She must
have
expected to do some clean-up. Why did she think they were only paying 40%, not 50%, of
the
bills?
Come to think of it, maybe you and she should talk about a few other things also, since the
whole
subject of responsibility has come up. For example, a couple of the TS women eat at DD
almost
every night, and there is a lot of discussion, whether jovial or not, among the brothers about
eating bills going up. A number of women are taking up a lot of time on the brothers'
computers.
About a dozen women come over to use the house bibles, to prepare for exams, because TS
has
not been in existence long enough to have good bibles, and they sometimes monopolize those
resources before exams. You need to straighten a few things out with Rose and get $800.
Michael: Remember that you personally want to settle this, but you think the brothers are
expecting you to be tough. You are sad and confused about why this dispute arose. You try to
avoid conflict and want this one to go away. Come to a settlement only if you really would
under the circumstances.
Instructions for Rose
Your whole house is really angry with Delta Delta. The ball was superficially a great success
from the point of view of other students, but it was a mess for the Sisters. It is a real pain in
the neck for you as the new President of a two-year-old sorority which is next door to these
jerks. The DD men are good about sharing their course bibles with some of the first-year
women before exams, since TS does not have many bibles yet, and they organize some fun
activities.
The ball was fun for a while. But several DD men got very drunk.
Many of The Sisters are angry about the way some of the men behaved. They threw up. One
of the DD guys somehow tipped coke onto a little rug that the owner of the room really
prized and then came back down banging into the stairwell and splashing more coke onto
carpets and wall paper.
There must have been few others who joined in some of the crashing about. Really it was a
bad night. It has cost you many, many hours to deal with all this, and it cost $435 -- to pay
for cleaning the rug, buy paint, get a brand new door, scrape and repair the damage to the
stairwell, clean the wallpaper, etc., etc. That was the cost with Sisters doing all the work. It
would have served DD right if you had contracted with outside carpenters and painters to do
the work and sent them those bills. Of course, a little painting needed to be done anyway, but
not all this work.
Now that TS has paid the $435 for cleaning and repairs, Michael is demanding another $800.
The Sisters are short of money and cannot afford another $800. You budgeted $500 for this
party and have no extra money now, though you may have some, maybe $200, in a month or
two. It does not seem fair for TS to pay more than the $435 they have paid so far. The men
drank most of the beverages and ate most of the food anyway, and so much disappeared that
you
think some of them must have taken bottles home.
Rose: You are embarrassed both because the ball, which you urged other Sisters to agree to,
turned out badly and because DD filed a complaint with IFC, making TS look like
cheapskates
who do not pay their bills. You want to show you will not knuckle under to DD, but are under
pressure from several Sisters who want the dispute settled because they have been childhood
friends with DD men.
ARBITRATION
A leading lawyer, Mr. Chinnaswamy, promises to institute a chair in commercial laws in the
University Institute of Law(UIL), and immediately pays Rs. 2 lakhs for the same. (Institution
of a chair normally requires Rs.25 lakhs). A contract is entered into between
Mr.Chinnaswamy and the Institute Authorities which stipulates that the chair thus instituted
will be in the name Mr. Gopalkrishnan, Mr. Chinnaswamy’s late-father. However, the
institute retracts from its promise and subsequently, upon its demand for the remaining
amount of Rs.23 lakhs, Mr. Chinnaswamy declines to pay. The contract contained an
Arbitration Clause wherein the parties agreed to submit their disputes for Arbitration to a sole
arbitrator. UIL wishes to initiate Arbitration proceedings against Chinnaswamy.

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Project A

DELTA DELTA AND THE SISTERS

Instructions for Michael

Instructions for Rose

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