MBA506: Thinking Styles, Negotiation and Conflict - Management Assignment

Internal Code: MAS3286 Scenario: In 1999, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), an association of 72 diverse shipping lines and terminal operators in West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle, sought an agreement with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) union to introduce certain new information technologies.3 Fearful of job loss but wielding the awesome power to reduce or stop all U.S. seaborne trade flowing through the West Coast—some $6 billion per week—the union flatly refused and began an informal job slowdown. Lines of loaded container ships backed up in West Coast harbors, causing massive supply chain disruptions. Those dependent on ocean shipping—from Wal-Mart and Home Depot to time-sensitive agricultural interests—quickly pressured the PMA to make a deal, any deal. The PMA, a fragmented organization of both huge and minor shipping players, soon dropped its technology demands, but vowed to reintroduce them in the 2002 talks. Questions: 1. What is your thinking style preference form – monarchic, hierarchic, oligarchic, anarchic – and what is your thinking style level – internal, external? Attach copies of completed Sternberg-Wagner Thinking Style Inventories. 2. Are your thinking style preferences – form and level – optimal for conducting this negotiation? Explain your answer. 3. What adjustments (if any) could you make to adapt to a more optimal thinking style for this negotiation? 4. What is your client’s BATNA? What is your client’s reservation value? 5. What is the other party’s BATNA? What is the other party’s reservation value? 6. What is the ZOPA range? What is your strategy for claiming the greater proportion of the ZOPA?