Today's main focus was on negotiating via Skype. The backstory for the negotiation was that four different companies were working on the same project in four different countries. The budget for the projects in each country was cut down by a quarter, and we had to get together with the other representatives working in the same country. I was a representative of the roading company working in Papua New Guinea. The aim was to get as much money as possible, while maintaining a good relationship with the other companies. Our negotiation was really pleasant and everyone was willing to co-operate. We started off by each saying how much our original cut from the budget was. From there we started to slightly adjust the numbers until everyone was happy. The schedule for the project was discussed briefly as the last part of the negotiation. Overall, I was quite happy with my result, as I got 28,8% of the total budget (originally 30%). I have to admit that I was surprised to see how well we got along and how easily the negotiation went.
After we had finished all of the negotiations, the final results were discussed in the class room. The smaller companies got the best deals, but our company got a decent result as well. There was also some discussion about the technical aspect of the negotiation. In my opinion there wasn't much of a difference in negotiating via Skype in comparison to negotiating face-to-face. The connection was (most of the time) good enough so that we could communicate well and we could still see each other. The background noise was a bit annoying at times, but not a major concern. Personally I like the fact that I can have my notes with me all the time, and that I can look up information if I have to. This would be a lot harder if the negotiation was done face-to-face.
Not a whole lot to say about this one. Maybe next time I'll have more to write about. Just have to wait and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment