Marketing Strategy of L'oreal

Case Analysis: A Role Play in Negotiating And Bargaining Skills - The ‘Ugli Orange’ Case

Lessons Learnt

The main aim of the two parties involved in this exercise was to win. The art of negotiation in an organization was a crucial aspect of this case study. To analyze and work out our own requirements in production and chalking out deals of strategic importance with the rivals were the lessons learnt from this tutorial exercise. This case study taught us that mutual agreement on a common ground with the opposite party proves more helpful rather than focusing on ‘winning’ the deal and the negotiations should be done in such a way that both the competitors involved are benefitted. In this exercise of Ugli Oranges, the negotiators attempted in getting the sole ownership of the rarest kind of oranges produced in the world but miserably failed in getting a common solution and eventually reached a stagnant outcome. We learnt as to how it was important to understand the opponent’s need for the same raw material, in this case the oranges and work out a common ground on which this material can be divided and reused, without having to compromise on the quality. This mutual collaboration between the parties involved in also helps in getting a more economic price form the seller.

It was noticed that instead of amicably solving the case, an aggressive approach was used which proved futile in the negotiations and each rival tried to overpower each other than look for a solution that would benefit everyone. So the lesson learnt from this would also be altering and observing the behavioral patterns to suit the situation. It is important to understand that a joint mutual decision and an amicable discussion would be the best way to crack a deal.

Application of Lessons learnt

The learnings from this exercise can be applied to a great extent in our day to day work schedules. For instance, in sales, an in depth research of the client’s requirements and giving them exactly what they need or placing an alternate solution keeping in mind the company’s demand, would be one of the most important lesson that can be practiced. During the meetings, a collaborative method of negotiation should be applied, which helps in fulfilling the interests of both the entities.

Another lesson I think that can be key to any industry and was present in the exercise is collaboration. This is a case that I recently came across, where pharmaceutical companies have chosen collaborations as a way to address the various challenges related to the research and development in their industry. This has not only speeded up the development of new life saving medicines but has also helped them to use each other’s expertise for producing drugs and in return making profit. Thus this an ideal situation where there is sharing of relevant