Mgmt_475

Article Analysis Paper The goal of this paper is to find an article that discusses a negotiation situation that has occurred internationally. Throughout the following paragraphs, I will discuss the situation, analyze the implications of globalization and the technology used in the negotiation. I will use the concepts that I have learned in this course. The article that I decided to discuss is UK Mandelson: The Need to Keep an Open Mind on GM Negotiation. I believe that the situation described in this article is a perfect example of how globalization affects the international negotiation process. Summary of Article I would like to begin by summarizing the article. The parties involved were a Canadian-Austrian parts maker of GM. The Canadian-Austrian parts maker was negotiating with the GM plan to sell off parts GM’s European auto section. The parties that were involved were Vauxhall and Opal. Opal was a German based company and Vauxhall was based out of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom government did not want to negotiate with GM. The government was worried about how the business deal would impact the UK based employees. These sections of the company had been close to financial duress since General Motors went into bankruptcy in mid 2009. After months of negotiations amongst the investors and the German government a decision was made to sell Vauxhall and Opel to the supplier Magna International. Then in November of 2009, General Motors decided to abandon the negotiation process because it was important for Vauxhall and Open to be part of the General Motors international and global strategy. At this time, GM decided to restructure the UK operations. GM was going to present the plan to the government and to the trade union for the various governments. GM had previously prepared a plan to allow the company to remain solvent in January 2009. Under the plan, the company would eliminate a total of 50,000 European jobs. The plan was similar to a plan presented by it competitor Magna. Magna’s plan called for the elimination of a similar number of position in the plants in Europe. The main difference would be that Magna would have kept a number of the German plants open. GM was going to close these plants. After the presentation, the German trade union was unhappy about GM’s unexpected change in its decision. The British trade union was happy with of GM’s new decision. The British trade union believed that the UK GM companies had a good chance of making it. A federation became involved known was the European Metalworkers’ Federation. The federations required that GM enter into the negotiation process with a forum without hesitation. The EMF developed a restructuring plan which stated that GM meets two demands: GM could not close a plan and GM could not force redundancies in Europe. The new restructuring process meant that there goal could be accomplished keeping the European strategy in line. The negotiations between the various parties involved were quite interesting in this article. All of the parties were interested in reaching a certain outcome. I believe that GM should have used the intervention strategy to allow a mediator to become involved earlier on in the negotoation process. The mediator would have assisted the parties in reaching an outcome. The mediation process would have been highly effective for this negotiation. The parties could have agreed on a mediator and then moved forward more promptly in the negotiation process. The parties should have instituted a hybrid strategy of mediation and arbitration. The arbitration is legally binding mediations that results in the agreement between two parties to honor an agreement made earlier on. This strategy is typically implemented when there is an escalated conflict such was this and it is a better alternative than the parties going to court and wasting money in arbitration and litigation. To the extent the fast changing technology in the car industry has been responsible for these changes. Unless these units are consolidated and the car making technology as well as the technology of cars made is both improved, the company will not be commercially successful. Technology The parties involved could have also used more technology when going through the negotiation process. The parties could have met via video conferencing and exchanged emails, presentations and plans rather than getting together to meet face to face. The company was in financial distress and this could have saved GM a lot of money. Closing In closing, I discussed the process of how the international negotiation process works for US companies. I discussed the situation, analyzed the implications of globalization and the technology used in the negotiation. I discussed various strategies that I learned over the last few weeks of this course. I believe that the situation described in this article is a perfect example of how globalization affects the international negotiation process. References General Motors ditches plan to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Magna. Retrieved via the Internet on July 11, 2010: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2009/10/articles/eu0910029i.htm Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation, 5th Ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Incorporated.