Usauto

Problem Solution: USAuto

USAuto is a publicly traded corporation with obligations to its employees and stockholders to remain competitive in the automobile industry and increase profits. USAuto has recently seen declines in its profitability and growth. In an effort to meet the obligations that USAuto has to employees and stockholders, the company leadership enters negotiations with AutoMex, a company that produces and markets automobiles in Mexico. The initial negotiation round is unsuccessful. As an example of attitudes which can lead to failure, USAuto’s goal in the negotiations is to create an agreement with AutoMex that would lower USAuto’s costs by using AutoMex’s labor force. In failing to recognize the interests of AutoMex, the negotiation team for USAuto inadvertently creates a win-lose situation that leads to conflict (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2003). Moving forward, USAuto can meet and exceed its obligations to employees and stockholders by developing the skills and culture necessary for successful negotiations.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

USAuto has been losing market share over the past few years. In addition, it is experiencing steadily increasing production costs. The combination of these two factors is leading to significant declines in the value of its stock, and the stockholders are not happy with that result. In order to reverse these trends, USAuto’s management decides to pursue a joint venture that can simultaneously reduce labor costs while opening up new markets for its automobiles. Seeing themselves as an industry leader, they approach AutoMex as a potential partner. The negotiation between USAuto and AutoMex does not go as planned, however. While it may make excellent cars, USAuto does not display the same excellence in negotiation, as is illustrated clearly in the issues identified in Table 1.

Stakeholder Perspectives and Ethical Dilemmas

Among the many stakeholders identified in Table 2, the...