1) Was this a Distributive or Integrative negotiation?- was it the optimum approach and why or why not.
Sarah Talley and Wal-Mart are in a distributive negotiation as they only haggle about the price for 4th of July Watermelons (Lewicki, Saunders& Barry 2011). Rather than giving a “why” Wal-Mart persists with the position that the price is “too high” (Sebenius & Knebel 2006). In price-only negotiations only one party can win. Furthermore, there is a huge power difference due to Wal-Mart’s high position of strength which is based on their size (Lewicki et al. 2011). In the end these negotiations ended with Wal-Mart having to pay higher prices and with Frey Farm selling less volume at lower profits as they became a co-managed…show more content… 2011). Sarah could also employ negotiation jujitsu as developed by Fisher and Ury (2011) rather than defending her position. She could accept Wal-Mart’s price in exchange for becoming a co-managed supplier. Thereby she would give up a short-term goal (quick profit) for the outlook of greater gain. She knows she is the smaller party amongst the two and she needs to be accommodating to some of the demands or requests that Wal-Mart would have. This helps her to preserve the relationship and succeed in the long run. Another possibility would be to give the regional buyer a discount for July and August if his market price projection was right. If she was right, her proposed contract price would go forward.
6) Given the outcome at the end of the case, is there anything Sarah can do to salvage the relationship and/or possibly get back in the running for co-management?
Supplier – retailer relationships are normally long-term. Talley could actively contact a Wal-Mart representative she previously worked with in order to demonstrate that Frey Farm and Wal-Mart should work together to reduce cost. Shapiro as cited in Bernstein (2011) states that reconciliation takes time and effort. The process includes closing the distance between both parties and requires listening and problem solving. Pointing out that Walmart
