Sony Least the Rights to Spiderman to Marvel

1.0: Introduction: Executive Summary

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the agreement reached by Sony and Marvel in regards to the rights for Spider-Man to appear in future films.

The report conclude that the type of negotiation based on the deal is a business negotiation because it involve big parties, commonly called as companies or enterprises, whose aim to gain profits while also upholding their reputation among the general audience.

The report draws attention to the fact that based on the background of the case study, the parties involved in the deal are between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios.

The chronology of the case study started with Sony securing the rights to Spider-Man films in 1999 from Marvel Comics. Although the first Spider-Man film was a blockbuster hit, the franchise has gradually start to become a diminishing brand due to reactions from the consumers to the films, based on the most recent Spider-Man standalone film not making as much money as the studio was expecting. In the same period, Marvel Studios is steadily rising its fame and profits with its range of blockbusters films from its Marvel Cinematic Universe. In February 2005, Sony and Marvel Studios announced a deal to share the Spider-Man film rights.

The findings reveal the issues fund in the case study are; 1) Sony wants Spider-Man to become popular again and 2) Marvel wants the copyright to Spider-Man.

Further analysis reveal the relation of business negotiation to the case study is because it involved two well-known business parties, building a team concept had been applied by those parties during the agreement to meet their mutual interest and the presence of Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). Moreover, these factors provides impacts and effects on the case study such as gaining plenty of benefits for both sides, Sony now has a brand new slate of Spider-Man movies to plan and attracting consumers especially Spider-Man’s fans.

The report finds the prospects of the negotiation reached by Sony and Marvel in regards to the rights for Spider-Man to be creative, mutually beneficial, and ingenious. Both studios benefit from the partnership. Marvel gets a focal character for its forthcoming films and Sony gets exposure and a reboot for a new Spider-Man franchise.

It is recommended that Marvel and Sony turn this deal of theirs from just a temporary and limited trade-off into something more permanent.

1.1: Justification for Selected Case Study

In terms of negotiation, the Sony and Marvel/Disney deal that benefits both sides and the consumers in every way without costing anything to either side. Nothing was sold. Neither party lost anything during the negotiation. This is a collaboration between two studios that need something only the other can provide. The negotiation benefitted Sony, Marvel and the consumers. It was a very selfless act that was very smart on the part of all the companies.

2.0: Type of Negotiation: Business Negotiation

Negotiation happens almost all the time, whether we realize it or not. It is a part of the process we go through in our daily lives, in order to strive and live on this modern era. According to Steele and Beasor (2017), negotiation is a process through which parties move from their initially divergent positions to a point where agreement may be reached. In other words, it is a procedure that occurs between two or more parties regarding a similar point of interest or conflict, and it is done to discuss and decide to reach the better solutions or findings rather than just accepting the initial offers bluntly.

Among all of the negotiation that happened nowadays, business negotiation can be considered as core foundation of what makes the world functions properly, as it has a large impact toward shaping the society that we live in. Negotiating is indeed a part of everyday life, but in the business world, it is absolutely critical for reaching success. The business part in this type of negotiation will involve big parties, commonly called as companies or enterprises, whose aim to gain profits while also upholding their reputation among the general audience.

Maude (2014) stated that business negotiation is essentially a process of give and take in which the negotiators make initial offers, but then keep modifying them and making amendments in order to come close to each other and eventually to reach an agreement. In order to obtain a satisfactory negotiated agreement, it depends on this process of give and take, amendments and trade-offs, and trade-offs are important as a part in negotiation process, as it can create cooperation when an issue is linked with another that is related.

For the negotiation practitioners of their organization, effective business negotiation is regarded as a core leadership and management skill, as it is the ability to negotiate effectively in a wide range of business contexts such as deal making, employment discussion and fulfillment of contract obligations. It is vital for the practitioners to be creative and open-minded in any negotiation that involves a business setting.

Establishing a negotiation team is common things to do in any business process, but it is also a critical part of the procedure. Negotiation teams should also spend a quite good amount of time in assembling the team members, as so to avoid conflict among those that have strong-minded individual ideals that might overshadow the group goals. A set of objectives, ways, goals and visions are needed to be compiled in order to solidify the team’s main goals, as the opposite side of the negotiation process will be prepared and willing to exploit any weakness that prevail in the team’s defense.

Business success relies upon definite trust and a determination to share in a common purpose. As in business, relationship is one of the keys to success, hence the participants seek to understand each other’s needs and from there, the difference is detected, and is negotiated to resolve the areas of conflict that prevent them from achieving the best result possible. The compromise of interests and targets using negotiation requires the assortments of proper interpersonal skill and a throughout understanding of the subject in hand.