Usauto

USAuto is a company struggling to be competitive in the 21st century. Labor costs and foreign competition are driving profits down and the company's plants are described as "outdated". In order to survive, USAuto has spent a great deal of time and money developing a hybrid engine. Their hopes are pinned on a deal with AutoMex, a Mexican marketing company that is wishing to develop its own brand in South America. USAuto is hoping that southern expansion combined with the lower wages of Mexican workers will be enough to save them. AutoMex is a company seeking to expand its business interests from marketing to manufacturing. The company is interested in partnering with USAuto to produce hybrid vehicles both for import to the US, but for sale within South America.

The primary stakeholders in the situation are the negotiators from USAuto and AutoMex, the employees of both companies, and American and Mexican consumers. The USAuto negotiators are interested in preserving their intellectual property and increasing their profits. As Americans, they are more driven by results and since the company has been sitting on the hybrid engine, they are in a hurry to get a deal done. "For North Americans, negotiations are businesslike; their factual appeals are based on what they believed is objective information, presented with the assumption that it is understood by the other side on a logical basis" (Deresky, p. 160). The AutoMex negotiators are interested in expanding their business to include manufacture, technological education and growth for their workers, and increased profits. Culturally, the AutoMex negotiators are relationship builders, working "with whom they have achieved a comfort level" (Litteral, para.8). The USAuto employees are interested in a fair wage and job retention while the AutoMex workers also want a fair wage, but also technological training for an increased skill set. US automotive employees are covered by union contracts that can negatively impact the profitability of the company. Mexican employees are considered to by American companies as cheap labor, but Mexicans resent "what they perceive to have been historical exploitation" (Litteral, para. 10). US consumers are ready and waiting for hybrid engines with a strong press for social and environmental responsibility combined with astronomical gas prices negatively impacting the economy. Mexican consumers are also interested in hybrid engines for many of the same reasons as American consumers, but they are also anxious for a modernization of the country that a Mexican automobile could provide. "Successful cross-border negotiators begin by discarding home-market presumptions and developing a clear map of the players who are likely to influence the formal and informal decision process. Only when you know exactly who these players are can you develop a strategy that targets their interests." (Sebenius, p. 7)

In order for USAuto to compete successfully in the future, the company will have to implement strategies leading to improved negotiations. USAuto will be able to navigate cross border negotiations and build amicable relationships with international partners. "The next stage of negotiationÐ'--often given short shrift by WesternersÐ'--is that of relationship building. In most parts of the world, this stage usually has already taken place or is concurrent with other preparations" (deresky??)

For USAuto to realize the end-state vision of navigating negotiations and building relationships, the company will need to implement several changes to the way they approach cross border negotiations. In order for the negotiating team to begin on the right foot, better initial planning needs to take place. USAuto can develop a better strategy