Game: Suppose you are an exclusive nut manufacturer who has 26 nuts. There are 26 other individuals who have 1 bolt each (but no nuts)
No nut or bolt in isolation have any value. However as a pair each is worth 100/- each.
Now think of yourself as one of the 26 bolt holder. How much do you think will you be able to charge for your bolt? What can you do to increase your bargaining power?
Form a cartel?
Well now comes the strategy part. How as a nut owner, you can counter their cartel and extract the max of the 100/- X 26 = 2,600/- for yourself.
As a follow-up on an earlier post, I thought I would elaborate more by analysing a movie clip.
Background:
This clip is based on a real episode which occurred in the Arabian theatre of the World War 1. A young British Lieutenant Lawrence crosses the formidable Nefud desert with a small force of 50 camel riders. Here he teams up with one of the rival tribe of Howeitat. This tribe is currently is being paid by the Turks to protect the port city, but Lawrence armed with his superior negotiation skills is trying persuade him to join the cause.
The tribe was hostile to the proposal and its leader Auda has a huge ego. Hence the organization of the arguments were:
1. Ethos to build credibility.
2. Pathos to stir up the emotions and make the person more susceptible to the proposal
3. Logos to neutralize whatever reservations the tribe has and to reaffirm that the proposal makes rational sense too.
In this reenactment, Lawrence uses a team of 3 negotiators and shows a remarkable knowledge of Arabian tribes and psyche and cultural sensitivity. Their arguments could be summarized under the following 3 headings
Ethos:
1. The very act of crossing the desert on a camel was sufficient to prove that Lawrence and his men are fully committed and serious about the alliance. This statement helped the group to solicit a meeting/feast at the rival camp.
2. The band carried out the negotiation under the banner of Prince Feisal.
3. When accused of being a lowly servant: Auda asserts that he is paid 100 pieces of gold by the Turks, which is no servant wages. He tries to give another weak argument boasting of his fighting skills and how he distributes all his wealth amongst his people. Lawrence counteracts by correcting the fact that the tribe is actually paid 150 pieces of gold. This way the team not only is able to control Auda, but also prove their superior intelligence and connections. Also it provides them with a wonderful ground to introduce the Logos.
Pathos:
To raise the temperament and persuade him two statements were used.
1. The Arabs were portrayed as a tribe of slaves. Only Prince Feisal’s men are free, and are fighting for it.
2. Since the Turks pay the tribe to protect them, the tribal leader was compared with a servant. (Which made him to flare up, at which point Lawrence had to back away)
3. While Auda was talking about his achievements in the past, the 3rd person in the band taunts him by claiming that he seems old and incapable of a fight.
4. If Auda will be fighting the Turks, he will be emancipated. He should fight because it is his will, and he takes pleasure in a fight.
Logos:
1. Turks have a box filled with gold at the port of Aqaba. Hence the surprise attack will make them rich.
Filed under: Miscellaneous — Ankur Aggarwal @ 12:58 am
Saw a bounce back in suzlon .. bought it at 101.8 with stoploss at 100.5 . the market went down till 100.25 before bouncing
back and triggered the stoploss.
I panicked and put an opposite position to cover the losses when it came back to 101.8, but this time the bounce back really happened and it went upto 106, again hitting the stoploss of 103.3.
So basically even though we had bet rightly about the movement of the stock, the volatility made both the bets sour
’Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows;
for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset,
and the baths Of all the western stars until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
We were preparing a short study for conflicts and negotiations using a movie scene as an example. Someone suggested Indecent Proposal, so we took the scene were John actually makes the offer (Better watch the movie if you haven’t). When I had watched it for the first time, it was a five minute scene of a horny and arrogant businessman against a needy and faithful couple.
But now, it was more complex. I was watching it as a proper negotiation. The covert agendas of the characters and the actual conflict now seemed entirely different! John’s real motive was to satisfy his ego by driving home his point(money can buy anything). Sleeping with Diana wasn’t important but just a means to his end. In case of David, more than protecting his wife and their relationship, he was trying to protect his own male chauvinist ego.
Another interesting agenda was how they went about the negotiation.John had complete information on the couple ( as detailed as knowing which dress Diana liked) and he didn’t offer them money, but “A million dollars. A lifetime of security, for one night“. The couple, on the other hand, was instinctive, but David was already thinking about it when Diana replied for him “He’d tell you to go to hell“.
Something tells me that I have taken up really interesting courses in my 2nd year.
Filed under: Miscellaneous — Ankur Aggarwal @ 11:46 am
Today morning I realized that I was facing a laundry crisis. Since I was too lazy/busy to wash and iron my clothes, there were none left for me to wear. Also I got inspired by all the lovely ladies who try to shield themselves from the blazing sun by covering themselves from head to toe in garments. So I decided to wear a full sleaves cotton Kurta instead of my usual Tees.
The result was a disaster. I was sweating so profoundly that I think I could see a small trickle of water flowing from me. It might made me feel like Lord Shiva, from whose hair the river ganga origins, but it was not a very comfortable garment.
I wonder how women manage to maintain their calm in all those summer attires they wear. Most of them seem to prefer covering their arms legs and even faces to applying sunscreen creams and lotions.