Reference no: EM132430265

The Facts

• Peel Factor is the leading fruit juice provider in the country. The company is family owned and has been headed by brothers, Ted and Kiki, since the untimely passing of their father a few years ago. Kiki is the face of the enterprise and acts as the Executive Director of Peel Factor, soaking in all the plaudits for how well the company has performed. Ted is the reliable right-hand man who, until recently, faithfully executes his duties as one of the directors. Unbeknownst to Kiki, Ted has always felt that he can do a better job than his brother in leading the company, if given the chance to do so.

• Secretly, Ted has been approached by a talent scout hired by Fresh Inc., who is Peel Factor's direct competitor. Ted is intrigued by Fresh Inc.'s offer to head their company and is tempted by the potential to achieve recognition for his business sense and administrative ability. He gives his in-principle agreement to Fresh Inc. to accept their offer. Out of brotherly love, he decides to inform Kiki first before signing the employment contract proper.

• Unfortunately for Ted, a local news reporter gets wind of the intended appointment and releases the news via the country's premier social media app. Kiki is enraged by this perceived "betrayal" and goes to talk to Ted, hoping to come to an agreement on the way forward.

• However, once he gets to the office, Kiki loses it and castigates Ted, calling him "a wastrel and a disgrace to the family." Ted tries to ignore Kiki and refuses to speak to him initially. Kiki then goes on to tell Ted that he "is the reason why father passed on early," because Ted "is such a disappointment." Kiki also says that Ted is "lousy" and that is why he "failed" at his job, and that the company would do much better without him, even though he has no evidence for this statement.

• Unable to hold it together any longer, Ted yells that Kiki has "always been the spoilt favourite family brat" and has only got so far because he is "tied to mummy's apron strings." Incensed at the situation, Kiki then proposes to buy back Ted's shares in the family business for $0.04 per share even though he knows that the market price is $0.20 per share. Ted shouts back that Kiki has always been a "bully" since Ted lost Kiki's favourite stuffed toy in their youth, even though Ted knows this has nothing to do with the current dispute.

• Kiki and Ted then both claim that they will each hear from their respective lawyers about this situation.

• Inwardly, Kiki is devastated. He has always wanted the family business to do well and wanted to keep his family together. Before their father passed, Kiki promised to take care of his brother and now the family seems to be torn asunder. Heartbroken, Kiki wishes deeply to keep the promise to his late father. In fact, Kiki actually thought he was grooming Ted to eventually take over from him in the near future. Further, he is extremely concerned about losing his existing clients as well as his staff, who until now have been loyal to him. In particular, Kiki is concerned about his long-time staff losing respect for him.

• On his end, Ted has never wished for this to happen. He had also promised his late father to keep the family together, and not to harm the family or its business. He had always meant to come home to Peel Factor after having learnt enough from Fresh Inc. After all, it was his dream to have Peel Factor do even better than it has right now. However, Ted feels that he needs to obtain experience with Fresh Inc. in order to be a credible businessman. He loves his brother dearly and hopes that their relationship can continue despite his career path. Ted feels that making the move to Fresh Inc. can gain him the respect of not just his peers but also that of Kiki. Also, Kiki remains Ted's idol for taking the family business as far as he has but Ted still wishes to prove that he is a better leader than Kiki eventually.

Question 1: List and analyse the interests of the parties in the case above:

(a) Kiki; and (b) Ted (10 marks)

Question 2:  Demonstrate and discuss the negative negotiation tactics used by Kiki and Ted.

Question 3: Develop and apply the appropriate countermeasure to each of the negative negotiation tactics identified