Archive for March, 2009

Thunderbird Professors Karen S. Walch, Roe Goddard and Christine Pearson shared their insights on the global financial crisis March 12 during an alumni webcast. Afterward, participants all over the world submitted questions for the expert panel. Questions are pasted below, along with faculty responses.

By Karen S. Walch, Ph.D.

As a Thunderbird faculty member, I have had the opportunity to work with alumni and executives from all over the globe representing a wide range of industries. On occasion, I would like to highlight here some of the diverse and interesting insights from negotiators who visit the World Café. Today’s feature is Kevin D. Asbjörnson, who is a 1985 Thunderbird graduate.  He and I share several common ideas about the art form of negotiation. Since social and emotional resonance is critical in any negotiation, Kevin’s metaphor and analysis about musical resonance and alignment of tone provide a concise understanding about the art of awareness and artful negotiation competencies. Kevin and I agree that the science of strategic planning and good communication skills are only part of the foundation for successful negotiations. Kevin is founder and principal performing artist of Inspire! Imagine! Innovate! and is recognized in the 2009 Marquis Who’s Who in the World of Global Citizens for his creativity with the integration of music, performing arts-based learning and 21st century Leadership. Enjoy his story below, and we look forward to your comments.
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By Philip Graham ‘96

I joined the Singapore regional headquarters of a Hong Kong based pan-Asian systems integrator as the regional business development manager in early 2000. We had offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Tokyo and San Francisco. When I joined the firm, we had just gone public and were growing rapidly. The Singapore office had 100 people, with 90 being local Singaporean and the remainder either Indian or Western. Things were good.
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Ambassador Barbara Barrett “did her time” behind a desk during her service in Finland from 2008-09, but she also traveled the country by bicycle, airplane, boat, dogsled and horseback to meet as many Finns as possible. “I wasn’t there just to sit behind a desk in Helsinki,” the former Thunderbird trustee said during a homecoming reception in her honor Feb. 26 at the graduate school in Glendale, Ariz. “Not only did I go from ice cream stand to ice cream stand, but I also visited sawmills, power plants, factories, farms and forests.” Along the way, Barrett met hundreds of Finns and developed an appreciation for the environment in which they live. In the video above, she discusses lessons learned in cross-cultural communication.

Strategic negotiation skills and adaptation competences are tested more than ever during a decline in global economic activity. Currently many global MBA candidates and corporate clients attend Thunderbird courses on how to strengthen negotiation skills for all levels of management in an uncertain world economy. When it comes to transforming challenges into opportunities, there are two critical areas of expertise required: 1. Knowledge concerning strategic leverage, and 2. Social engagement practices in a cross-cultural context. To learn more about these two areas, read Mastering Negotiation in an Economic Downturn, an article by professors Karen S. Walch and Paul Kinsinger on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network home page.

So, why is business intelligence so important to a successful negotiation outcome? Sometimes the payoff comes before the negotiation even starts (when business intelligence uncovers strategic alternatives to negotiation). Consider the case of a Mexican retail clothing company looking to enter the U.S. market a few years ago. The company spotted a California-based retail chain that looked like a good vehicle to acquire. Preliminary financial due diligence, along with some basic market mapping, showed that the company’s outlets broadly served the Hispanic market. This seemed to confirm that the California target should be approached with an offer to purchase it.
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