Business and Commercial Role-Play:

Ren the Robot

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$0.00 – $6.00

Lara SanPietro

Two-party, multi-issue negotiation between a Tokyo-based robotics company and a San Francisco-based tech company over a potential acquisition deal, to be conducted via online video conference.

Quantity

Please note: you must order a copy (a.k.a. license/usage fee) for every person participating in the simulation in your course. This simulation has multiple roles, so you will be unable to complete your purchase without meeting the minimum quantity requirement of copies per role.

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PON Teaching Negotiation Resource Center

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Soft copy vs. hard copy

You may order this role simulation in either soft copy (electronic) or hard copy (paper) format. If you select the soft copy option, you will receive an e-mail with a URL (website address) from which you may download an electronic file in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You will have one week to download your materials from when you receive the email. You are then only authorized to use, print, or share the materials as many times as the number of copies you purchase. The TNRC charges for use of this simulation on a per-participant basis. Therefore, you must purchase a separate copy of this simulation for each person who will be participating, regardless of the number of roles in the simulation. You will only receive a link to one electronic file, which includes all general instructions, confidential instructions, and any teaching notes for the simulation. You should separate out the instructions before distributing to participants.

If you select the hard copy option, you will receive paper copies of this role simulation via the shipping method you select.

For additional information about the soft copy option, please visit our FAQ section, or contact the PON Teaching Negotiation Resource Center at tnrc@law.harvard.edu or 800-258-4406 (within the U.S.) or 301-528-2676 (outside the U.S.).

Please note: At the present time, Teaching Negotiation Resource Center soft copies are compatible with the following versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader: English, German, French, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. If you have a different version of the Acrobat Reader, you may wish to download one of these at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html, or contact the PON Teaching Negotiation Resource Center at tnrc@law.harvard.edu, 800-258-4406 (within the U.S.), or 301-528-2676 (outside the U.S.) for further assistance. This restriction does not apply to the freely available Teacher’s Package Review Copies.

Ordering a single copy for review

If you wish to review the materials for a particular role simulation to decide whether you’d like to use it, a PDF, or soft copy, version of the Teacher’s Package for the simulation is available as a free download from the description page of most role simulations and case studies. All Teacher’s Packages include copies of all participant materials. In addition, some Teacher’s Packages (but not all) include additional teaching materials such as teaching notes or overhead masters.

Ordering copies for multiple participants

To order multiple copies of a role simulation for use in a course or workshop, simply enter the total number of participants in the box next to “Quantity.” There is no need to calculate how many of each role is required.

If you are ordering hard copies, the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center will calculate the appropriate numbers of each role to provide, based on the total number of participants. For example, if you wish to order a 2-party role simulation for use with a class of 30 students, you would enter “30” in the box next to “Quantity.” You then would receive 15 copies of one role and 15 copies of the other role, for use with your 30 participants. As another example, if you ordered 30 participant copies of a 6-party role simulation, you would receive 5 copies of each role.

In the event that the number of participant copies you order is not evenly divisible by the number of roles in the simulation, you will receive extra copies of one or more roles. Participants receiving the extra roles may partner with other participants playing the same role, thus negotiating as a team. So, for instance, if you ordered 31 copies of a 2-party role simulation, you would receive 15 copies of the first role and 16 copies of the second role. One of the participants playing the second role would partner with another participant playing that same role, and the two would negotiate as a team.

Bulk Pricing Discount

For bulk orders, we offer the following pricing discounts. Please note that these only apply to bulk orders of the same simulation.

  • Between 100-250 copies – 10% discount
  • Between 251-500 copies – 25% discount
  • More than 500 copies – 50% discount
Log In or Register to download the free Teacher's Package Sample.

SCENARIO: 

Delivered is an app-based service that matches independent food-delivery drivers with customers who want delivery from their favorite neighborhood restaurants. While originally only available in the US, Delivered now operates in major cities all over the world. Already a globally successful company before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing stay-at-home orders caused an explosion in Delivered’s popularity. Many restaurants, however, were forced to close permanently during the stay-at-home period, while others who successfully pivoted to entirely take-out-based orders had difficulty keeping up with demand. As restaurants were permitted to reopen for in-person dining, a severe labor shortage left them desperate for servers and cooks and left many establishments unable to maximize business in the face of pent-up demand. Delivered is seeking to invest some of its newly increased development budget in innovative technologies to address some of these issues.

Grubotics is a Japanese robotics company, which makes food-preparation robots. “Ren” the food-preparation robot has an internal refrigerator, which holds fresh produce and other ingredients. It can combine these ingredients into custom salads, noodle bowls, and other dishes. Prior to the pandemic, Grubotics robots were primarily used in universities, hospitals, and grocery stores. But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a massive increase in their use by restaurants and convenience stores which were looking for a way to supplement human workers and a contact-less way to dispense fresh food. A relatively young company with only 20 employees, Grubotics has had some trouble scaling up and meeting the surging demand for its food-preparation robots. It is therefore beginning acquisition negotiations with Delivered and seeking an influx of capital to help meet demand and expand into new markets.

Delivered and Grubotics are meeting via online video conference to negotiate the terms of an acquisition deal.

MECHANICS:

This simulation is designed to be conducted via online video conference platform. Including preparation, negotiation, and debrief, the simulation should take approximately one and a half hours.

MATERIALS: 

  • Teaching Notes
  • Confidential Role Instructions for Grubotics
  • Confidential Role Instructions for Delivered
  • Outcome Form

MAJOR LESSONS: 

  • Negotiation process management and agenda setting.
  • Openings in a negotiation, the pre-anchoring phase, and momentum-building.
  • Defining BATNAs – assessing both your BATNA as well as the other party’s.
  • Uncovering interests.
  • Cross-cultural communication.
  • Navigating the dynamics of technology, and technological preferences of each party in a negotiation.
  • Managing relationship dynamics and the possibility of a future relationship in a negotiation.

Ren the Robot Attributes

Time required: 2 hours
Numbers of participants: 2
Scoreable: No
Teaching Notes Available: Yes
Neutral third party present: No
Filed in:
Business and Commercial, Corporate Decision Making, Cross-Cultural, International Relations, Investment and Finance, Role Simulations, SanPietro, Lara, Technology