Question

Rainbow Paints Inc. is a leading paints company in Pakistan. In June 2019, the higher management of the company deliberated and decided upon the production targets for the year 2020. The procurement department was directed to order the supplies of required chemicals and raw materials from Chinese company i.e. XingPe Chemicals for the target production. The supplies were expected to arrive in January-February 2020 but unexpected situation halted the normal operations in China due to the spread of a novel virus. The situation created panic at Rainbow Paints Inc. as lack of supplies meant falling short of the targets and plunging in losses. The supplier was contacted but they were of the view that they cannot send the supplies as per the contract due to the lockdown. Now, conflict aroused between the parties as Rainbow Paints Inc. wanted the raw materials which the XingPi Chemicals cannot process due to restrictions from their respective government. It resulted in losses for Rainbow Paints Inc. Rainbow Paints Inc. decided to consult an International arbitrator for the resolution of the dispute. During negotiations, the Rainbow Paints Inc. maintained that they faced losses due to lack of supplies which did not reach them at the promised time. So, the supplier must not only compensate for it but also return their payments. While XingPe Chemicals insisted that they couldn’t move ahead due to unexpected and unavoidable pandemic situation, so the losses must be shared. They also reiterated the resolve to provide supplies in the future without any delays if the situation permits. They insisted on keeping the contract intact while finding a middle ground for the current dispute. Requirement: After analyzing the case, Identify the approaches to negotiation maintained by both the parties in conflict i.e. Rainbow Paints Inc. and XingPi Chemicals and explain them as per the scenario.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

According to the given situation, The Strategic Negotiation or Distributive Negotiation is also known as Win-lose strategy, was introduced by Rainbow Paints Inc. They say they should be liable for the losses, and they will refund the advance payment. Therefore they support a hard-line strategy.

XingPe Chemicals embraces a resolution of the conflict on this subject. So, they are required to handle the part of loss and want to compensate for the remaining loss by a rainbow. They are justifying to wait on pandemic grounds which is a matter of force measure. They do promise to honor all future contracts.