Business Conflict Blog

The second student paper addresses negotiation in China.  The author, Justin Shain, lived in China for a period.  What makes this paper so appealing is the ease and authority with which various strains of the robust Chinese culture are woven into a clear and useful piece of guidance for the business person and counsel.

How to Successfully Negotiate in an Ever-changing Chinese Business Culture

 Justin Shain

INTRODUCTION

As the ancient Chinese military general and strategist, Sun Tzu, wisely coined, “He who knows his enemy and himself well will not be defeated easily.”[1]  This proverb has stood the test of time.  For example, this saying continues to apply to many negotiators today—specifically, negotiators finding themselves in the middle of cross-cultural business dealings between Chinese companies and companies from the West.  In order to be successful in these negotiations, western negotiators have extensively studied Chinese business culture.  Likewise, the Chinese are increasingly sending their youth to be educated by western business schools.[2]  First, this paper will explore the widely accepted Chinese business culture framework, called the “Ping Pong Model,” in order to establish a better understanding of the Chinese negotiator, followed by how, in practice, these widely accepted generalizations of the Chinese business culture framework do not always hold true because of changes in attitudes among China’s younger generations.  The essay concludes by providing a guide on how to apply negotiating to this evolving Chinese business culture. Read more »

Tags: Culture, Negotiation

Once again I have had the privilege of teaching the excellent students at New York Law School in International Commercial Dispute Resolution, and once again it has resulted in some superb pieces of written research.  Here is the work of Somya Kaushik, who will be graduating in a few weeks and, clearly, has a promising future in front of her.

Arbitration in India: The Internal Challenges, India as an International Arbitration Destination, and the Risk Analysis for Foreign Investors

Introduction:

In this research paper I will analyze and comment on India’s arbitration and jurisprudence from pre-colonization to post-colonization in 1947. In Part I, I will briefly discuss the goal and purpose of arbitration, for those who are unfamiliar with them, and I will delve into the history of India’s arbitration, including the major legislative acts and arbitration institutions. In Part II I will analyze and comment on the challenges that arbitration in India faces, as well as create. This section will illustrate some of the key issues in Indian arbitration, such as time efficiency, costliness, advantages and disadvantages of ad hoc arbitration in India, difficulties in award enforcements, and issues with public policy as a ground for appeal. Part III will move on to discuss India as an international arbitration destination, considering the strengths and weaknesses that come with Indian arbitration. Lastly, Part IV will provide a risk analysis guide for foreign investors seeking to invest in India’s market. This section will bring awareness to certain issues that may be easily overlooked regarding the judicial process in India and it will also consider the advantages of arbitration in India for foreign investors. Read more »

Tags: ADR Institutions, Arbitration

Perhaps the single least recognized, most effective strategy for managing streams of commercial disputes is early intervention.  The bundle of skills implicated by this strategy include Planned Early Negotiation, Early Case Assessment, Risk Analysis, and Decision Tree Analysis.  But the objective of all of these tools is the same:  To place the decision-maker within the client in a position to make an informed choice on how the matter will proceed, driven by business — not legal – objectives.

The ABA Dispute Resolution Section recently hosted a Task Force on Planned Early Negotiation, chaired by Prof. John Lande.  More recently, the Dispute Resolution Committee of the ABA Business Law Section offered a trenchant panel of experts on the topic, headed by Duff & Phelps’ John Levitske.  Much wisdom was offered. Read more »

Tags: ADR, conflict management, Lawyers, Mediation, Negotiation, systems design

At the recent ABA Business Law Section Meeting in Washington, the Dispute Resolution Committee offered an interesting program titled “Who Gets What?”  The panel discussed how one designs compensation schemes that address the needs of victims of mass disasters.  Some of these events might be natural (i.e., storms) and others man-made (i.e. bombings, mass killings, environmental disasters), but the design of victim compensation procedures seems to be similar regardless of the nature of the incident giving rise to it.

The speakers were Kenneth Feinberg and Deborah Greenspan.
Read more »

Tags: Public Policy, systems design