Strategic Negotiation Planning- ZOPA and BATNA Development for Sharon Slade, Netflix’s Chief Human Resources Officer
Alice Jones, like Sharon Slade, has a ZOPA and BATNA position she may settle for as she heads to the severance negotiation. ZOPA refers to a zone of agreement with which all parties in a negotiation process agree (Sebenius, 2017). In the context of Alice Jones and her negotiation with the Netflix chief human resource officer, the ZOPA refers to the terms Alice and the employer find acceptable for the severance arrangement. One of the ZOPA positions relevant in this case is for Alice Jones to demand severance pay from Netflix so that she can exit the company. That way, she will get enough money to sustain herself before she gets another job, while Netflix will have an opportunity to release the unwanted employee. By understanding her transaction point, Alice will avoid the temptation of selecting choices she may regret later (Opresnik, 2014). Notably, the ZOPA is valid since it considers Netflix’s need to release Alice and streamline its human resource capital.
On the other hand, if the ZOPA is not accepted by Netflix, Alice will need a BATNA. A BATNA is the best alternative course a negotiator can take if the process fails to yield fruits (Andrade et al., 2010). In the context of Alice Jones versus Netflix, the negotiation may fail to yield her demands, including the payment of a severance package. If that is the case, Alice may take appropriate legal action to challenge the company’s decision to terminate her contract- this constitutes her BATNA position. Having a BATNA position before heading to a negotiation table will save Alice from settling for unacceptable terms (Opresnik, 2014). If Netflix insists on terminating her contract without offering a severance pay package, legal action may make the company pay. Besides, the best alternative to the ZOPA will give Alice the flexibility to exclude unfavorable options from the onset of the negotiation (Alfredson & Cungu, 2008). At the negotiation table, Alice should not accept anything less than termination accompanied by a severance package.
References
Alfredson, T., & Cungu, A. (2008). Negotiation Theory and Practice A Review of the Literature. https://www.fao.org/3/bq863e/bq863e.pdf