DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What did you notice about the way the opportunity for this project came about that was an unusual business practice for Infosys?

2. Describe the contract negotiations. In what way were these negotiations a departure from the way you would have expected negotiations to be conducted?

3. Why do you suppose NTC accepted Infosys’s 20 percent reduction, which still made their proposal more expensive than that of the other vendor?

4. Shouldn’t Infosys have asked for something in return for reducing its price? What might Infosys have asked for?

5. Once NTC got a price reduction they then asked for a two- week time reduction. Infosys agreed to that, too. Who was Infosys negotiating with? What should Infosys have done at this stage of the negotiation?

6. Communications during the meetings to develop specifications were difficult. Is there anything that Infosys might have done to facilitate communications, reduce the transaction costs associated with developing the bid, and minimize conflict once the project was launched? Keep in mind that translation in Japan is very expensive.

7. When Sachin tried to make the point that NTC should have frozen the requirements when the contract was agreed to, NTC responded that Infosys did what it wanted to do without really knowing what NTC wanted. What might have led to this response?

8. Should Sachin have gone out for drinks with Yoneyama-san and their counterpart at NTC? Did Sachin need to drink alcohol?

CRITERION

• Write one paragraph (at least 3 sentences in length and have original thoughts/ideas) for each of the questions.
• Make sure to number each of the paragraphs so that I know which question you are answering.
• Make sure to reference the terms and concepts learned from the book.
• Make sure your responses contain original thoughts.

Answer preview

The opportunity for this project, which was unusual for Infosys, is that they never received an RFP from Nippon Tele Communication (NTC) for the new project. The company had worked for ATC, which was in a franchise with NTC Infosys considered not receiving an RFP from the beginning as an unusual practice. The difference in the policies, structures, and rules between the two companies was a major factor. Infosys…