Chapter 4
Negotiating — doing the deal
A four-act play?
Every negotiation of a contract is different. This is because the subject matter, the personalities, the price and the commercial pressures are idiosyncratic. A contract negotiated for a good or service in May 2007 may proceed entirely differently when renegotiated in May 2009. If nothing else, broad market shifts in a globalised economy mean circumstances change with startling and often disorienting regularity.
The nature of the negotiation will be ordained by the size and nature of the contract. A contract to provide a fairly regular or commoditised good or service will tend to be simple. It is the price, delivery time and quality of that good or service that are the main issues.
However, ...
