ANALYSIS OF THE NEGOTIATION SCENE FROM THE

MOVIE
THE IMITATION GAME
 WHAT IS NEGOTIATION?
• Negotiation is a method by which people settle differences. It is a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in
a way that both parties find acceptable. In a negotiation, each party tries to persuade the other to agree with his
or her point of view.
• The stages of Negotiation are-:
STYLES OF NEGOTIATION
 DIFFERENT CONCEPTS INVOLVED IN NEGOTIATION

• BATNA, or best BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement, is what you would do if you failed to
reach an agreement in a particular negotiation. Estimating BATNA is useful in negotiations because it lets you
know how hard to push. In other words, if you have a strong BATNA and a negotiation counterparty has a weak
BATNA you can push hard for what you want. The alternative that each party faces if a particular negotiation
fails to reach a deal.
 RESERVATION AND ASPIRATION POINT

 Reservation point- The point at which the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (the BATNA)
becomes preferable to starting or continuing a negotiation. In a sale - or in any negotiation - this is the point
beyond which a party will not go.
Aspiration point. This is basically the absolute best deal you could realistically hope to reach. I mean, you
could set an aspiration point where you get a car for free, but in most situations, that’s not realistic. This
should be a realistic but stretch goal for the negotiation.
 THE IMITATION GAME- SYNOPSIS.

• During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war
hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up
arresting Turing himself on charges of 'gross indecency', an accusation that would lead to his devastating
conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality - little did officials know, they were actually
incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars,
linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called
unbreakable codes of Germany's World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a
brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure
helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.
 THE NEGOTIATION SCENE

• Alan has decoded Enigma, but his worry is that if the British decode every German message
successfully then they will get suspicious and change their code which will ultimately lead to all of
Alan’s work getting wasted. He requests Stewart to not tell anyone Enigma has been cracked, he will
develop a system which will determine the minimal number of messages or actions they need to
decode to win the war but also the maximum number they can decode before the Germans get
suspicious. He would do this through statistical analysis. Alan also requests Stewart to leak false stories
on how the British got the German messages as no one could know they broke Enigma. Stewart agrees
as his ultimate goal is to win the war. Hence, Alan and Joan’s offerings and conditions are accepted.
VIDEO
 INTEREST BASED NEGOTIATION USED HERE

• A negotiating strategy in which both sides start with declarations of their interests instead of putting forward
proposals, and work to develop agreements that satisfy common interests and balance opposing interests.
Interest-based bargaining is also called integrative or win-win bargaining.

• Thus, here Stewart and Alan are trying to

collaborate by searching for their underlying
interests and getting what is best for both the
parties.
  
BATNA
 

• Alan- Stewart is not willing to cooperate. Finding a way to make Germans

unsuspicious about Britain’s movements and the fact that Enigma has been
cracked.
• Stewart-Alan and Joan might not be satisfied with his answer and lose their
trust in him and not cooperate with him anymore.
• RESERVATION POINT
• Alan and Joan- Stewart is only willing to cooperate to hide the truth about Enigma.
• Stewart- Whatever Alan and Joan are saying can help Britain win the war and they have rational thinking
behind their actions.

• ASPIRATION POINT
• Alan and Joan- Stewart is willing to cooperate to hide the truth about Enigma and make false issues to
deceive the public. This will make Britain’s chances of winning the war much better.
• Stewart- Helping Britain win the war by doing the job that suits his specialities.
THE FINAL RESULT OF THE NEGOTIATION IS A WIN WIN ONE.

• TACTICS USED-:
Strategic Creativity.
Holistic Approach.
Strategic Flexibility.
Mutual Empathy.
Win-win mindset.