Conflict and Negotiation Cases PointCast Network

Question:-

write a paper on PointCast Network Inc Conflict and Negotiation case.

Answer:-

The PointCast Network Inc. conflict case of 1997 was unique as compared to the previous two cases discussed here. It was an intercompany conflict resulting from egoistic negotiation moves. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation offered to buy the company for $ 450 million. Overestimated speculations and media hype said that the actual valuation of the company should be $ 750 million. This fed the ego of CEO Hassett and demanded more money. News Corporation restructured its offer to $ 400 million with incentive clauses if PointCast could fulfil the required financial projections. Again, this was rejected and its stalled negotiation with News Corporation abandoning the discussion. The company’s behaviour took a toll during its IPO decision in 1998 when it was valued at $ 200 million. Investors viewed the company in poor light and it was forced to take back the IPO and the suffered losses led to the acquisition of PointCast by Idealab in 1999 for as low as $ 7 million. The company suffered a loss of more than $440 million (Bauer & Erdogan, 2006).  

Thus, industry specifications, poor management of human resources, faulty company policies and egoistic management can all result in complex conflicts as depicted by the cases above.