This exercise places two technical buyers in a dispute created by a double commitment from a telecom’s asset recovery unit.
Each side enters convinced the batch of twelve thousand legacy switching boards is an all or nothing resource and that any concession threatens their operational viability.
Both divisions work under tight internal deadlines, interpret the problem as a zero sum allocation, and withhold technical details they view as sensitive. What students gradually uncover is that the dispute turns less on the boards themselves and more on whether either party tests its assumptions.
The scenario gives instructors a compact way to explore how information gaps, incomplete questioning, and early framing can obscure compatible interests that are present but easy to miss.