Answer: b. Defining ground rules
Explanation: Ground rules are simply regulations, laws, guidelines, or standards that all parties in a negotiation must be aware of before proceeding and for which all other future actions will be based.
In deciding the venue for the meeting, specifying what is not acceptable in the negotiation, preparing an agenda for how time will be allocated for different issues that have to be addressed during the negotiation, both companies are in the stage of deciding ground rules.
Ground rules are essential because they establish the purpose of the negotiation process at hand, shape how meetings will be conducted, and ensures that processes during the meeting are run more smoothly. Both companies discuss and develop the rules together, which is then adopted for use in subsequent meetings. It is therefore very that all parties accept and agree to use the ground rules.