Ethics in Negotiation

CHAPTER NINE
What Do We Mean by Ethics and
Why Do They Matter in Negotiation?
Ethics:
 Are broadly applied social standards for
what is right or wrong in a particular
situation, or a process for setting those
standards
 Grow out of particular philosophies which
Define the nature of the world in which we live
Prescribe rules for living together

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Four Approaches to Ethical
Reasoning
 End-result ethics
The rightness of an action is determined by
evaluating its consequences
 Duty ethics
The rightness of an action is determined by
one’s obligation to adhere to consistent
principles, laws and social standards that
define what is right and wrong

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Four Approaches to Ethical
Reasoning
 Social contract ethics
The rightness of an action is based on the
customs and norms of a particular society or
community
 Personalistic ethics
The rightness of the action is based on
one’s own conscience and moral standards

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Resolving Moral Problems

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Questions of Ethical Conduct
that Arise in Negotiation
 Using ethically ambiguous tactics: It’s
(mostly) all about the truth
 Identifying ethically ambiguous tactics
and attitudes toward their use
What ethically ambiguous tactics are there?
Does tolerance for ethically ambiguous
tactics lead to their actual use?
Is it okay to use ethically ambiguous tactics?

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Questions of Ethical Conduct
that Arise in Negotiation
 Deception by omission versus
commission
Omission – failing to disclose information
that would benefit the other
Commission – actually lying about the
common-value issue
 The decision to use ethically ambiguous
tactics: A model

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Why Use Deceptive Tactics?
Motives and Consequences
 The power motive
The purpose of using ethically ambiguous
negotiating tactics is to increase the
negotiator’s power in the bargaining
environment
 Other motives to behave unethically
Negotiators are more likely to see ethically
ambiguous tactics as appropriate if they
anticipate that the other’s expected
motivation would be more competitive

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Model of Deception in Negotiation

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The Consequences of
Unethical Conduct
A negotiator who employs an unethical tactic
will experience positive or negative
consequences. The consequences are
based on:
 Effectiveness – whether the tactic is effective
 Reactions of others – how the other person,
constituencies, and audiences evaluate the
tactic
 Reactions of self – how the negotiator
evaluates the tactic, feels about using the
tactic
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Explanations and Justifications
The primary purpose of explanations and
justifications is:
To rationalize, explain, or excuse
the behavior
To verbalize some good, legitimate
reason why this tactic was
necessary

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Rationalizations for Unethical
Conduct
 The tactic was unavoidable
 The tactic was harmless
 The tactic will help to avoid negative
consequences
 The tactic will produce good
consequences, or the tactic is altruistically
motivated
 “They had it coming,” or “They deserve it,”
or “I’m just getting my due”

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Rationalizations for Unethical
Conduct
 “They were going to do it anyway, so I will
do it first”
 “He started it”
 The tactic is fair or appropriate to the
situation

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A More Complex Model of
Deception
in Negotiation

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Demographic factors
Sex
○ Women tend to make more ethically rigorous
judgments than men
Age and experience
○ Both men and women behave more ethically
as they age
○ Individuals with more general work
experience, and with direct work experience,
are less likely to use unethical negotiating
tactics
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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Demographic factors (cont.)
Professional orientation
○ People in different professions differ on
judgments of perceived appropriateness
Nationality and culture
○ Significant differences are found across
different nationalities and cultural
backgrounds

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Personality differences
Competitiveness versus cooperativeness
Machiavellianism
○ Some individuals are more willing and able
con artists
○ Are more likely to lie when they need to
○ Better able to lie without feeling anxious about
it
○ More persuasive and effective in their lies

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Personality differences (cont.)
Locus of control
○ The degree to which individuals believe that
the outcomes they obtain are largely a result
of their own ability and effort (internal control)
versus fate or chance (external control)
○ Individuals who are high in internal control are
more likely to do what they think is right

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Moral development and personal values
Preconventional level (Stages 1 and 2)
○ Individual is concerned with concrete
outcomes that meet his or her own immediate
needs, particularly external rewards and
punishments
Conventional level (Stages 3 and 4)
○ Individual defines what is right on the basis of
what immediate social situation and peer
group endorses or what society in general
seems to want

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Moral development and personal values
(cont.)
Principled level (Stages 5 and 6)
○ Individual defines what is right on the basis of
some broader set of universal values and
principles
The higher the stage people achieve:
○ More complex their moral reasoning should be
○ More ethical their decisions should be

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What Factors Shape a Negotiator’s
Predisposition to Use Unethical Tactics?
 Contextual influences on unethical conduct
 Past experience
 Role of incentives
 Characteristics of the other party
 Relationship between the negotiator and the other
party
 Relative power between the negotiators
 Mode of communication
 Acting as an agent versus representing your own
views
 Group and organizational norms and pressures

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How Can Negotiators Deal With the
Other Party’s Use of Deception?
 Ask probing questions
 Phrase questions in different ways
 Force the other party to lie or back off
 Test the other party
 “Call” the tactic
 Ignore the tactic
 Discuss what you see and offer to help the
other party change to more honest
behaviors
 Respond in kind

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