Artykuły dot. negocjacji

Business ethics in negotiations

listopad 28, 2015 - Artykuły dot. negocjacji

Negotiator / Knowledge base  / Ethics

Business ethics in negotiations

Let’s take a step into the world of fantasies. Imagine that you have just successfully completed negotiations on a transaction of furniture to a new office. The talks were lengthy and in order to get all you wanted, you lied several times. The terms are greatly in your favor thanks to dirty tactics. What is more, your partner still thinks they did a good job. Theoretically, a success! You can’t wait to tell your boss about the results. In the evening you celebrate with a drink and go to sleep. The following morning you turn on the TV and see in the news that yesterday’s negotiation process was made public. Audio and video of the whole negotiations is public. How do you feel? How does the society perceive you? What perspectives has your career? A word on ethics   Ethics is a system of values, rules and standards used by people of a certain profession. Analogically to law, ethics is susceptible of interpretation. Ethics is judged as something we either do or we do not – one can’t be ‘mostly ethical’. Below I wrote a few tips on how to act ethically and a few reasons for why acting unethically won’t pay. How to act ethically? Here are three things which will help us negotiate ethically. Firstly, do not do unto your partner what you would not do unto a friend. Seeing your partner as a friend is an easy and practical projection. Consider your own behavior during negotiations and ask yourself a question ‘would I do the same if it were my close friend talking here with me?’. Secondly, act accordingly with the win-win strategy, because it is principal-based. This makes it easier to distinguish what type of actions are ethical and therefore, it will be easier to keep to them. Thirdly, have a partnership attitude – treat your partner equally. Treat a person just as you would like to be treated. When talking about interests, theirs should be just as important as yours. When receiving a proposition, it should be just as carefully analyzed as if it was your own. Why unethical action is dangerous? It is best if ethics are a result of our moral values. However, if we have problem with that and at any time will feel tempted to act unethically, do remember about a few things. Firstly, our behavior between roles most often interweaves. If we start using unethical behavior during negotiations, it is almost certain that within a short time we’ll find ourselves being unethical towards our family and friends. Secondly, if we start acting unethically then after some time we will end up rationalizing our own behaviors, which will make us perceive them as good. They may also end up as a habit. Thirdly, reputation plays a very important role for a negotiator. A potential uncover of our unethical actions will be notably adverse to the trust people give us. The question Ethics in negotiations is sometimes not unambiguous. If we are uncertain of our actions, it is helpful to pose this question: What would it be, if all of my actions were made public?