Ethical Challenges in Mediation
Have you ever lied in a negotiation? The most common answer is that it depends on what is meant by lying. Is representing a higher level of confidence in your BATNA than you actually believe a lie? Is stating that this offer is the best and final when you know it’s not a lie? What if there is a general perception that no one ever means best and final the first time they say it — is saying it still a lie? In a negotiation is it ever unethical to lie? My goal here is not to answer these questions but to explore how our normal ethical standards may be stretched in a negotiation. In an article earlier this year, the Harvard Program on Negotiation (“PON”) published this article on the importance of building trust in a negotiation. There are negotiations where the development of trust is more important than
