The Negotiation Skills Company -- Newsletter June 1999
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FORCE AS AN ELEMENT OF DIPLOMACY AND NEGOTIATION
"Speak softly and carry a big stick."
former US President Theodore Roosevelt
"You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you
can with a kind word alone." American gangster Al Capone
"Jaw-jaw is better than war-war." former British Prime
Minister Harold Macmillan
As this newsletter is being written, the news media are full
of stories of the apparent endgame of the NATO military
effort in Yugoslavia. According to many analysts, the
actions of Yugoslav President Milosevic over the past several
years made it clear that he cannot be trusted to fulfill a
negotiated agreement.
Sometimes negotiations can be said to fail because no
agreement is reached. In the Yugoslav scenario no mutual
agreement was signed by the representatives of Milosevic's
government or the Kosovo Liberation Army in Rambouillet,
France. The failure of that negotiation process to yield a
mutually-agreed solution has been used to justify NATO's
decision to conduct an air war to convince President
Milosevic to change the status of the province of Kosovo. It was an alternative to negotiation.
There is another way in which negotiation can be called a
failure; that is when parties reach an agreement - - and then
fail to fulfill their obligations. Thus a tenant may agree
to pay a specific monthly rental for a house, but never
actually pay the full amount. Representatives of businesses
may shake hands on a deal, but try to find ways to avoid
meeting their commitments. Sometimes, particularly in the
United Kingdom, members of labor unions who are not happy
about their employment contract choose to 'work to rule' --
they live up to the letter of the agreement, but not its
spirit. Each of these cases presents either a short- or
long-term example of failed negotiations.
The question we face is whether force is needed to get
parties to reach or fulfill agreements. Force may take the
form of violence, either a personal confrontation between
individuals or the use of military power. Power is often
considered a synonym for force. In that case, when parties
are negotiating, the balance of power may indeed push a party
to be more agreeable or more aggressive.
The quotations attributed to Theodore Roosevelt and Al Capone
imply that an imbalance of power is indeed an important
element in bringing about negotiation. Prime Minister
Macmillan's preference for 'jaw-jaw' (talking) over war does
not deny the possibility that a power imbalance may play a
significant role in bringing about decision-making. However,
Mr. Macmillan's words carry a value judgement that goes
beyond the conclusion that force or power is a necessary part
of the negotiaton equation. By saying it is better to talk
than to fight, Macmillan is outlining a fundamental standard
for judging human behavior.
What I have read and seen about the implementation of
nationalism in the old Yugoslav republics is abhorrent and
appalling. Whether we are faced with nationalists who
practice barbarity against people who are different from
themselves or teenagers lacking a value system who murder
schoolmates, we are compelled to accept the reality that in
some situations, negotiation is not an effective weapon
against ongoing violence. The following statement may be
confusing to people who do not live in the USA, but is not
meant to offend anyone: "I want to live in a world in which
the only acceptable form of ethnic cleansing is a Chinese
laundry."
Negotiation works when people or the constituencies they
represent want to change the situation that exists and can
find others who not only share that desire for change but
also have resources to offer that can contribute to the
achievement of that change. Resolution of problems occurs
when both we and others change; if all the change is
one-sided, the negotiated agreement may fail to be
implemented.
If we follow that analysis, perhaps we can view parties who
'carry a big stick' as people who have bargaining chips to
offer that expand the likelihood that the negotiation will
yield gains for everyone. An imbalance of power need not be
viewed as an impediment to change, but rather as something
that can be modified through the use of thoughtful and
imaginative negotiation.
Dealing with barbarians without using force is the ultimate
test of whether negotiation can work. Forcing them to agree
by using the brutality of military action may put an end to
their inhumane actions; the question is whether the ultimate
resolution at the bargaining table will bring about results
that will be honored once the 'big stick' is taken away.
TNSC MOVES FORWARD: Bulgaria and Beyond
We have received word from a Professor in Bulgaria informing
us he encourages his students to use our website as a
textbook in his negotiation course.
In the past six weeks we have presented programs in four
countries to companies involved in soft-drinks, financial
reporting, information technology, management consulting, and
other fields. Program participants from such countries as
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Thailand, France, the UK, the United
States, and the Netherlands have all contributed to our own
ongoing learning process and our continuing belief that
focusing on parties interests can help overcome cultural
barriers.
TNSC's website continues to receive a fascinating variety of
questions: from Bahrain an inquiry about the different
negotiation styles of men and women, from Norway curiosity
about distinguishing between short-term and long-term
relationships, and always questions on how to get the boss to
pay more.
A LAST WORD
"Leave a good name in case you return." Kenyan folk saying
quoted in 'Bargaining For Advantage' by G. Richard Shell
Good luck and good negotiating,
Steve
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