Teaching Ethics Across the Management Curriculum



CHAPTER 14

Ethics in Negotiation

Barney Jordaan and David Venter

Vlerick Business School

Introduction

While various forms of unethical behavior might arise in the context of negotiation,¹ this chapter deals with one of the most common forms of unethical negotiation behavior, deception. The term may be defined as behavior intended to “intentionally cause another person to have false beliefs” (Carson, Wokutch, and Murrmann 1982).² Deception may take on a variety of forms, including the withholding of relevant information, lying, or taking advantage of another’s information deficit (Hames 2012, 268).

Lies and deceit come as naturally to negotiators as to people in general: “Lying is ...