Negotiation: “Bluffing versus Lying”

Excerpts from the Paper

Negotiation: "Bluffing versus Lying"
The issue of trust in business has long had a contentious history, since the ethics involved can easily lead those who bargain to be exploited. This is an issue that has always been important in the United States and increasingly, has become very important in international trade. The balance between bluffing and lying has always been a delicate one, and with the growth of trade across national boundaries, will likely become more difficult for bargainers to negotiate without violating cultural norms in cultures unfamiliar to them.
In his article “Ethics, Deception and Labor Negotiation,” Chris Provis, an associate professor at the School of International Business at the University of Australia, argues...

.....unity to establish trust (Volkema and Fleury, 384).
The use of integrative bargaining and an intimate understanding of cultural norms can go a long way towards preventing an inadvertent move bluffing to outright deception. Without either, relationships can be damaged before a genuine relationship is ever established. They must go hand in hand if trust is to be established and a deal advantageous for both sides to be concluded.
Works Cited
Provis, Chris. "Ethics, Deception and Labor Negotiation." Journal of Business Ethics 28.2 (2000): 145-58.
Volkema, Roger J., and Maria Tereza Leme Fleury. "Alternative Negotiating Conditions and the Choice of Negotiation Tactics: A Cross-Cultural Comparison." Journal of Business Ethics 36.4 (2002): 381-98.