BSL 324 Chapter 5: Insist on Using Objective Criteria
24 Jan 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Insist on Using Objective Criteria
1. Decide on the basis of will is costly
a. No negotiation is likely to be efficient or amicable if you pit your will against
theirs, and either you have to back down or they do
2. The case for using objective criteria
a. You want to commit yourself to reaching a solution based on principle, not
pressure
b. Concentrate on the merits of the problem, not the mettle of the parties
3. Principled negotiation produces wise agreements amicably and efficiently
a. Principled negotiations are more wise and fair
b. The more you refer to precendent and community practice, the greater your
chance of benefiting from past experience
c. An agreement consistent with precedent is less vulnerable to attack
d. Approaching agreement through discussion of objective criteria also reduces the
number of commitments that each side must make and then unmake as they move
toward agreement
e. Even more important when there are multiple parties involved
4. Developing objective criteria
a. Fair standards
i. Market value
ii. Precedent
iii. Scientific judgment
iv. Professional standards
v. Efficiency
vi. Costs
vii. What a court would decide
viii. Moral standards
ix. Equal treatment
x. Tradition
xi. Reciprocity
xii. Anything independent of each side’s will
xiii. Has to be legitimate and practical
xiv. Should apply to both sides
b. Fair Procedures
i. Used for resolving conflicting interests
ii. “one cuts and the other chooses”
iii. Taking turns
iv. Drawing lots
v. Flipping a coin
vi. Letting someone else play a key role in the proceedings
5. Negotiating with objective criteria
a. Frame each issue as a joint search for objective criteria
i. Ask what’s your theory
