Can negotiations occur without trust

The nature of negotiation and its process constitutes a number of various factors that leads to an effective or ineffective process and outcome. One of the primary purposes of a negotiation is to come an agreement with another party by exchanging offers and to find solutions to a common issue, “whenever we cannot achieve our objectives single-heartedly” (Thompson, 2009). Some believe that in order to conduct a negotiation, trust is an utmost important factor as negotiators depend on the information provided by the other party, on the outcomes to which the parties commit throughout the negotiation process, and on the other party to deliver the commitments (Lewicki, Polin, 2013). This essay aims to discuss whether trust is a precondition for negotiation. As such, it will attempt to reach to a deeper understanding of trust in a negotiation, before understanding how it may influence the outcome, and whether a negotiation may take place between us and the people whom we do not trust. Examples of trust and distrust within negotiations are given, before the essay will conclude with reasons why it is impossible to successfully negotiate with people whom we do not trust.

Trust is commonly defined as a confident and positive expectation of the actions of another party (Olekalns, Smith, 2012). Trusting gives us the assumption that the other party would meet the expectation by considering our welfare and honoring their commitment towards the agreement. Trust in negotiations, like in any other independent relationships, is characterized by dependency and vulnerability to the other party. Trust in this case, according to Olekalns, implies to the positive expectation to sought common solutions to create value, integrate interests, and find mutually beneficial solutions (Olekalns, Smith, 2012). This brings us to the characteristic of an integrative negotiation, which seeks to create value and achieving joint gains. In such cases, negotiators are in dependence to each or one

References: Cheng BYK, 2009, Power and Trust in Negotiation and Decision-Making: A Critical Evaluation, Havard Negotiation Law Review. Available from: . [3 August 2014] Cho A, 2015, The Thrust of Trust, 25 November 2013. King Halls Negotiations Team: Blog. Available from: . [3 August 2014] Coleman PT, Deutsch M, (eds) 2000, The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, United States. Fisher R, Ury F, 2006, Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, The Negotiation Experts, Sydney, Australia. Available from: . [1 August 2014] Kramer RM, 1994, The Sinister Attribution Error: Paranoid Cognition and Collective Distrust in Organizations, Motivation & Emotion, Stanford University, United States. Lewicki RJ, Polin B, 2013, The Role Of Trust In Negotiation Process, The Negotiator’s Fieldbook, Marquette University Law School, United Sates. Available from: . [30 July 2014] Lewicki RJ, 2006, Trust and Distrust, The Negotiator’s Fieldbook, Washington, United States. Available from: . [3 August 2014] Olekalns M, Smith P L, 2012, Negotiations and Trust, Melbourne Business School, Australia. Available from: . [30 July 2014] Shapiro DL, Sheppard BH, Cheraskin L, 1992, Business on a handshake, Negotiation Journal. Available from: . [3 August 2014] Thompson L, Wang J, Gunia BC, 2009, Negotiation, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States. Available from: . [28 July 2014]