Legal Commentary

Delegitimizing Bullying Tactics in Negotiations

By davidwanetick

There are a host of measures one can take to neutralize bullying behavior on the part of an opponent in negotiations. One of these measures is to delegitimize the basis on which the bullying behavior is based. If you can demonstrate that the bully is not committed to the underlying pretense upon which he is requesting concessions from you, you will have discredited his thesis.

This scenario played out in the City of Los Angeles threatening to boycott Arizona for its recently introduced immigration legislation. Los Angeles threatened to curtail its procurements of products purchased from companies based in Arizona as well as refrain from sending its employees to participate in seminars and training sessions facilitated in Arizona. Commissioner of Arizona's Corporate Commission, Gary Pierce, articulated the above point by declaring that if Los Angeles truly believes that Arizona's immigration policies are reprehensible and believes that boycotts are needed to send such a message to Arizona, then Los Angeles should have the strength of its convictions to enforce a complete boycott. Los Angeles should not just boycott those products and services that are convenient. Thus, Mr. Peirce said that if Los Angeles continued to purchase electricity generated in Arizona, then the Los Angeles City Council would be hypocritical.

Full post as published by Vertical Pulse on May 23, 2010 (boomark / email).