A effective multiparty negotiation requires rules. The primary cause of this is that during negotiations, the parties involved can frequently become carried away because they have an emotional stake in the outcome. As a result, things can change course and an amicable resolution cannot be reached. A set of guidelines will guarantee that the discussion stays impartial, objective, and directed toward a resolution. Each guideline is described here along with an explanation of its intended application and justification for inclusion.
The first guideline is to choose a neutral location, time, and date for the discussion. With this rule, neither side will experience oppression. Having a common and neutral rendezvous will ensure no party has a reason to miss the negotiation. The second rule would be that only one person may speak at a time. This is to avoid the other party cutting off another when discussing. Regarding this, the third rule would be no foul language or insults are acceptable to others during the negotiation. Due to emotions and anger, people may often turn to verbally insulting others especially when their views are not accepted. This rule will curtail that. The fourth rule will be that no communication will be done to either party except through the third party. Often, parties may threaten each other, and the threatened party may fail to be open after this. Thus they should only communicate matters pertaining to the negotiation when the third-party is present. Fifthly, there will be no eating or drinking during the negotiation. This rule will ensure that there will not be unnecessary distractions and waste of time (Menkel-Meadow, 2017).
The sixth will be that any agreement made will be noted in writing and signed by every party. Reason for this is that some people at times may deny what they had promised earlier to do during negotiation. At the same time, the seventh rule will be that the party will come to the negotiation fully prepared and knowing what will be discussed at a given meeting. The discussion agenda will have been agreed beforehand. This rule will help to avoid surprises and causing unfairness to the party that was not aware, to level the playing field. The eighth rile will be to give 24-hour notice for absence from a negotiation meeting. At times people may decide to abscond from a meeting especially if they know things will not turn in their favor. There will be strictness and due penalty to any party that skips a meeting without notice. The ninth rule will be that parties treat each other with mutual respect and conduct themselves with decorum. Often, people may turn violent; this rule will help ensure people keep their heads in such situations. Lastly, the tenth rule will be that all parties must agree to keep all details of the ongoing negotiation private and confidential and none shall divulge any information to other parties outside the discussion. The reason is that, sometimes, an ongoing negotiation may be of very sensitive information that arouses the interest of even the media. Often if this information is divulged, the reputation of the various stakeholders may be ruined and hence jeopardize their future lives. This must be avoided at all costs (Menkel-Meadow and Schneider, 2014).
References
Menkel-Meadow, C. (Ed.). (2017). Multi-party Dispute Resolution, Democracy and Decision-making (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Menkel-Meadow, C. J., & Schneider, A. K. (2014). Negotiation: Processes for Problem Solving. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
