Negotiation and Dispute Resolution

EXAM QUESTION: This is a reflective and evidence-based essay based on the following case scenario:

Facing The Toughest Negotiator

Tomorrow is a big day: the long and carefully planned negotiation with the unions. You, the head of the HR department will represent your company as the main negotiator. You have done this hundreds of times in similar situations, but this time is different.

Its almost midnight and you still cant fall asleep. You have it all prepared and arranged by your top management: announce the 2500 redundancies, no compensations due to special circumstances of the pandemic, dismiss any accusations of corruption and play hard with no room for concessions. This shouldnt take long. Its more of an announcement than negotiations really. You have the upper hand in the end. If all goes well as planned, tomorrow at this time you will have the half a million-dollar bonus in your account. Then the usual secret management meeting on the top floor with booze, drugs and strippers.  You deserved it. You will be saving millions of dollars a year for you company.

Yet, the confidential and strange message you received from Kevin, the top unions representative, earlier today makes you feel uneasy. Is it possible he knows or is this his usual bluff? You are pouring another drink and opening the message again: You dont have to do it. Lets make a deal. We know about the arrangement with the government. Come on our side and act as a witness. Save your ass and your family or you will be next. Why do you think they had Ali working with you over the last year?

You have negotiated with Kevin for years and developed a love-hate relationship. He is like you mirror image: tough negotiator but working for the other side. You kind of respect him and you developed a thin layer of trust but is it enough for such a major decision? And how could he possibly know about the bribe? The whole operation was extremely secret and well executed by third trusted parties. It cost your company a small fortune to bend the regulations and allow advanced robots co-working with your employees in the factory. The media spin worked well too: making work easier for our employees and preventing them from injuries. Well, now the AI Androids are so well trained and advanced that they can do all the work on their own. And they are so much cheaper in the long run. Thats a no brainer why would you keep the workers?

Another drink. Yes, he has a point about Ali; your personal AI assistant who has worked with you over the last year learning how to make autonomous decisions. No, they wouldnt just fire me, you think, I am part of the management with years of top education and experience no machine can beat! And what other options are there for me if I confessed and witnessed, anyway? What should I do?

This is strange but this situation feels like the one when you were still at UWA years ago and the university went through restructuring, officially, due to Covid-19. Hundreds of staff were made redundant, automated zoom classes got bigger and fees higher. Your best mate that time joined the student organisation in the Guild and tried to change things by organising demonstrations, talking to the media and engaging the community. When he asked you to join him, you said all of this was pointless and nobody really cared about it just move on with life mate. He has not spoken to you since.

You are sobber enough to recognise you are facing a personal ethical dilemma with major social implications for the community. You also know you have two problems to solve: the one from the past when you were a student and the one now, negotiation the unions tomorrow. And you cannot solve the current issue without hypothetically reflecting on the first one. There is still some time left for your favourite exercise you developed over the years: facing the toughest negotiator yourself. The old good reflective 1500 word essay will make it all clear for you. You feel better now while making a cup of a strong coffee and staring in silence at the plain Word document on the screen of your laptop. You are ready to write now.