Bad Publicity

Bad Publicity as a Negotiation Tactic

If one party gets what they want, they may be looked down on by others. Bring this to their attention and they are more likely to back down from their demands. This is especially effective when who will find out is someone who the other party respects or counts on for business.

Here is an example:

Most of us know the fear a child experiences when they think their parents will know what they did. We know because we have been there ourselves. When a child, in the care of another, refuses to share sometimes all they need to hear is “I don’t think your Mommy/Daddy will be happy to hear about this,” to become more generous. As a new mom I have now had the opportunity to be around the little monsters, I mean munchkins, enough to know how true this can be. We are all born selfish and sometimes the only thing persuading us to be good is the opinion of others.

Greed is not only innate in individuals, but corporations as well, as if I even need to mention it. When I think of selfish corporations I think the one they may have the best reputation for bad publicity is Wal-Mart. Their employees are below poverty levels, they drive small businesses to go belly up and I am betting that 99% of the goods sold sport the sticker Made in China. What good has all this bad publicity done? Wal-Mart is now offering health benefits to their employees. Instead of sponsoring seminars on how to get the government to pay for medical coverage they are now taking some of the responsibility of their employees upon themselves in order to make a better name and ultimately increase profits.

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