Religion and negotiations

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Trust building is the most influential factor in negotiating between two sides. The stronger this factor appears, the greater the chance will be for negotiators to cooperate. Studies have suggested that religious backgrounds can have a direct impact on the confidence and process of negotiation. Such tendencies generally do not prevent a contract or an agreement from being concluded; however, there are reasons to believe that religious affiliations reduce the negotiation process and give more confidence to decision makers.

Contents

Religious values versus economic interests

Researchers have found that religious authorities are reluctant to negotiate what goes against their religious affiliations, even if these tendencies should not be expressed in an important or profitable negotiation. In other words, for such leaders, the preservation of values is preferred over economic interests, as they are willing to maintain their faith in business ties where religious beliefs are generally ignored or concealed. An example of this conflict is when one faction insists on excessive transparency in trade restrictions that can be frustrating for the rival party to negotiate. Such transparency is, of course, an advantage for Muslim leaders, as based on a hadith by Muhammad, the righteous merchants equal martyrs on the Day of Judgment. [1]

Profit-oriented secular approach

The difference in negotiation from a secular and religious perspective is the purpose of the negotiation and the means employed to achieve the desired outcome. Western and secular discourses have a predominantly materialist approach and use all means to realize national interests. In this regard, the law and government institutions define the well-being of a society in the interest of the public and strive to achieve this ideal. The principles of this school are fundamentally materialistic, which can prevent the emergence of ethics in international relations.[ citation needed ]

Value-based religious approach

From a religious and especially Islamic point of view, the set of political and economic approaches and orientations must have a divine nature, and the aims and means of this set must also conform to divine law, otherwise it will be sanctioned by the sacred law. In this approach, negotiation is fundamentally different from the way it is perceived in the West, though its structural goals have obvious similarities. For Islam, the methods used in diplomacy must be humane and in line with human ethics; this is why the system of communication between ethics and diplomacy must be thoroughly scrutinized, and be consistent with Muhammad's political approach in which he has banned immoral and unconventional methods of profiting. [2]

Stronger engagement with shared beliefs

As shown by scholars, although religious beliefs may not have a direct impact on the motivation of negotiators, [3] they can have positive and constructive results for both parties, especially in interactions and social relationships. Shared religious views can also create an emotional bond between individuals, encouraging them to persuade one another. [3] International relations experts have also found that the process of negotiating in groups that do not share opinions is longer and more divisive. It is worth noting that, while religious beliefs can lead to some kind of intimacy between the negotiators, it will impose restrictions on them, if they are confronted with a different religion.

In transactions, what matters to managers is finding a suitable solution to encourage the negotiating team to accept the terms of the contract. But each team's strategy will vary depending on how religious they are. [4] In Islamic jurisprudence, rationality and attention to all aspects and dimensions of a contract have been emphasized. However, in some cases where there is a negotiation between religious and non-religious parties, the difference in strategy causes groups with religious tendencies to take an emotional approach and pay less attention to details. [5] Studies also confirm the relationship between "religiosity and intergroup bias". [6]

Cultural and linguistic differences

More detailed research in this area suggests that cultural and linguistic differences between religious groups do not have a significant effect on the quality of negotiations. Comparisons between Muslims in Malaysia and the Arab world with different local and regional cultures show that their negotiations are homogeneous in form and do not make much difference in value. [7] [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundamentalism</span> Unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs

Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing one's ingroup and outgroup, which leads to an emphasis on some conception of "purity", and a desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe members have strayed. The term is usually used in the context of religion to indicate an unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negotiation</span> Dialogue intended to reach an agreement

Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests.Negotiation requires a delicate balance of empathy and assertiveness to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. The parties aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement can be beneficial for all or some of the parties involved. The negotiators should establish their own needs and wants while also seeking to understand the wants and needs of others involved to increase their chances of closing deals, avoiding conflicts, forming relationships with other parties, or maximizing mutual gains. Distributive negotiations, or compromises, are conducted by putting forward a position and making concessions to achieve an agreement. The degree to which the negotiating parties trust each other to implement the negotiated solution is a major factor in determining the success of a negotiation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of religion</span> Branch of sociology

Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods and of qualitative approaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morality</span> Differentiation between right and wrong

Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness", "appropriateness" or "rightness".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International relations</span> Study of relationships between two or more states

International relations (IR) are the interactions among sovereign states. The scientific study of those interactions is also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns all activities among states—such as war, diplomacy, trade, and foreign policy—as well as relations with and among other international actors, such as intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), international legal bodies, and multinational corporations (MNCs). There are several schools of thought within IR, of which the most prominent are realism, liberalism and constructivism.

Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral conduct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moral character</span> Steady moral qualities in people

Moral character or character is an analysis of an individual's steady moral qualities. The concept of character can express a variety of attributes, including the presence or lack of virtues such as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits; these attributes are also a part of one's soft skills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religiosity</span> Degree of religious commitment or involvement

The Oxford English Dictionary defines religiosity as: "Religiousness; religious feeling or belief. [...] Affected or excessive religiousness". Different scholars have seen this concept as broadly about religious orientations and degrees of involvement or commitment. Religiosity is measured at the levels of individuals or groups but scholars differ as to what behaviors would constitute religiosity. Sociologists of religion have observed that an individual's experience, beliefs, sense of belonging, and general behavior often are not congruent with their religious behavior, since there is much diversity in how one can be religious or not. Problems arise in measuring religiosity. For instance, measures of variables such as church attendance produce different results when different methods are used, such as traditional surveys as opposed to time-use surveys.

Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks can be summarized according to the classic distinction between the natural-scientific and human-scientific approaches. The first cluster amounts to objective, quantitative, and preferably experimental procedures for testing hypotheses about causal connections among the objects of one's study. In contrast, the human-scientific approach accesses the human world of experience using qualitative, phenomenological, and interpretive methods. This approach aims to discern meaningful, rather than causal, connections among the phenomena one seeks to understand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad faith</span> Duplicity, fraud, or deception

Bad faith is a sustained form of deception which consists of entertaining or pretending to entertain one set of feelings while acting as if influenced by another. It is associated with hypocrisy, breach of contract, affectation, and lip service. It may involve intentional deceit of others, or self-deception.

The study of religiosity and intelligence explores the link between religiosity and intelligence or educational level. Religiosity and intelligence are both complex topics that include diverse variables, and the interactions among those variables are not always well understood. For instance, intelligence is often defined differently by different researchers; also, all scores from intelligence tests are only estimates of intelligence, because one cannot achieve concrete measurements of intelligence due to the concept’s abstract nature. Religiosity is also complex, in that it involves wide variations of interactions of religious beliefs, practices, behaviors, and affiliations, across a diverse array of cultures.

Cognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought, theory, and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. Scholars in this field seek to explain how human minds acquire, generate, and transmit religious thoughts, practices, and schemas by means of ordinary cognitive capacities.

Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.

Cultural competency training is an instruction to achieve cultural competence and the ability to appreciate and interpret accurately other cultures. In an increasingly globalised world, training in cultural sensitivity to others' cultural identities and how to achieve cultural competence is being practised in the workplace, particularly in healthcare, schools and in other settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory</span> Framework for cross-cultural communication

Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural psychology, developed by Geert Hofstede. It shows the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis.

The intersections of morality and religion involve the relationship between religious views and morals. It is common for religions to have value frameworks regarding personal behavior meant to guide adherents in determining between right and wrong. These include the Triple Gems of Jainism, Islam's Sharia, Catholicism's Catechism, Buddhism's Noble Eightfold Path, and Zoroastrianism's "good thoughts, good words, and good deeds" concept, among others. Various sources - such as holy books, oral and written traditions, and religious leaders - may outline and interpret these frameworks. Some religious systems share tenets with secular value-frameworks such as consequentialism, freethought, and utilitarianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naïve cynicism</span> Cognitive bias

Naïve cynicism is a philosophy of mind, cognitive bias and form of psychological egoism that occurs when people naïvely expect more egocentric bias in others than actually is the case.

Most scientists agree that religiosity is not an independent personality trait, despite there being some commonality between their characteristics. Religiosity and personality traits both relate to one's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. However, unlike for personality, one's level of religiosity is often measured by the presence or lack of belief in and relationship with a higher power, certain lifestyles or behaviors adopted for a higher power, and a sense of belonging with other followers of one's religion. Additionally, personality traits tend to follow a normal distribution, such that the majority of individuals' scores for a personality trait will be concentrated towards the middle, rather than being extremely high or low. Distributions for religiosity, however, follow a non-normal distribution, such that there are more individuals who score particularly high or low on religiosity scales.

Attachment theory and psychology of religion research explores the ways that a belief in God can fulfill the criteria of an attachment figure and examines how individual differences in attachment lead to correspondence or compensation pathways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab identity</span> Ethnic identity

Arab identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as an Arab and as relating to being Arab. Like other cultural identities, it relies on a common culture, a traditional lineage, the common land in history, shared experiences including underlying conflicts and confrontations. These commonalities are regional and in historical contexts, tribal. Arab identity is defined independently of religious identity, and pre-dates the spread of Islam and before spread of Judaism and Christianity, with historically attested Arab Muslim tribes and Arab Christian tribes and Arab Jewish tribes. Arabs are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Most Arabs are Muslim, with a minority adhering to other faiths, largely Christianity, but also Druze and Baháʼí.

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