Victor

Mari C. Baguilat Jr.

Rigging Miss Earth Nigeria

Yesterday, I got a message from one of the organizers of Miss Earth Nigeria, who also happens
to be a friend of mine. His network in the pageant world is quite extensive, something that is
particularly useful to me since I am marketing handwoven fabrics as stylish and elegant
materials fit for a “queen”. He messaged to reiterate his invitation for me to judge the
coronation of Miss Earth Nigeria. Weeks back, he already invited me to judge the preliminary
categories (long gown and cultural attire) and the coronation night, as well. I already judged the
preliminary categories a few days ago, but I did not commit to judging the coronation night yet
because of my busy schedule (my MRR is almost due and I really want to do well in class).

Upon reading his request, I said that I still couldn’t commit just yet. And then he said that he
wants me to judge because he wants a certain candidate to win. I feel like that was his subtle
way of telling me to rig the competition (and he is saying it not as an official representative of
the organization but as an individual with ulterior motives). After which, he told me about the
benefits that I will get in terms of exposure. At that point, it has not sunk in fully that he wanted
me to rig the entire competition but I felt that something was off. So, my response was to simply
say, “just make sure that she works on her eloquence. She got poise and she is a stand out,
anyway”. At that point, I did not have the courage to dig deep into his interests, neither did I
have the brave face to say flat out that what he was requesting me is not aligned with my
values.

Now, I have to decide how to move forward with this. I was thinking, is this even a negotiation
issue or simply a matter of “Giving Voice to Values”? I think that there is obviously a GVV
component to this, but where does negotiation come in? Is this distributive, integrative or mixed
bargaining? So, I reflected on this. Firstly, this is a negotiation in accordance with Sebenius’
definition, since the following requisites are present: a means of advancing interest, a process
for potentially opportunistic interaction, interests as raw material of negotiation, and a potential
for a jointly decided action. It has to be clear to me what exactly is being negotiated and what
we want exactly. I am clear that my values are authenticity and integrity. But, since values are
not negotiated, what is being negotiated is my behavior. Should I judge in favor of a candidate
just because I was told so or should I judge based on an objective criteria. If I cooperate, I will
lose to win. If I assert myself, there will be a great relational cost. So, I had to clarify what I really
want. I want exposure, but I do not want exposure for the wrong reasons and for the wrong
means. Hence, the expectation to rig the results integrated with the invitation to judge, means
that there is no value to claim and that there is no ZOPA (so this is integrative negotiation). My
BATNA was to walk away altogether. Even if I tell him that I will judge objectively despite his
request, the psychological burden of thinking about not disappointing him is already too much
to handle. My objectivity is already compromised, so I would rather inhibit. Moreover, if I ask
myself the publicity standard, which is “would I be comfortable if my actions were fully and
fairly described in the newspaper?”, my answer would be, NO!

Michael Wheeler said “[D]oing the right thing sometimes means that we must accept a known
cost. But in the long run, doing the wrong thing may be even more costly.” Hence, I will just walk
away and focus on writing my MRR. Did I diagnose this situation effectively? Am I doing the right
thing? Was my BATNA correct? I am honestly not 100% sure. But I think this is part of the
process of learning by doing. So, let us see how it turns out.