Many disputes involve real or perceived moral transgressions. Parties feel that another has done or is proposing something that not only conflicts with their interests, but also goes against what they feel is ethically correct. In some cases, parties have violated accepted ethical standards in society and the question becomes what to do about it. In other cases, parties have competing moral standards that are manifesting into disputes.

A variety of role-plays involving ethical issues are available through the Clearinghouse.  Juvenile Justice Restorative Circle is an exercise introducing one way in which ethical transgressions against a community may be resolved. A teenager caught shoplifting and the shop owner elect to give the restorative circle approach a try, engaging in the process with others, including a community member, the teenager’s parent and two co-mediators. In Springfield OutFest, Springfield Pride and Salvation Now! attempt to find a way to coexist when the former wants to protect their right to peacefully hold their event in celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender identities while the latter feels they are morally wrong and wants to protect their right to free speech.

A variety of videos that address ethical issues in negotiation are available through the Clearinghouse. Part III of the Negotiation Pedagogy Video Series uses the Oil Pricing exercise, which is also available through the Clearinghouse, to illustrate a ‘social trap’ situation in which negotiators must decide whether or not to act selfishly and aggressively for short-term gain or take a risk and build trust for long-term mutual benefit. What’s Fair: Ethics for Negotiators is a book that reflects on the place of ethics in the negotiation process, including what counterparts should expect of each other and the notion of distributional fairness.