After having discussed the need for informal rules, we will present five of the rules related to the position of actors in decision-making (¹de Bruijn, 2018). Read them carefully and critically because you need to reflect on them in assignment 3.

1. Don’t dance on a dead man’s grave – the loser deserves respect

Usually decision-making  leads to a win-win situation but it is not always possible. In that case, the loser should be treated with respect. The main reason for this is that the winner will most likely meet the loser again in a following round of the process. Dancing on a dead man’s grave could lead to revanchist behavior.

2. Do not affect the core values of other actors

This rule applies to both professional as personal values of actors. Core values are values that affect the core of his right to exist. Trust plays an important part in this rule and is a basis for collaboration.

3. A powerful actor should not use its power

One of the essential characteristics of a network is interdependency: actors need each other’s support and collaboration. Each actor in a network has means of exercising power, but these can be unfairly divided. Though, actors should use their power restrainedly. This is called the ²power paradox (Rosenthal, 1980).

4. Consultation and interaction should never be refused

This rule of play is especially important when one of the parties has a major chance of loss. even if it is extremely clear to the parties that the loss to the party in question cannot be avoided, the rule of play that consultation may not be refused applies.

5. Respect the principle of reciprocity: one good turn deserves another

Duties are reversible. Actor A owes actor B something in the knowledge that actor B will owe actor A something next time. Those who give a gift acquire a right: ‘a gift is received with a burden attached’ ³(Mauss, 1990, p.41).

 

^{1 Bruijn, J.A. de. Heuvelhof, E.F. ten. (2018). Management in Networks. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Ltd.
2} Rosenthal, U. (1980), De Machtsparadox: latente machtsuitoefening en geanticipeerde reacties. Beleid en Maatschappij, 7, 292-296
³ Mauss, M. (1990). The gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies. (W.D. Halls, Trans.). Abingdon: Routledge. (Original work published 1950)