Distributive Issues
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Identification
This tactic focuses on what portion of the distribution each party gets, whether it is a business partnership or two children cutting a piece of cake. This can be a high drama situation in an intimate business context, especially family businesses, and unfortunately it is backward-looking as people may agree initially that it is fair, but after cogitation, they think otherwise.
Example
Consider the following example dialog: Sales Equity Holder: “I killed it with the MEGAHUGE account. It was 70% of revenue, so I should get a 70% profit distribution this year." Operations Manager: “That may be true, but you had a three-year dry spell and all along I provided cash flow with prudent asset allocation and reminded subscribers to re-up on the newsletter. That cash flow paid the rent for years while you were landing MEGAHUGE. I think you should get 30% and the other partners get the remaining 70% because the Financial Manager introduced you to MEGAHUGE at the Christmas party.”
Solution
The counter to this is to shift the focus to the entire operation, not just the slice. A cooperative environment works in business; competitive ones do not. Time shifting (look to now, future, or past, depending on your side) is the tactful way to handle these claims.