Avoidance – avoid problems, might mean issues aren’t solved
Level playing ground – parties must be equal to have negotiations
Winner takes all – one wins, one loses
Win-win
Success of negotiation depends on:
Experience, power of union, state of economy, demand for labor, media opinion, government involvement and degree of substitution (ability to replace labor with capital intensive production)
Methods by employees to achieve objectives
Goal is to reduce a business’ productivity to increase union’s bargaining power
Negotiations/collective bargaining (as seen above)
Go-slow/slowdowns
Work at the minimum required amount by contract
Effective when in high seasonal demand
Work-to-rule
Work at the minimum required amount by rules
All rules and regulations are strictly followed
e.g. not taking calls during lunch breaks
Overtime ban
Strike action
Refusal to work
Illegal without prior notice
May coincide with a walk-out
Methods by employers to achieve objectives
Objectives include reducing costs, increasing productivity, and staff morale
Negotiations/collective bargaining (as seen above)
Public relations
Deals with media to make the business look good
Build goodwill
Lockout
Employer version of strike action
Divides unions by pitting workers who want to work vs. those who don’t
Threat of redundancy
Still considers employment rights
Change of contract
Closure
Conflict
Hinders productivity, reduces morale, causes internal politics, etc. etc.
May be good since it helps address problems
Conflict isn’t bad, depends on how it is managed
Sources:
Needs and wants – when they are not met
Perceptions – when communication is inadequate
Incompatible values, abuses of power, feelings
Approach depends on concern for personal outcomes and other’s outcomes
High concern for personal outcome causes win-lose
High concern for others causes surrender
Low concern for either causes avoidance
High concern for both causes collaboration
Moderate concern for both causes compromise
Conflict resolution
Resolving conflicts successfully (if everyone is satisfied)
Approaches:
Conciliation
Use an independent arbitrator
“Caucusing” – separate meetings with arbitrator
Conciliators encourage compromise and make legally binding agreements
Arbitration
Like above, except arbitrator makes the decision, like a judge
Industrial democracy/employee participation
Involve employees in decision making
Uses motivation theories
Makes for cooperative employees less likely to strike (win-win)
No strike agreements
Single-union agreements
Employer agrees to only bargain with one union
More convenient
Consultation (w/ employees)
Litigation (lawsuits)
Likely to cause win-lose
Realistic expectations
Avoidance
Likely to cause lose-lose
Change management
Processes and techniques used to plan, implement, and evaluate change
Change includes: new products, restructuring, new policies, mergers, etc.
Forcing change might cause problems, while no change means no progress
Factors/sources of change
Customers – changing tastes, expectations, demand for better products
Competition – need to stay competitive and evolve
Management – stay on top of market trends, employee motivation, etc.
Exogenous Factors – change in fashion, state of economy, etc.
Technology
Government
Resistance to change
According to John Kotter, there are 4 main reasons:
Self-interest > Corporate Objectives
Misunderstandings (uncertainties and “if it isn’t broke…”)
Different assessments of situation
Low tolerance for change
Ambivalence may also be an issue
Reducing impact of change
Change Approaches Model by Kotter
Deals with resistance to change
Six approaches:
Education and communication
Establishes trust, eliminates misunderstanding, etc.
Participation and involvement
Link to Mayo and Herzberg theories of motivation
May be time consuming
Facilitation and support
Retraining, counseling, etc.
Negotiation and agreement
Compromise, incentives, amendments in contract, etc.
Manipulation and co-option
Convert thinking to be pro-change
May backfire
Explicit and implicit coercion
John Storey
4 different approaches to managing change:
Total imposed package – changes are just implemented
