preview

Reflection Paper on Union-Management Case

Better Essays

Reflection Paper on the Union-Management Case Case Description 10-31-2008 Since the negotiations between the management and the union party for a new 3-year contract have broken down last week, both parties have agreed on selecting new negotiators. My task, as the representative for the management, is to increase the profit gains for my company. I have been given with clear orders about the range of concessions I am allowed to make and therefore about my resistant point when to better accept a strike. Negotiation Planning As a negotiation-case, which was hold as a classroom exercise with a random partner, I assumed that this was a one-time negotiation between me and my negotiation partner …show more content…

I was aware that my negotiation partner would not agree on my first proposal, but I was able to entice him by making additional concessions on the 4th issue about the “commitment of hiring union-workers”. Having agreed on 3 out of 4 issues, only the issue about the “wage per hour” was left and has to be discussed. I referred to the announcement that I was not able to make any concessions beyond $15.50 per hour due to my instructions and planned to keep that standing at all costs. By lying to my opponent that any wage increase beyond $15.50 per hours would equal a strike for the management (because the firm would go bankrupt due to increased costs) I was finally able to convince them to agree. At the end both party’s positions have converged and concession has been made in a way that opened the possibility for both parties to close an agreement (Vacation Plan C, Health Plan A, Wage Per Hour B, Commitment C) which was within the bargaining zone of both parties and satisfactory for all involved. Analyses With the identification of the problem by both parties at the very first step of the negotiation process, both parties started to realize that their interest to maximize their profit gains for their represented organization contradicts. For this reason, both parties saw the situation as distributive and competitive and therefore agreed on not disclosing their information, because they thought this would

Get Access