The Bargaining Zone - Text Alternative

This gives both parties room for negotiation. For any given issue, negotiators for both parties target two limits: the position most favorable to their ... MultimediaLearningToolsPortfolio  TheBargainingZone-TextAlternative GoBacktothePreviousPage Incollectivebargaining,bothlaborandmanagementrealizethattheircounterpartswillnotcompletelyagreeontheirideasforaperfectsettlement. Therefore,bothsideswillprioritizepotentialsettlementsalongarangeofacceptableandunacceptablepositions.Thisgivesbothpartiesroomfornegotiation.Foranygivenissue,negotiatorsforbothpartiestargettwolimits:thepositionmostfavorabletotheirpartyandthepositionthatisleastacceptable.Thespacebetweenthesetwopositionsrepresentsthebargainingrange--theareainwhichasettlementispossible. Asbothmanagementandtheunionaredrivenbydifferentfactors,eachsidewillhavetheirownupperandlowerlimits.Theydonotsharethisinformationdirectlywithoneanother. Thebargainingzoneistheareawhereeachside’sbargainingrangeoverlaps,andistheareainwhichagreementispossible.Throughthebargainingprocess,negotiatorsforeachsideneedtodeterminetheother’sparty’slikelybargainingrange,whethertherangesoverlap,andifso,howbesttomaximizeasettlementfortheirpartywithinthebargainingzone.Forexample,management’sbargainingrangeforawageincreaseis1%to6%.Theunion’srangeis4%to10%.Sothebargainingzoneisbetween4%and6%. Ifanofferextendspasteitherside’slimits,thesettlementisunacceptableandthenegotiationisindangerofbreakingdown.Ofcourse,bothpartiesareabletomodifytheirrangeofacceptableandunacceptableoffers,andoftenwilldosotoavoidstrikesandlockouts. Keepinmind,thatanycontractnegotiationcanhavehundredsofthesebargainingissues.Whileeachissuewillhaveitsownrange,theyarerarelydeterminedinisolationoftheotherissues.Considerasecondissueofemployeesickleave.Management’spositionrangesbetween2and8days,whiletheunion’spositionis5to13days.Thismeansthebargainingzoneisbetween5and8days.However,ifthepartiesbothagreetothelowerendofthewagesettlement,theunionmaynotsettleforanythinglessthan10additionalsickleavedays,throwingthesickleaveissueoutofthebargainingzone. Thus,negotiatingonanyparticularissuewillhavea“give-or-take”effectontheotherbargainingissues.Itisveryimportanttoviewbargainingasawhole,becauseaconcessionononeissuemayknockasettlementonanotherissueoutofthebargainingzone. GoBacktothePreviousPage   Copyright©1999-2006EmpireStateCollege. Contactthewebmaster