Goal-Expectation Theory Of Unionization

The key point of this paper by Grant is that workers are more likely start a unionization drive if they are confident that their co-workers feel the same way as they do. One concept that was discussed is the goal-expectation theory. According to this theory cooperation is based on two interrelated conditions. First, the individual has to have a goal or motivation to cooperate. Second, the individual has to believe that others are also going to cooperate. When applying this concept to union organization a person should be personally motivated to support the union and anticipate that others would also support the union (Cardador, Grant, Lamare, and Northcraft 2017). When unionizing, it is much more likely for a smaller group that trusts one

This became very apparent while we were doing our mock bargaining exercise in class. There were many instances where we discussed that both sides needed to reword the way that they were presenting their proposal. For example, the union team was negotiating if we should get an extra day of vacation for the day after Thanksgiving. The management team was only willing to give us that Friday off if we agreed to work on Saturday. We originally thought that we would still get paid time and a half that Saturday. After further clarification from the management team we understood that they would still pay that particular saturday as a normal workday. This clarification was very important because if management did not clarify this there could have been a dispute once the employees got paid for their work on that Saturday. This is where bargaining in good faith comes into play. It is extremely important that neither side tries to use confusing terminology. Budd discussed the bargaining process and how it pertains to negotiating a contract that has specific wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions (Budd 2018). A contract that is not specific does not have much power to be enforced because it is unclear what is expected from each side.

Essay Question (50 points each)

1. In their book A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations (1965, as cited in Budd 2018), Walton and McKersie discuss the four sub processes

Distributive bargaining can be looked at as a type of bargaining where the more one side receives the less the other side will receive (Budd 2018). In this type of collective bargaining the parties are concerned about gains for their side even if they are at the expense of the other side. Most people bargain this way, where there is a clear winner and loser in the negotiation. On the other hand, integrative bargaining seeks to unify the common interest of the parties in the negotiation so that all can be better off (Budd 251). When it comes to looking at these two negotiating methods, it is pretty clear that integrative bargaining is preferred, but it is not as simple as just choosing to participate in integrative bargaining. Labor negotiators often believe negotiating is a battle and it us against them. Labor negotiators with this mentality will often miss out on opportunities for mutual gains because they are concerned only about what they want. Even when starting with integrative bargaining it may change to distributive bargaining if the two teams are unable to agree on what is best for the organization as a