Integrative Negotiation Paper

Collective bargaining is used to shape and modify most of the school district's educational policies. Collective bargaining is defined by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as “the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an agreement” (Webb & Norton, 2013, p.229). The agreements made during collective bargaining are a vital component to the problem, and the solution, to the challenges that face education today. Distributive and Integrative bargaining are two primary approaches to collective bargaining (Webb & Norton, 2013).

Integrative bargaining process is

Starting with step one, the planning stage. An integrative negotiation usually entails a multitude of issues to be negotiated, unlike distributive negotiations, which revolve around a single issue. Then the relationship building, step two. Integrative negotiation approaches the building of positive relationships by having both parties share as much information as needed to understand the other's interests thoroughly (Webb & Norton, 2013). A distributive negotiation strategy consists of little or no information released to the other side of the negotiation. The methodology applied here is the less the other team knows about the interests of the negotiation, the better the position of bargaining. The third step is reaching an agreement. In the distributive approach, each side moves closer to an agreement by giving something of value and in return receiving a desired goal (Webb & Norton, 2013). Distributive bargaining might be harder to reach an agreement due to the process, where one side wins, and one side loses. In the integrative approach, both parties want to walk away feeling a sense of achievement, giving value and worth to both sides of the negotiation. Finally, step four maintenance of the agreement. In integrative negotiations provide feedback to others concerning the agreement performance. In distributive bargaining, the agreement provides a framework for all employee relations in the district, negligence in the use of words can lead to serious