Chapter 5 The Negotiation Should Held Toward The End

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ADVICE ON USING THE MOCK NEGOTIATING PROBLEM

I have used the mock negotiation problem with great success for some years. Students are

uniformly enthusiastic about it, and there exists a friendly rivalry among the students during the

weeks before negotiation. Here are some suggestions on how to use the problem most effectively:

1. The class should be divided into union and management negotiation teams about the middle of

the semester. Each management and union team should include from three to five students. The

teams could be selected in random fashion, but a better method is to distribute the better

students among the different teams; by the middle of the semester, the instructor should have a

good idea of the capability and the potential of the students. Each student should be assigned to

a specific team, and each team should elect a chairperson as rapidly as possible.

2. The teams should be instructed to conduct the research necessary to collect the data and

formulate the arguments to be used in the negotiation. The chairperson of each team should be

encouraged to divide the research among the members of each team. For example, one member

may be responsible for the problem of wages; another for answering the other team’s demands

for changes in the seniority structure; and so on. Depending upon the number of students on

each team and the number of issues that are likely to be negotiated, one student may be required

3. Experience has shown that each team should meet in its private planning sessions about five

4. The instructor may, if he or she desires, attend some of the planning sessions, although in recent

years I have not been doing this on the grounds that the full responsibility for planning should

5. I have found that the negotiation session should last about four hours. It could be held on an

evening or a Saturday morning. Announce the date well in advance of the actual negotiation—at

least six weeks.

6. The negotiation should be held toward the end of the semester so that the students can use the

8. The instructor should visit each negotiation, and the total visiting time should be divided equally

among the groups. If some technical problem arises during the negotiation, the instructor should

deal with the issue. Other than this, the instructor should remain silent when observing the

10. When the negotiations are over, all students should meet in one room for a wrap-up session.

Each chairperson should report on whether there was a strike or a settlement, the major

11. Other suggestions are that (1) some arrangements should be made for the students to have coffee

or soft drinks during the negotiations; (2) to pacify the janitorial staff, the rooms should be