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98 unit 2 | Working Within the Organization CikguOnline
see here? What is the real problem?”The group highly formalized because it is governed by laws and
remained silent. Finally, someone said, “We contracts called collective bargaining agreements.
don’t have enough people, equipment, or Collective bargaining involves a formal proce-
supplies to get the work done.”The rest of the dure governed by labor laws, such as the National
group nodded in agreement. Labor Relations Act in the United States.
4. Opening move. Once the problem is clarified, Nonprofit health-care organizations were added to
it is time to obtain everyone’s agreement to seek the organizations covered by these laws in 1974.
a way to resolve the conflict. In more formal Once a union or professional organization has
negotiation, you may make a statement about been designated as the official bargaining agent for
what you wish to achieve. For example, a group of nurses, a contract defining such impor-
if you are negotiating a salary increase, you tant matters as salary increases, benefits, time off,
might begin by saying, “I am requesting a unfair treatment, safety issues, and promotion of
10% increase for the following reasons: . . .” Of professional practice is drawn up. This contract
course, your employer will probably make a governs employee-management relations within
counteroffer, such as, “The best I can do is 3%.” the organization.
These are the opening moves of a negotiation. Case 3 is an example of how collective bargain-
5. Continue the negotiations. The discussion ing agreements can influence the outcome of a
should continue in an open, nonhostile manner. conflict between management and staff in a health-
Each side’s concerns may be further explained care organization.
and elaborated. Additional offers and A collective bargaining contract is a legal docu-
counteroffers are common. As the discussion ment that governs the relationship between man-
continues, it is usually helpful to emphasize agement and staff, which is represented by the
areas of agreement as well as disagreement so union (for nurses, it may be the nurses’ association
that both parties are encouraged to continue or another health-care workers’ union). The con-
the negotiations (Tappen, 2001). tract may cover some or all of the following:

Agree on a Resolution of the Conflict ■ Economic issues: Salaries, shift differentials,
length of the workday, overtime, holidays, sick
After much testing for agreement, elaborating each
leave, breaks, health insurance, pensions,
side’s positions and concerns, and making offers
severance pay
and counteroffers, the people involved should
■ Management issues: Promotions, layoffs, trans-
finally reach an agreement.
fers, reprimands, grievance procedures, hiring
The nurse manager of Teams A and B led them
and firing procedures
through a discussion of their concerns related to
■ Practice issues: Adequate staffing, standards of
working with severely limited resources. The teams
care, code of ethics, safe working environment,
soon realized that they had a common concern and
other quality-of-care issues, staff development
that they might be able to help each other rather than
opportunities
compete with each other.The nurse manager agreed
to become more proactive in seeking resources for the Better patient-nurse staffing ratios, more reason-
unit.“We can simultaneously seek new resources and able workloads, opportunities for professional
develop creative ways to use the resources we already development,and better relationships with manage-
have,” she told the teams. Relationships between ment are among the most important issues (Budd,
members of Team A and Team B improved remark- Warino, & Patton, 2004).
ably after this meeting.They learned that they could
accomplish more by working together than they had The Pros and Cons of Collective Bargaining
ever achieved separately. Some nurses believe it is unprofessional to belong
to a union. Others point out that physicians and
Formal Negotiation: Collective Bargaining teachers are union members and that the protec-
There are many varieties of formal negotiations,from tions offered by a union outweigh the downside.
real estate transactions to international peace treaty There is no easy answer to this question.
negotiations. A formal negotiation process of special Probably the greatest advantages of collective bar-
interest to nurses is collective bargaining, which is gaining are protection of the right to fair treatment