Negotiation & Bargaining Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Negotiation & Bargaining Case Study Solution

The Hormel Corporation can form an agreement with the union workers under which a minimum wage should be set, a bonus should be offered based on meeting the specified production target. The layoff procedures should be revised considering the seniority of the workers and notice period, management should be held responsible for the entire hiring process, safety and health clauses should be added, safety training should be provided and a consultative committee to deal with employees and management issues should be formed.

This strategy will ensure that workers are satisfied which will enable them to perform productively as their needs and rights will be considered by the organization. Also, the employee’s trust on the organization will strengthen and its reputation as a trusted employer will improve, which might increase its sales,and hence resulting in profitability.

Non-Monetary Benefits

In the second round of the Adam Baxter Company Negotiation in 1983, different wages were agreed for different groups and a group was offered non-monetary benefits such as transportation coupons and employee discounts for company’s products.(Company, 2019) Therefore, the Hormel Corporation can negotiate with the union workers and form an agreement, under which a minimum wage should be set for each worker or each group and non-monetary benefits such as employee discounts, tangible recognition for excellent performers, employee assistance programs, education support for children of the employees and flexible working hours.

Offering tangible recognition will increase employee’s productivity and they will perform better as they will be appreciated for their work. Similarly, employee assistance programs will ensure that the personal and work related problems that affect the job performance of the employees is heard and resolved to ensure smooth running of organization’s operations.

The current outcome of negotiation between workers and the corporation has resulted in organization hiring back only 20% of the strikers on the same wage, which is unfair and the employee’s will not be able to perform productively due to this reason. Also, there are high chances that employees will protests again if the organization continues to violate employee’s rights and pay them unfair wages, creating operational problems for the organization. Also, as a result of this legal action can also be taken against the organization if it persists to pay wages below the minimum wage specified by law.

Coalition Building

The local P-10 ers are the union members that backed out from the Hormel Strike as the voice of the strikers was not being heard and their wage was not being revised, in addition, the strikers remained unemployed and received no pay to meet their financial needs during the strike period that lasted for 13 months. These factors motivated the union workers to back out form the strike and rejoin the company. Since, the strike was ended as a result of suspension of various union officers by the Parent union, backing out from the strike saved P 10 ers from suspension.As the parent union is responsible for bargaining with the employers to increase the pay of workers and improve working conditions for labor, the P 10 ers could build coalition with the parent union to ensure their rights are not violated by any employer in the future as the parent union will fight for their rights and negotiate with the employers.By building a coalition with the parent union, the P 10 ers will get job security and financial assistance during recession as the Parent union will persuade the Homler Corporation to hire the workers back.

In order to ensure the coalition is stable and successful, both the parties should establish the procedure and framework of their co-operation so that the issues that requires joint efforts and the issues that the P 10 ers have to resolve individually could be specified. It should also be ensured that the views and positions of both the parties are aligned as during the Homler Strike the Parent union and the P-9 members had different views which lead to suspension of various officers.

Conclusion

In 1985, nearly 1500 workers protested against the Hormel Corporation which decided to cut the wages of workers by 23% as their profits were declining due to recession in the Minnesota region. The protest and strikes lasted 13 months after which the UFCW, the parent union of workers ended the strike, and an agreement was agreed upon and signed between the Corporation and the workers. All three parties involved in the negotiation had different objectives, rights, interests and power. The Corporation held strong power as it was supported by government and due to recession employees were facing difficulty in finding new jobs therefore, the Parent union decided to end the strike.

It was suggested that non-monetary benefits such as employee assistance programs should be introduced or new incentive programs should be offered to enable the workers to perform better and ensure the maximum employee satisfaction. It was also discussed that the members that backed out from the strike in order to prevent themselves from further financial distress could build a coalition with the Parent union to ensure job security and fair pay in the future. In order to ensure stable coalition, it was considered essential that the views and objectives of the Parent union and the P-10 members are aligned.

 

Appendices

Three Approaches to Resolve Disputes

 

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