Trade Union Negotiation and Strikes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trade Union Negotiation and Strikes - Essay Example While the trade negotiations can be, and often are, filled with emotional hot buttons for both parties, game theory gives the parties tools to use to evaluate their prospective positions, and weigh the possible outcomes of their negotiations, and hence arrive at an agreement which is mutually beneficial for all parties, a win - win situation if you will. Too often, trade negotiations can devolve into a win-loose argument, in which the management is seen as taking from the unions in order to gain for itself, or vice versa. When the trade talks head in this direction, the parties seldom are able to make positive progress toward goals which can benefit both management and labor. Only be reaching toward a cooperative agreement can they create a positive work environment, and a financially healthy company. To understand how game theory benefits labor negotiations, one must first understand the five elements of game theory The game theory is defined as an interaction between a number of parties in which the following five elements are present. 1. The players: there are a defined number of players with defined roles. Game theory must identify how many players there, and whether or not natural elements outside the persons play a role, or if chance can play a role in the decisions. 2. The conditions or roles of the players: The players must be understood, along with their possible decisions. In other words there should be a minimal number of known decisions which the parties can undertake in order to apply game theory. 3. Information: the information which the players have with which to make decisions should be known. In other words, all the variables in the negotiations must be known in order to assist the parties using game theory. 4. Payoff Consequences: the parties must know what the course of their decisions will produce. Parties must know and understand what will be the consequences of choosing A or B or C in the negotiations. 5. Player preferences: Finally, a thorough knowledge of the preferences which the players would like to pursue should also be on the table. (see Duffy, 2003) When these 5 elements are known by the participants in the trade negotiations, then game theory can help them move toward effective resolution of their issues, as well has help them understand the payoff and the costs of their respective decisions. Game theory is often called a means for making moral decisions. The theory seeks to find a solution which works toward the benefit of the greatest number of people, maximizing all parties return. Thus, the theory's outcome has been compared to morality in decisions making. However, one way to undermine the effectiveness of this theory is for parties to come to the table with the assumption that their particular perspective or their desired outcome is the moral high ground. This assumption by one of the parties is a sure path toward defeating the effectiveness of game theory. According to Hardin (1988, 2003, negotiators should be wary of moral theorists that claim universality for their

Buiness Communication - Chariman's Statement Essay

Buiness Communication - Chariman's Statement - Essay Example Background Information Apple is a company that has a long history from the time it was started in the year 1977 to its current position in the market. All through the company has endeavoured to bring the best user experience to its customer through innovative products and services. Apple Inc provides hardware, software, services and internet services in the industry to satisfy their esteemed customer and to develop an effective IT front which is necessary in the development of the world economy. The company sells both manufactured products as well as third party goods. The organizational progressive growth for the last five years is a result of our committed customers and we expect to maintain this mutual relationship in the long term. Business Strategy Innovation has been a core competency strategy for Apple Inc. From the time when the Mac-OS developed its desktop hardware, the organization has strived to meet the demands of a dynamic IT industry. The organization has successfully d eployed recent competent hardware requirements in the industry. The iPad tablet series have formed part of its innovation scheme that has continuously improved portability, efficiency, hardware capacity and seamless technology that demanded in the industry today. The organization has ventured into research to develop it to gather the consumer tastes and to develop products that satisfy the consumers. The organization allocated $1.8 billion towards research in the year 2010 as part of its strategy to satisfy its customers through research driven innovative products and services. Effective leadership and teamwork has assisted the organization to successfully deploy this strategy. Products and Services The organization seeks to satisfy the market with modern IT hardware requirements that are up to the technology demanded in the market environment. The iPhone, iPod, iPad, Mac-computers and Apple TV have formed part of the organizations focus on the digital hardware in the market environ ment. In addition, the organization has developed its personal software products to satisfy the unique hardware requirements of its hardware products. The IOS and Mac OS have formed part of the operating system for the organization's products. On the other hand, the company has provided application software such iLife and iWork which are integrated in the Mac-OS are professional suites that are critical in driving business operations. Apple’s customer focus includes majorly the education sector, the enterprise, government and creative market environments. Market and Logistics Apple continues to enjoy a global customer loyalty that is reflected in our business turnover for the year ended 2010. In general, the organization reported an improvement in its sales over the last five years and the project is expected to be reflected in the coming years. The company is targeting more customers each year to ensure that it remains profitable in the long term. The competition in the mark et has become stiff with more organization pushing their business to international levels. Nokia in the mobile industry and Microsoft in the software industry have posed a tough competition for Apple. Research and Development The management team at Apple has future prospects to expand its business operation internationally and still