COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SIMULATION: AN EXERCISE BASED ON A FAMILIAR THEME Development In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 18, 1991 130 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SIMULATION: AN EXERCISE BASED ON A FAMILIAR THEME Rowland G. Baughman Central Connecticut State University ABSTRACT Most labor relations simulations Of collective bargaining use a factory setting as the basis for the exercise. Frequently the students lose interest in pursuing the simulation. This is because they do not have an understanding about the work relationships 0f strange job titles and descriptions. Additionally, many “contracts” are either too comprehensive or too simplistic. The simulation suggested here is based on a food market setting which utilizes familiar job descriptions and incorporates a labor-management agreement contract) specifically designed for the simulation exercise. Prerequisites for Good Simulations The major goal of any teaching simulation is to achieve a high degree of realism. Coupled’ with this goal is the need for the students to relate to the exercise in a way that allows them to behave as in a real world environment. Many simulations arid exercises tail to achieve these goals. Proposed Simulation Class members are divided into labor union and management teams. Each team member is provided with a labor/management agreement, which requires renegotiating. Additionally, background material is provided which relates important details about the company arid the union. Instructions are included which describe the parameters of the negotiations and the requirements for each team’s assignments. Evaluation sheets are used to give peer critique 0f each member’s quality ox participation and preparation. These evaluations give each student a comprehensive feedback on their efforts. The new simulation incorporates three basic ingredients into its structure. The firm is an independent Super-market dealing with an unaffiliated union. The contract is designed to include only essential items in its coverage. Yet, it contains a number of vague clauses to provide opportunity for the participants to enhance the contract language. Specific inequities have been included which will give some degree oz locus to the subsequent bargaining. Special emphasis has been given so that each participant will have the total responsibility to negotiate some aspect of the contract issues. In this way members of each team gain experience being in both a position Of responsibility and accountability as well as being subordinate to the lead negotiator. Discussion The use of a complete but simplistic labor agreement provides locus to the original “demands” which are generated by the labor union team. The teams are successful in finding most Of the weak clauses, which are in, the existing agreement and are able to hone in on these as topics for subsequent bargaining. Thus, an implied non-directive approach to the bargaining assignment maintains the students creativity and flexibility while obtaining emphasis on major issues which, are likely candidates any true bargaining situation. Conclusion One of the major pitfalls of any classroom simulation is the potential that the students will not be able to fully immerse themselves into the simulation scenario. Every effort should be made to provide an environment, which will both challenge the students and allow them to become involved in a desire to succeed. The creation of this labor negotiation simulation allows the student to bargain realistically about issues with which they are familiar Table of Contents Volume 18, 1991 Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Using DIS 'n DAT as a Decision Support System for a Marketing Simulation Game Theoretical Derivation of a Market Demand Function for Business Simulators The Ethnographic Case Study: An Experiential Approach to Teaching Retail Management Electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBS): Support Software for Computer Simulations The New Budget Game Negame: A Cross-Cultural Role-Play to Introduce Students to the Familiarization Stage of Negotiations Modeling Short-Run Cost and Production Functions Using Sheppard's Lemma in Computerized Business Simulations Increasing Simulation Realism through the Modeling of Step Costs Predicting Simulation Performance: Differences Between Groups and Individuals A Facility Location Case to Stimulate Classroom Interaction Educational Effectiveness of Business Simulation Gaming: A Comparative Study of Students and Practitioner Perspective Ethical Dilemmas in Experiential Learning: Issues and Strategies A Critical Review and Assessment of ABSEL's Award-Winning Procedures and Protocols Political Risk: A Simulation for Business Practitioners Upside Down: A Cross-Cultural Game in Experiential Learning Gorby's Dilemma: From Communism to Free Enterprise in Two Hours Strategic Market: Planning with the COMPLETE Product Portfolio Analysis Package: A Marketing Decision Support System Career Concepts and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Experiential Learning in Human Resources: A Performance Appraisal Application Managerial Motivation and Realism Among MBA Student as Viewed through The Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation An Experiential Approach to Teaching Data Analysis Using MYSTAT: Rationale, Procedures and Results Practicing What Was Preached: A Sequential Learning Model put to the Test Student Attitudes about Policy Course Simulations An Investigation of the Relationship Between Simulation Play, Performance Level and Recency of Play on Exam Scores The Effect of Leadership and Cognitive Processing Styles upon Peer Performance Evaluation: Implication for the Utilization of Simulations in Business Pedagogy On the Transfer of Market Oriented Business Games to Socialist Cultures An Application of Financial Analysis of the Business Firm in a Simulated Competitive Environment Collective Bargaining Simulation: An Exercise based on a Familiar Theme Making Business Policy a Strategic Management Experience A Student Exercise for Intergrating the Concepts of Power and Motivation The Boundaries Extended: An Experiment Comparing Dialectical Inquiry, Devil's Advocacy and Consensus Using the Executive Game Using a Simulation Package to Develop a Simulation Exercise in Cost Accounting Success Factors in Experiential Training for Creative Problem-Solving Teams An Experiential Approach for teaching Quality management Critical Success Ratios: A Comparison of Two Business Simulations in a Multi-Year Environment Stocklogs: A Classroom Exercise for Teaching the Logistical Relationship of Location and Inventory The Organizational Leadership Program Simulating Business Decision-Making: Using Statistical Cases for Classroom Exercises Scripting for the Classroom Upgrading the Business Strategy and Policy Game Developing Student Team-Building and Leadership Skills Using Computer-Aided Experiential learning Strategies Organizing and Outward Bound Field Trip An Architecture for Extensible Simulation Games Performance in the Capstone Business Course: What is the effect of Pedagogy, Learning Styles, and Student Motivation? Operational Strategy with Participant-Modifiable Parameters An Example of a Personal Selling Case Transformed into a Role Play Scenario Instructional Software: It's Evolution and Current State of the Art in the Business Curriculum Ascertaining Performance Variables for use in Determining Student's Grades in Courses Employing a Business Simulation Designing Management Seminars Using Business Simulations The Accounting Information Systems Course: Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and the Real World The Good Cooks Guide to Training Excellence: Working with Passion A Demonstration on Multiple Data Collection Methods: Seeing Strategic Issues Through the Looking Glass Simulation Systems Analysis and Design: Why Undergraduate Education gets a Failing Grade Accommodating Organizational Culture: An Evaluation of Management Development Delivery Modes in Varying Organizational Cultures Modeling Total Quality into Business Simulations The Political Futures Game Meeting Meeting Objectives