Employment Relationship
The primary idea that has to be taken into account before starting off with collective negotiation is that – between the employer and employee, there is a game of authority that has to be counted up on. But it is not necessary that this will lead to a disparaging relation between the two parties.
Thus, the concept of negotiation can only come into effect when both parties are equal in terms of power. It is not necessary, neither is it possible that the employer and employee can be at the same power level, but they both have to behave as if they were. Thus, it can be stated that negotiation process acts as a power equalizer for both parties, and the desire concerned is the same. Hence, it can be said that in case the acceptance for the other party is lacking, chances of proper negotiation is nil, and a sense of power play comes to the forefront.
The relative power that both the parties hold tend to fluctuate from one situation to another depending upon the condition that each of them faces, but what is important is both have to come to a certain level of agreement that is suitable for both the parties.
According to Ann Douglas (1962),the negotiation can be understood in a new manner. When the negotiation encounter is applied on a particular management and its set of employees, it can be seen that certain terms and conditions have to be laid, and they to a great extent becomes an inhibition in that path, given that there is inequality of resources and power between the two parties.
