Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-189). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (M.S.)--Baylor University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-36).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1922. / Biographical note. Includes bibliographical references. A digital reproduction is available from the Open Collections Program at Harvard University, Women and work collection.

Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να παρουσιάσει το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο, που έχει αναπτυχθεί για τις συλλογικές διαπραγματεύσεις. Επίσης, παρουσιάζει τις διεθνείς εμπειρικές ενδείξεις, αναφορικά με τις επιδράσεις των διαφόρων διαπραγματευτικών παραμέτρων, στα μακροοικονομικά και μικροοικονομικά μεγέθη της οικονομίας. Παρουσιάζεται, τέλος, το θεσμικό πλαίσιο των συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων, που επικρατεί σε διάφορες χώρες του ΟΟΣΑ, εστιάζοντας, με μια λεπτομερέστερη προσέγγιση, στην περίπτωση της Ελλάδας. Τα βασικά συμπεράσματα είναι ότι, η υψηλή συνδικαλιστική πυκνότητα, η υψηλή διαπραγματευτική κάλυψη και ο υψηλός βαθμός συντονισμού/ συγκέντρωση μειώνουν τις μισθολογικές ανισότητες. Η υψηλή πυκνότητα και διαπραγματευτική κάλυψη, από την άλλη, αυξάνουν την ανεργία, ενώ ο συντονισμός την μειώνει. Στις Αγγλοσαξονικές χώρες επικρατεί καθεστώς επιχειρησιακών διαπραγματεύσεων ενώ, στις χώρες της Ηπειρωτικής Ευρώπης, πιο συγκεντρωτικά καθεστώτα. Στην Ελλάδα, υπάρχει υψηλός βαθμός συγκέντρωσης, και οι τελευταίες κρατικές παρεμβάσεις οδήγησαν σε ευκαμψία μισθών προς τα κάτω. / -

Chapter 1: Intrafamily Bargaining and Love Popular culture and common wisdom testify that the way partners in a relationship feel for one another very much depends on how they treat each other. This paper posits the hypothesis that altruism or love in a relationship is endogenous to the actions of the partners and studies how this influences allocations and efficiency in a bargaining model of household decision-making. The main results are that agents treat their partner in a kinder way than without endogenously evolving love, this leads to more equitable allocations in household decision making and greater intertemporal efficiency. There are two mechanisms at work: agents treat their partner nicely to avoid retribution by a less loving partner in the future; and they treat the partner nicely so that the kind reciprocal behavior raises their own love towards the partner, which lets them enjoy higher utility. As to love, two interpretations emerge: love is a commitment device by which couples can implement Pareto superior allocations; and love is an investment good in the sense that costly nice behavior towards the partner today may ensure higher levels of trust and efficiency in the future. Chapter 2: Perception of Technology and Technological Progress under Extractive Institutions This paper explores the impact of different perceptions of the nature of technology - whether it may grow in an arithmetic or geometric fashion - on the choices of an elite that lives on extracting resources from the productive populace. We show that slow potential growth destroys the credibility of inclusive institutions that the elite may consider in order to foster growth whereas these can and will be implemented if populace and elite believe in fast growth. Belief in the potential of technological growth leads to growth-friendly policies under both extractive and inclusive institutions and, as history progresses, the true nature of technology reveals itself and this belief spreads. Chapter 3: A critical literature review of the Property Rights Theory of the Firm and the communication of Unprotected Information Assets This paper reviews the literature centred on the question of what kind of settings facilitate the transmission of unverifiable pieces of information that re- side with an agent whose incentives are not well aligned with an agent for whom this piece of information is useful. The question is framed within the Property Rights Theory of the Firm and its answers make extensive use of the modelling device of Cheap Talk. The main findings are that communication leads to costly distortions and the efforts to decrease bias and information loss may trigger major revisions to the structure of incentive systems and the allocation of decision-rights. The paper argues that the literature has so far failed to properly examine the question of property rights of information and is therefore focused on niche applications.

Contracts and trust are two of the most important concepts impacting exchange relationships. Although there is a substantial amount of organizational literature scrutinizing contracts and trust as mechanisms of cooperation, very little of this scholarship has been empirical and, thus, our understanding is very limited. The two constructs have been cast as substitutes by some scholars and complements by others, but this body of research has largely ignored the potential for an interactive effect. One such effect has been postulated by select organizational scholars, entitled the “contract contrarian perspective” by this research, who tout that the introduction of written contracts has a negative effect on trust between the parties. The apex objective of this study was to examine how contracts affect the existence and development of trust between bargaining partners. This inquiry tested the contract contrarian perspective to determine if the introduction of a written contract into a negotiation damages trust or retards trust-building. In addition, this research offered an alternative explanation for the contract contrarian perspective and posited that any negative effect on trust that may occur during the contracting process might not be the result the introduction of a written contract but, rather, of the disparity in the parties’ relative bargaining power or the asymmetry of their legal sophistication. As trust is a complex construct, the present disquisition separated trust into two dependent variables: goodwill trust and competence trust. This allowed us to examine how the introduction of a contract affects different aspects of trust, thus, allowing for more precise indication of the effects. Consistent with the contract contrarian perspective, it was hypothesized that the introduction of a written contract into a negotiation would produce a negative effect on trust levels. It was also hypothesized that both bargaining power and legal sophistication would moderate the potential negative effect of introducing a contract into a negotiation. The study employed a vignette experimental design methodology and utilized a sample of 220 participants from a contracted data collection service and the data were analyzed with ANOVA and MANOVA. The results did not support the contract contrarian perspective’s claim and did not support the hypotheses regarding moderation; however, this study did find that both bargaining power and of legal sophistication had significant impacts on goodwill trust and competence trust.

This master's thesis deals with the concept of the weaker party in private law, especially in

Resümee Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit setzt sich mit dem Thema des Vergleichs der deutschen und tschechischen Regelung des Tarif- bzw. Kollektivvertrags auseinander. Zielsetzung der Arbeit ist, das Institut des Kollektivvertrags einschließlich der damit zusammenhängenden Institute zu verdeutlichen und zugleich mit Anwendung der vergleichenden Methode die Bewertung der aktuellen Rechtslage in der Tschechischen Republik und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland darzulegen. Der erste Teil der Arbeit untersucht den breiteren Kontext des kollektiven Arbeitsrechts, seine historische Entwicklung und Rechtsquellen. Als nächstes wird die Problematik der Formen der kollektiven Arbeitsverhältnisse mit der Zielrichtung an das Recht der kollektiven Verhandlung beschrieben. Darauf aufbauend wird im zweiten Teil die Rechtsregelung des Tarifvertrags in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland analysiert. Der Schwerpunkt liegt vor allem in der Erörterung des zu dem Tarifvertragsschluss führenden Prozesses, dessen Verlauf für den Inhalt des Vertrages entscheidend ist. Damit hängen noch die Problematik der Stellung der Koalitionen in Deutschland und die gesetzlichen Voraussetzungen zusammen, die zum Tarifvertragsschluss notwendig sind. Anschließend wird in diesem Kapitel die Entstehung der Tarifverträge erwähnt und sowohl der Vertragsinhalt...

La thèse est articulée en trois chapitres. Dans le premier est analysé l'encadrement juridique de la négociation collective par le droit communautaire. L'approche suivie a pour objectif de vérifier l'utilisation par le droit communautaire de la notion d'« autonomie collective ». Si les nouveaux dispositifs du Traité de Lisbonne, reconnaissant l'autonomie des partenaires sociaux, permettent de rapprocher les systèmes européens qui connaissent telle notion, leur mise en œuvre renie une telle conclusion. La faiblesse de la négociation collective européenne a conduit les législateurs nationaux, derrière la poussée des institutions européennes, à faire face à la crise économique par l'adoption de réformes visant à atteindre l'objectif de « flexicurité ». Dans ce contexte, on peut ainsi souligner la convergence des systèmes européens de relations professionnelles sur une décentralisation vers l'entreprise, tendance clairement observée dans la comparaison franco-italienne. Le deuxième chapitre est consacré à l'évolution du système français de relations professionnelles : après sa brève reconstruction, sont analysés les instruments élaborés par le législateur afin d'encourager la négociation d'entreprise par l'introduction d'accords dérogatoires. A partir des lois Auroux, une brèche dans le traditionnel système de relations professionnelles a été ouverte, suivie par des élargissements en 2004 et 2008. Il s'agit d'une nouvelle logique de fond du système, fondée sur la possibilité d'introduire des dérogations aux conventions collectives de différents niveaux, ainsi qu'à la loi. Il s'agit de faire place au critère de subsidiarité au lieu du principe traditionnel de hiérarchie. La mise en œuvre insatisfaisante de la réforme de 2004 a poussé le législateur à intervenir à nouveau en 2008 : il supprime le critère de hiérarchie qui est remplacé par le principe de « supplétivité ». La réforme a fait de l'accord d'entreprise le nouveau centre de gravité du système, en réalisant un vrai bouleversement. La loi de 2008 a créé également une véritable refondation du droit syndical, en intervenant sur les règles de légitimité des conventions collectives ainsi que sur les critères de représentativité des syndicats, en supprimant la présomption irréfragable de représentativité. La réforme a enfin effectivement encouragé la conclusion d'accords d'entreprise, notamment en matière d'emploi. Le dernier chapitre est consacré à la négociation collective en Italie. Il retrace l'évolution du système de relations professionnelles, historiquement centralisé, et la difficile émergence de la négociation d'entreprise, en analysant les instruments élaborés par les partenaires sociaux afin d'encourager la diffusion de la négociation d'entreprise. L'instrument le plus significatif a été celui des «clauses de sortie » qui, bien que déjà pratiquées, ont été formellement reconnues par la réforme de 2009. Alors que l'accord-cadre du 22 janvier 2009 autorise des « accords spécifiques modifiant » dans des conditions assez larges, l'accord interprofessionnel du 15 avril 2009 reproduit des critères plus stricts et limite eux au niveau territorial. Le cas Fiat, qui s'est posé en dehors des nouvelles règles, a rendu nécessaire une intervention en matière de représentativité syndicale. Ce qu'a été fait par l'accord interprofessionnel du 28 juin 2011 qui fixe les critères pour mesurer la représentativité syndicale, en accueillant un principe majoritaire auquel est liée l'efficacité générale des conventions collectives. Tels critères sont confirmés par l'art. 8 de la loi n° 148/2011, qui mentionne le principe majoritaire l'étendant bien au-delà des cas prévus par l'accord interprofessionnel. L'article 8 légitime les accords modifiants au niveau de l'entreprise et du territoire (« négociation de proximité ») dans cas si larges qu'ils couvrent l'entière règlementation des rapports de travail, dérogeant aussi bien aux conventions qu'à la loi par une sorte de « délégation en blanc ». / The present dissertation work consists of 3 chapters. The first one focuses on the analysis of the role of collective bargaining within Community Law. The purpose is to assess whether it is suitable today to speak about an enhancement of “collective autonomy” within Community Law. If the new provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon, acknowledging the autonomy of social partners, allow to compare the European systems which featuring the principle of “collective autonomy”, their implementation will deny this conclusion. The weakness of collective bargaining has lead the single European systems to face the current economic crisis by adopting national reforms pursuing the objective of “flexicurity” spurred and supported by European Institutions. An alignment between different European systems of industrial relations has been observed as for the shared trend towards a decentralization of corporate contracts at company level, this particularly in the French and Italian systems. The second chapter, after a short description of the French system of relations professionnelles, will further focus on the analysis of the instruments employed by French Legislator to promote collective bargaining at company level. The lois Auroux breached the traditional system of relations professionnelles leading to a true earthquake first in 2004 and then in 2008. The point is the different way of conceiving the traditional hierarchy system of the sources with a change in the criteria ruling it, that are now identified in the principle of “subsidiarity”. The unsatisfactory implementation of the reform lead the French legislator to a new intervention in 2008. The 2008 Law reached the point of making the convention de branche suppletive and abolished the hierarchic principle making the accord d'entreprise the new cornerstone of the system. The law also completely reshaped the Trade Union Law. The reform amended the legitimacy review of collective agreements but also amended the representativeness required for trade unions completely abolishing the principle of assumption of representativeness. The 2008 Law engendering an actual promotion of the settlement of the accords d'entreprise, particularly in matter of employment. The final chapter, after a brief overview of the developments of Italian system of collective bargaining, will focus on the analysis of the instruments employed by the social partners in order to promote company agreements. The most relevant instrument has been identified in the “exit clauses” that, already used in the legal praxis, were first officially acknowledged only by the 2009 reform. The Framework-agreement of 22 January 2009 introduced the possibility of reaching “specific modifying agreements” occurring quite a wide number of conditions and cases, whereas the Interconfederal Agreement of 15 April 2009 introduced stricter criteria and limited its stipulation only to the regional local level. The “Fiat” case, first reached company agreements completely regardless of the new rules, made it urgent the need for a change of the trade union representation. On the matter, the Interconfederal Agreement of 28 June 2011 introduced the criteria of calculation of trade union representativeness on which the general effectiveness of company agreements is depending and which basically lead to the adoption of the majority principle. These criteria were re-asserted under art. 8 of law nr. 148/2011, which simply refers to a generic majority principle thus stretching the results of the agreement far beyond its original expectations. The art. 8 acknowledge the “specific modifying agreements” at the company and regional local levels (now called “proximity bargaining”) in such a great number of cases to cover the whole regulation of working relationships. Derogation is now legitimated even in respect to the law, by a “blank power of attorney” to the decentralised level.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The research conducted has been undertaken to engage the stakeholders to explore the possibility of establishing workplace forums. The gains of workplace forums with respect to sharing decision making is a distinct advantage both business and labour seemingly do not realise because of a continued resolve to negotiate conditions of service annually exclusively. The research was undertaken by designing an interview questionnaire for distribution. The population for this research includes a cross section of employers from the industry in the Western Cape, parties to the Hairdressing Beauty and Cosmetology Bargaining Council, the Employers Organisation and the Employees Organisation or Trade Union. The criteria set for the questionnaire anticipate responses of respondents to the challenges before and after the possible incorporation of section 84 of the Act Finally the research results indicate that the parties to a collective agreement in this industry still gravitate towards distributive collective bargaining by negotiating salaries, wages and conditions of employment in Bargaining Councils. / South Africa