The obsolescing bargaining model (OBM) is the cornerstone for studying host country-MNE relations. Recent research has extended the OBM to incorporate other institutional stakeholders who participate in the multi-level, multi-party iterative political bargaining over policy issues which characterises much of the bargaining now to reflect the widespread macroeconomic changes from globalization that impinge on the model. Furthermore, the emergence of developing countries like India and China as high growthend markets has conceivably changed the nature of bargaining therein. This study adopts a triadic perspective to bargaining in EMs. The conceptualization including local MNEs addresses the lack of understanding on bargaining in EMs by suitably incorporating the institutional context which frames the triadic interplay. It focuses on the role of co-opetition by local MNEs in affecting the balance of bargaining power between host governments and foreign MNEs. Co-opetition is a strategic response by multinationals where they simultaneously compete and cooperate for mutual gains. This research enables the study to empirically challenge the assertion that the propositions of the OBM have become too dated to explain current bargaining structures. The extant literature provides the theoretical underpinnings for the development of a priori propositions which guide the empirical enquiry through a case study of the life insurance industry in India. Based on the unique insights offered through the single industry study, the analysis suggests that certain EM conditions now present the context for re- emergence of obsolescence for foreign MNEs. Furthermore, it is the evolution of the EMs’ own local MNEs who are deeply embedded in the local business culture constituting their identity as strategic insiders, who shape the development of bargaining power. Local MNEs as strategic insiders affect the foreign MNEs’ long term business prospects in EMs based on their co-opetition through an issue- area approach. Local MNEs’ existing insidership becomes the reason for both - foreign MNEs’ collaboration with them and the perpetuation of their lack of strategic insidership. It is the basis for the uneven playing field and for the deterioration in their initial bargaining power. Thus, in line with the OBM, entry bargains themselves are seen to obsolesce following the ambivalence in bargaining objectives and the sequential behaviour that both the local MNEs and the host government adopt. Co- opetition emerges as the explanatory variable while discerning the nature of emergent bargaining between governments and foreign MNEs in EMs. The application of a triadic, co-opetition perspective to bargaining is revealing andprovides original insights. An extended framework and modified propositions aredeveloped for future research. This study provides grounds for revisiting the OBM inthe context of other similar markets and for guiding future MNE strategy in EMs.

Over the last few years, there has been tremendous growth in the diversity of products and services offered to customers across all industries. With this increased choice of products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. The products and services offered by the different companies do not vary much, regardless of which companies are selling them. Customers are in the position where they can choose from an array of products and services from more than one company. This shift of power from company to customer forces companies to focus on customer retention and loyalty through improved customer experience. The dissertation introduces a framework for enhancing customer experience through improved business processes. The Enhanced Customer Experience Framework (ECEF) is developed by integrating various well known techniques into one comprehensive framework. As long as fifty years ago, researchers found it neccesary to design techniques that can assist companies in taking care of frustrated and unsatisfied customers. Many of these techniques had merit, and partly succeeded in increasing customer satisfaction. One of these techniques was developed in 1966 by Dr Yoji Akao, with the goal of integrating the voice of the customer into the technical design of products and services. Today this tool is known as Quality Function Deployment (QFD). QFD is used extensively in the ECEF to determine the relationship beween business processes and customer requirements, and to prioritise business processes from a customer perspective. Another technique or methodology is Business Process Reengineering (BPR), developed in 1990. The methodology of BPR – together with the steps associated with benchmarking –provides a useful process that may be followed when reengineering business processes to fit customer needs. The last technique that is integrated into the ECEF is simulation modelling, which can be used to test the impact of process improvements on customer experience. The ECEF consists of seven stages, with sequential activities taking place in every stage. The Framework developed in this dissertation is partially validated against empirical data obtained from the telecommunications industry. In South Africa the telecommunications industry is faced with the threat of new entrants as one of the largest competitive forces. In 2001 a third Telecommunications Company was introduced in South Africa and the market share that always belonged to only two companies was redistributed between three companies. For all three companies to be competitive, they had to invest in delivering quality service to customers. The ECEF may assist managers in enhancing the quality of their service delivery. By designing business processes to deliver products and services according to the needs of the customer, companies will be able to enjoy the strategic competitive advantage of customer loyalty. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / unrestricted

The basic structures of collective bargaining in South Africa have evolved since industrialisation, through the Wiehahn-Commission era until the Farlam one and beyond, resulting in a number of legislative changes from 1924 to 2014. While dealing with collective bargaining, it is not possible to divorce the powerful history of mining from the South African story, from the diamond fields in Kimberley to the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, where the mine employees’ focused on cheap, unskilled labour and migrant system in the 1900s to the tragic events at Marikana in 2012. In the advent of the industry revolution, employment relationships changed as competitive demands placed a great need for advancing economic developments which are often expressed through collective-bargaining. The objective of collective bargaining is to arrive at an agreement between the employer and employees to determine mutually beneficial terms and conditions of employment such agreement may prohibit unions to embark on an industrial action for as long as it is in place. Strikes became important during the Industrial Revolution, when many worked in factories and mines. Often when employees’ demands are not met, they resort to strike action. Strike action is when a number of employees stop rendering their service in protest to express their grievances. These strikes are usually led by labour unions to get better pay, working hours or working conditions during collective bargaining as a last resort. While trade union leadership fails to advance employees’ cause, employees resort to informal alternative structures to negotiate on their behalf. South Africans have a tradition of taking to the streets in protest when unhappy about issues and this tradition did not spring up during the apartheid era but has been around from as early as 1922 to date. Protests in South Africa today draw from past repertoires and at the same time push for new political practices and directions. Strikes are often used to: Pressure governments to change its policies like in the Rand Revolt; Strikes can destabilise the rule of a particular political party like a series of strikes by blacks in the 1970s and 1980s including the 1973 Durban dockworkers and the 1987 miners’ strikes; Strikes are often part of a broader social movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance like Treatment Action Campaign and community struggles such Abahlali Base Mjondolo. On the strike issues in South Africa, the researcher draws from the terrible incident that transpired in August 2012 at Lonmin Mine-Marikana and how it has affected the collective bargaining landscape in South Africa. The first real and significant labour unrest, the Witwatersrand miner strike rocked South Africa to the core in 1922 and in 2012, ninety years later the violent strike by the Rock Operational Drillers at Lonmin following the Marikana massacre and as such did not enjoy statutory protection under the LRA because was classified as wildcat strike. Normally, a wildcat strike constitutes a violation of a collective bargaining agreement in place and as such is not protected unless a union joins it and ratifies the protest. The union may, however, discipline its members for participating in a wildcat strike and impose fines. Among other things miners mainly demanded a wage increment of R12500 per month. The fight between AMCU and NUM for organisational rights also found its way into the equation. A strike wave, not only linked to the mining sector, made 2012 the most protest filled year since the end of apartheid, rolled out across South Africa, closing some industrial operations and crippling others. Commentators argue that the strike wave emerged from a landscape of extreme inequality and poverty, made intolerable by the additional financial burdens arising from the migrant labour system. These factors influenced the industrial action and institutions of collective bargaining comprising of both company and union structures and processes, were found wanting in their ability to address the root causes of the crisis. The post-Marikana strike wave made a mark in the workers struggle movement as it drew in thousands of workers to join AMCU and at the same time weakening NUM, the then majority union. The strike led to the rise and growth of AMCU which was seen by miners as the driver for change. The 2012 strike wave and the Marikana massacre not only changed the balance of forces on the ground against the NUM, but also generated divisions within COSATU. The divisions were between those who decided to remain deaf to the workers’ call for transformation and those who had already realised that a decisive turn in economic policy was needed to avoid a social, economic and political crisis. In the aftermath of the strike, a number community struggles increased as 2012 began and on the other side, a number of splinter groups from COSATU mushroomed which was hobbled by in fights. NUM’s collapse is indeed part of a series of recent failures for COSATU.

This treatise investigates the extent to which education could be declared an essential service. This is informed by an ongoing public perception that education is in a crisis as a result of the ease within which teachers embark on wildcat strikes, the level of absenteeism in schools, the manner in which communities prevent learners from attending school to place pressure on the state to meet service delivery demands, the lack of professionalism among teachers and the performance of our learners in achieving international benchmarks of results. The treatise critically explores the debate, in the South African context, on the need to declare education as an essential service in South Africa. This is done by examining the international benchmarks set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in relation to essential services and what motivating reasons exist, if any, to proceed with declaring education as an essential service. There is a dire need to find a balance between the teachers’ right to strike and the learners’ right to basic education. At the moment there is a threat to this balance with the rights of teachers appearing to override those of learners and this has a negative impact on the learning outcomes and stability in education. The question that arises is what measures must the South African government put in place to ensure that the fundamental rights to education are not compromised. If the current situation continues to prevail it has the danger of retarding the development of a society in transition. There is a need for urgent intervention that takes on a consensus-based approach of identifying education as an essential priority in the interests of all. Can this be achieved by developing a minimum service level agreement for education that outlines which levels of teachers may go on strike? Can policy be regulated that outlines the duties of principals and deputy principals as those who are in the authority of the state and as such may not go on a strike? Can this be achieved without compromising the rights of any citizen as guaranteed in the Constitution of South Africa? The solution that this treatise provides to these vexing questions attempts to balance the rights of teachers with those of learners with a view to normalizing and stabilizing education in South Africa. It recommends that policy be set in place for principals and deputy principal that identifies them as part of those public servants who are in the authority of the state and therefore may not embark on a strike. This will enable the state to gain control of striking situations in education to ensure that there is still authority at the schools to maintain some level of minimum service, especially where there are very young learners. At the same time this will not be so severe as to render a strike in education ineffective for the teachers’ not to be able to exert force on the state to achieve improved conditions of service for themselves.

Research problem: Various factors which influence industrial relations climate can be classified as input variables (Dastmalchian, Adamason and Blyton, 1991). The industrial relations climate (IRC) in turn has the potential to positive or negatively influence and be influenced by the industrial relations outcomes of the organisation such as labour turnover, industrial action and productivity. Management therefore need to be aware of the prevailing IRC as well as the factors influencing the prevailing industrial relations climate so as to take the necessary and relevant measures and steps to improve the labour-management relations. Research objectives: The research objectives for addressing the research problem were mainly to ascertain the prevailing labour relations climate within the selected mine. The second objective was to identify the factors that shape labour relations climate and thirdly to establish the impact of the prevailing industrial relations climate within the mine Research questions: Research questions for the study were developed and were; What is the overall labour relations climate? What is the contribution of each of the five dimensions to the overall labour relations climate? What is the relationship between the subgroups, distinguished by union affiliation and occupational level? What is the relationship between the sub-groups, distinguished by gender, age, race years in organization, full-time or part-time, union affiliation, years in union, union status, occupational level, educational level and the five dimensions of the labour relations climate? What are the factors that shape the industrial relations climate with particular reference to the following factors such as the organisational context and background, the structure of the organisation, the Human Resources context, the Industrial Relations context and Industrial relations outcomes? Research design: The study was descriptive research and both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in order to address the objectives of the study. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data and in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews were also used to collect data relating to the IRC and the factors influencing the industrial relations climate. Human Resources records and reports were also used to provide secondary data for industrial relations outcomes. Major findings: The results from the study revealed that overall a negative IRC prevailed within the mine. This also applied to the five dimensions of climate that were measured. It was found that there was agreement between the unionised and the non-unionised employees’ perceptions of the industrial relations climate and similarly, when the miners’ perception of climate was compared with the more managerial group. The only really significant difference in perception was that management felt that the climate was fairer than did the miners. The results also revealed that the organisational environment and structure and the human resources and industrial relations contexts were consistent with the literature descriptions of an organisational environment that would inhibit a positive industrial relations climate. The results for the organisational outcomes, in particular absenteeism and turnover were also found to be consistent with those of organisations were the prevailing industrial relations climate was negative. The results also revealed that organisational age, size, ownership, structure, formalisation, decision-making, labour market, union-management consultation, communication were influenced and shaped the prevailing IRC. It also revealed that the prevailing IRC had impact on the levels of absenteeism and labour turnover.

This thesis examines the behavior of bargaining parties under a statutory scheme of compulsory conciliation. The statutory scheme used in the study is the basic pattern of conciliation effective in British Columbia from 1947 to 1968. Its general function is explained in a summarization of published criticisms of the process. A particular bargaining relationship -- that of the coast forest industry negotiations -- is examined on a historical and institutional basis to discover specific characteristics which would influence behavior under a conciliation process. Using this predicted pattern of interaction, a model of party behavior is constructed for the parties involved in actual negotiations. This is tested against a summarized chronology of the actual bargaining that occurred from 1947 to 1968. The model reveals the important sections within a system of compulsory conciliation which influence the behavior of the parties during negotiations. It also emphasizes the importance of the apparent fairness of the recommendation stage of conciliation and its value to the union as a tactical "watershed" for continued bargaining. The development of the dynamic process of party interaction in the coast forest industry emphasizes the importance of union internal or intra-organizational difficulties. It suggests the existence of a limit to the effectiveness of any bargaining system which does not control the desires of the union rank and file. With the dynamic process in mind, the analysis examines some of the influences that changing the statutory process would have upon the behavior of the parties. On this basis the actual significance or effectiveness of some past changes is analyzed and new changes are proposed. Too, the basic limits inherent in the compulsory conciliation system as a control over party behavior are emphasized. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Decertification is a legal term implying the dissolution of a unit of unionized employees. Just as a certification legally establishes a unionized unit of employees, a decertification eradicates the legal collective rights of the unit. This thesis examines the issue of decertification and why decertification occurs. The data is based on 43 cases of decertification in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. All the research was done by personal interviews. For each case of decertification, employers, union officials and neutral parties were asked to comment. The data was used to reconstruct the events within each case and isolate the characteristics of those involved. Most decertifications involved unskilled workers employed by small companies. The companies experience average turnover and are mostly in the manufacturing and service industries of the B.C. economy. The unions which experienced decertification are very large for B.C. and represent many small units. The unions are mostly industrial or miscellaneous locals. The employers' desire to break the certification and the unions' response to the employers' influence are the key features of decertification. The employers used a large array of tactics to break the union. At times the tactics were very subtle, such as employer comments and in other cases, the employer dismissed employees for their union activity. Because the units were very small, the union local assigned them a low priority to union resources. In many cases the union did not resist the employers' influence and a decertification resulted. In some cases, the union spent a great deal of resources to preserve the unit but employer influence in conjunction with turnover of staff resulted in the decertification. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Frequent and prolonged labour strike actions in the South African mining industry are widely acknowledged. These strikes continue to negatively impact on the socio-economic factors in the South African society and particularly the businesses. Studies have been conducted on the bargaining processes to ascertain proper engagement process to follow during conflict resolutions. However, the shortfall in these studies has been identification of appropriate models that reduces or totally eliminate the re-occurrence of frequent labour strikes. Understanding how the bargaining process, prior and during the bargaining process, can curb these labour strikes is therefore critical. Data from different bargaining experts were collated and analysed through a Delphi research tool. Results indicated that several steps need to be taken into accountant before and during the bargaining process. Such steps include continuous communication between stakeholders and the bargaining process’s leadership. While labour strikes are as a result of impasses, which inform strike actions, encountered during negotiations, results show that before impasses are encountered it is imperative to manage the bargaining processes prior the formal engagements. It was also established that the choice of the bargaining process i.e. choosing between centralization of decentralization of the bargaining process may not necessarily curb the frequency of strikes. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The success of the South African automotive production industry relies on the industry support programs from the Government. The industry’s seven Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of passenger vehicles are wholly owned by respective Multinational Companies (MNCs) and they, together with the Components suppliers, engage with the Department of Trade and Industry, as Host Country (HC), in the development of the automotive industry support programs. The research tested the Obsolescing Bargain Theory (Vernon, 1971) within the South African Automotive Industry context of three bargain cycles of the industry programmes, viz. 1989 Local Content Phase VI, the MIDP of 1995 and APDP introduced in 2013. The study explored the longitudinal interaction between automotive MNCs and the Host Country in terms of relative bargain power during the three bargain cycles. Using the qualitative single case study method, nine industry stakeholders were interviewed, and responses were triangulated with secondary data. The findings provided the following insights into the automotive industry’s bargain power relations between government and multinational companies: The relative bargain power shifted towards MNCs due to the locational disadvantage of the HC, FDI spill-over effects on components suppliers, employment and technology, as well as due to investments driven by short product cycles. Further insights emerged in terms of the collaborative nature of MNC-HC relations during the three bargain cycles due to industry significance. This research was of value in extending research on the obsolescing bargain theory, particularly in the manufacturing industry. It was also of value to the future of bargain relations between the automotive and manufacturing industries with the government, in general. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into the perspectives of experienced higher education administrators regarding faculty unionization, the collective bargaining process, and the interpersonal relationships between higher education faculty members and administrators. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured face to face interviews with nine administrators from two community colleges and two universities in the south Florida area. All of the study participants worked with unionized faculty members and had direct experience participating in bargaining negotiations. Upon the completion of each interview, the researcher listened to the taped audio recording of the interview several times and then transcribed all of the information from the audiotape into a Word file. Data collection and analysis for each participant were performed concurrently. Using a modified concept mapping approach, the research questions were written on large yellow sticky notes and placed in the middle of a wall in the researcher’s home with nine descriptive categorical themes written on smaller sticky notes placed around the study questions. The highlighted quotes and key phrases were cut from each transcript and placed under each of the descriptive categories. Over the course of a few months repeatedly reviewing the research questions that guided this study, the theory of symbolic interactionism, and relevant literature the categorical descriptive themes were refined and condensed into five descriptive themes. Study findings indicated that the administrators: (a) must have a clear understanding of what it is that the faculty does to be an effective representative at the bargaining table, (b) experienced role ambiguity and role strain related to a lack of understanding as to their role at the bargaining table and a lack of organizational support, (c) were not offered any type of training in preparation for bargaining, (d) perceived a definite “us versus them” mentality between faculty and administration, and (e) saw faculty collective bargaining at public institutions of higher education in Florida as ineffectual.