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This thesis centres on studying intricate bargaining relationships between the major actors in the highly politicised oil industry. By covering the period between 1998 and early 2007, this study focuses exclusively on contemporary bargaining in the oil industry, as it is unfeasible to cover a longer time-span. In the current decade, which unlike previous two cooperative decades, can be characterised as conflictual, and thus politicised, the structure of the oil industry can best be understood by studying bargaining between numerous actors, the main of which are the international oil companies (IOCs), oil-exporting states, oil-importing states, and the national oil companies (NOCs). The central argument is that due to their weak relative bargaining power, the IOCs have been on the losing side in their bargaining with oil exporting countries and/or their NOCs in the current decade when compared to the late 1990s, and thus, we are witnessing the return of the obsolescing bargain.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether selected participants in collective bargaining between Indiana school boards and exclusive representative teacher organizations agree on selected elements as facilitators for reaching agreement.A list of 21 elements was identified through the cooperation of the Director of Mediation and Conciliation and six mediators of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. The 21 elements were included in a survey instrument with instructions asking that each element be rated on a five point Likert-type scale ranging from Critical Importance to No Importance.The survey instrument was sent to teacher and board team representatives in 72 Indiana reorganized school corporations. Half of the selected school corporations had not experienced impasse during the two-year period of time immediately preceding the study, and half ofthe selected school corporations had experienced impasse two or more times during the same time period.A two-way analysis of variance was used to test three null hypotheses for each of the 21 elements. The hypotheses were tested to determine if significant differences existed in responses by (1) team position, teacher or board, (2) impasse experience, multiple impasse or impasse absence school corporation, and (3) interaction of team position with impasse experience.Findings of the study support the following conclusions concerning impasse absence and multiple impasse reorganized school corporations in Indiana:1. Teacher and board representatives share common views concerning the importance of selected elements. A list of 13 such elements was identified.2. Negotiation participants in impasse absence and multiple impasse school corporations share common views concerning the importance of selected elements. A list of 15 such elements was identified.3. The relationship of perceptions of teacher and board representatives from impasse absence school corporations do not differ from the relationship of perceptions of teacher and board representatives from multiple impasse school corporations on selected elements. A list of 19 such elements was identified.Nine elements having no team position, impasse experience, or interaction differences were identified. All respondent groups attached at least Moderate Importance to 20 of the 21 elements, with one group of teacher representatives rating one element between Little Importance and Moderate Importance.Application of the findings were extended for observations beyond the scope of the original research. The following represent a few such observations:Collective bargaining participants in some school corporations could improve the local collective bargaining climate by recognizing the importance of elements identified in the study. Elements perceived differently by respective groups and elements of common agreement can identify areas for consideration.Elements viewed as important by participants regardless of team position or impasse experience should be carefully examined at the school corporation level. An attempt should be made to utilize the elements, where applicable, to expedite the completion of a satisfactory agreement.Differences in perception associated with impasse experience may identify areas of critical importance to the peaceful resolution of negotiations. Six such areas were identified in the study.Differences in perception between teacher and board representatives should be recognized and considered to facilitate agreement. Eight such perception differences were identified in the study.

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the factors and conditions which have contributed to harmonious and cooperative negotiations leading to a mutually acceptable agreement as perceived by school board negotiators, teacher organization negotiators and superintendents in selected Indiana school corporations. Study participants included thirty school superintendents, nine school board negotiators that were not superintendents and thirty teacher organization representatives.An interview guide was developed through information secured from an examination of factors and conditions leading to mutually acceptable agreements found in the literature and research dealing with collective bargaining in the educational setting. A separate survey response instrument, entitled Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations, was developed for use by study participants. Data from interviews and surveys were organized and analyzed by comparing and contrasting responses of participants with the opinions expressed by authorities in the public and private sectors.The null hypothesis to be dealt with in the analysis of the Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations stated that there was to be no statistically significant difference in the mean value of responses of school board negotiators and of teacher negotiators relative to each of the eleven components.Statistical treatment of the survey data presented the means and standard deviation and the results of a T-test for each of the eleven Components of Harmonious and Cooperative Negotiations. Each of the eleven questions was analyzed by sequential use of the T-statistic for comparing means of two independent groups. A two-tailed approach was used. For each of the eleven components, the null hypothesis was tested. Means and standard deviations for school board and teacher negotiator responses revealed the differences in mean score responses of the two groups of negotiators. The commonly-used .05 level of confidence was arbitrarily chosen as the level of statistical significance.Based on a review of literature and related research, the study, interviews with public school education, and personal experiences related to the study, the following conclusions were drawn:1. An atmosphere and genuine spirit of cooperation is a highly desirable factor in the establishment and maintenance of harmonious and cooperative negotiations.2. Trust is a key factor in securing and maintaining harmonious and cooperative negotiations.3. Increased delegation and responsibility for negotiations from rank and file teachers to negotiating teams has become commonplace.4. The maturity of the collective bargaining relationship and the overall quality of day to day relationships between administrators and teachers will greatly influence the amount and quality of teacher input in the decision making process of the school corporation.5. The composition of the bargaining team reflects the overall attitudes and posture toward bargaining of the school board, administration, and teachers.6. Bargaining teams must be allowed sufficient authority to make tentative decisions for respective constituencies.7. Power is a necessary entity in collective bargaining.8. Ground rules, as a factor in conducting harmonious and cooperative negotiations, diminish in light of good faith bargaining and gentlemanly agreements relative to procedures for negotiations.9. Communication between teachers and the school administration is an essential factor in the final outcome of negotiations.10. Carefully reading, interpreting and observing the intent of the contract 'Language results are factors of day to day administration of the contract resulting in more harmonious and cooperative negotiations.11. Indiana Public Law 217 contains the necessary ingredients for negotiations to be conducted without revision at this time.12. Negotiations proceed best when rigid proceduresand strict protocol are held to a minimum.13. Negotiations between the school administration and teachers are conducted more harmoniously and cooperatively and with less pressure when the direct participation of the Indiana State Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association is minimized.14. A realistic view of harmonious and cooperative relations between the school administration and teachers calls for earned respect, honesty, integrity and an obvious concern by each side for the other. There is absolutely no substitute for high level professional and ethical relations in all matters between the school administration and teachers.

In this paper, we will construct a quantity-setting mixed duopoly market model, in which a individual enterprise and a privatization public enterprise. Two enterprises carry out Cournot competition, in order to analyse the economic result of privatization. The traditional economic theory is supposed, the individual enterprise pursues the maximization of profits, and the public enterprise pursues the social welfare maximization. This text introduces the trade union in the model, consider how many shares the government should hold the privatization public enterprise. If the privatization policy needs to pass the negotiation of trade union, we can make use of union-firm bargaining to analyse this problem. We find no matter complete privatization(government does not hold any shares) or the complete nationalization is not all the optimal market structure under privatization. In the past literatures, privatization perhaps can not improve the social welfare. We discover the result that if the strength of trade union change from strong to weak under the privatization policy, then the social welfare may be improved.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-Proefschrift Rotterdam, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

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In North America, automobile prices are largely determined through negotiation. Recognizing that some consumers have a strong aversion to negotiation, some manufacturers and dealers are now offering consumers the option of buying cars at a “no-haggle”, or fixed price. This dissertation consists of three essays which address how a fixed price alternative impacts both consumer behavior and firm strategies. The first essay explores the conditions under which a dealer would simultaneously offer a “no-haggle” Internet price and a negotiable price on the lot (which we term a dual-channel), and studies the marketing strategies adopted under this structure. We use consumer haggling cost as a key to understanding a dealer’s choice of pricing strategy. We find that a dual-channel is optimal for the dealer when there is sufficient diversity in consumer haggling cost. We also find that it is optimal for a dealer to specify a higher-than-cost “minimum acceptable price” to the salesperson as a price floor for negotiations. Surprisingly, a dual-channel may serve fewer customers while still being more profitable than a single channel structure. The second essay examines the competitive implications of a no-haggle pricing policy. By using Toyota’s fixed pricing policy in Canada as a natural experiment, we explore the impact of such a strategy on the prices and sales of Toyota and that of its close competitor, Honda. We find that the program has had important competitive consequences. While prices of both Toyota and Honda were higher in provinces with the program, there was an increase in Honda’s sales but with no effect on the sales of Toyota. The third essay determines the impact of a consumer’s bargaining behavior and information she collects on the final price paid. Using an extensive dataset, we find that a consumer’s negotiation skill and attitude toward negotiating significantly influences the negotiation outcome. In particular, consumers that enjoy negotiating have a greater propensity to search for price information which then allows them to obtain a better deal. In addition, we find that, while Internet users pay a lower price, the savings depend on the type of information collected by the buyer.