1. Do you think the individual is always at the receiving end and the "bargaining power" is always shifted in favor of employer?
Not always. Individuals in an organization often use various means to achieve what they desire and can have the stronger hand in bargaining with the organization they work for.
2. Based on the email, what are your observations on "bargaining power" in the context of individual - organizational relationship? Would you be able to make similar non-negotiable offer to your employer in any point of time in your career?
Darrell Hair could make use of the bargaining power because he felt he was indispensable to the game of cricket because of his superior umpiring skills (though with fair share of controversies) and it was in ICC's best interests to retain him (might not be only because of his skills on the field but also the audience he might be managing to gather because of his association with endless controversies, a unique attribute not to be seen with other umpires in world cricket). Also the backing of a few countries in Darrell Hair's favor might have given him the courage to come out with this non negotiable offer. However, there could have very well been a mismatch in what Darrell Hair perceived his value was for ICC and what ICC perceived his value was. In the latter case we get into the legal side of affairs (employee retrenchment before the end of contract) which I am refraining from touching upon now.
The amount of bargaining power is directly related to the value an (individual) employee has for the organization making use of his services. If the skill set possessed by an employee is very rare to find in the market, the value of the employee goes up. Same is the case if an employee does a phenomenal job at his position and does it in a manner which might not be done by others even after having the same technical skill set, for e.g team leadership skills, communication skills. Greater this value, greater is the bargaining power. Having worked in the IT industry for sometime, I was able to witness first hand this bargaining power put to use by employees who weighed heavier in this value scale. Most common tactic is to offer the resignation letter if the demands of the employee are not met, using offers from other companies (same or different sector) to showcase the individual's demand in the market. This more or less always pays dividend in cases where the demands are not completely out of scope of the organization. Demands like a pay hike, on site opportunities, change of project fall under this category. Other is to offer resignation immediately after receiving a very highly valued and expensive domain knowledge, technical or processes related training from the organization. Employees also try to make use of information asymmetry to their advantage. Not sharing valuable information with others keeps the organization's dependency over the employee intact.
From a personal perspective, my employer was at the receiving end when I announced I had gotten through XIMB and had decided to join it. My line manager immediately gave me an incentive of expediting my on-site job opportunities if I was willing to let go of my decision. Even though i decided to go in with my decision, I certainly had the upper hand in this bargaining duel .
3. If you were to receive a similar one time non-negotiable offer from your employee, how would you handle this issue?
It all depends on how reasonable and deserving the demands of the employee are. If its unrealistic and undeserved, I would reject the offer. If I have enough reasons to substantiate my move, I will be able to hold my ground even if the employee seeks a legal action. If the employee is deserving enough and there is no loss to the organization, I would accept the offer. If the employee is deserving but makes an unrealistic demand, I would try to see that the employee does not get his demands fulfilled easily, for e.g, laying down conditions that the onsite opportunity would be available post the successful completion of a training and then increasing the level of training. Doing it in a way which would not make the employee feel tricked or cheated is the key.
Not always. Individuals in an organization often use various means to achieve what they desire and can have the stronger hand in bargaining with the organization they work for.
2. Based on the email, what are your observations on "bargaining power" in the context of individual - organizational relationship? Would you be able to make similar non-negotiable offer to your employer in any point of time in your career?
Darrell Hair could make use of the bargaining power because he felt he was indispensable to the game of cricket because of his superior umpiring skills (though with fair share of controversies) and it was in ICC's best interests to retain him (might not be only because of his skills on the field but also the audience he might be managing to gather because of his association with endless controversies, a unique attribute not to be seen with other umpires in world cricket). Also the backing of a few countries in Darrell Hair's favor might have given him the courage to come out with this non negotiable offer. However, there could have very well been a mismatch in what Darrell Hair perceived his value was for ICC and what ICC perceived his value was. In the latter case we get into the legal side of affairs (employee retrenchment before the end of contract) which I am refraining from touching upon now.
The amount of bargaining power is directly related to the value an (individual) employee has for the organization making use of his services. If the skill set possessed by an employee is very rare to find in the market, the value of the employee goes up. Same is the case if an employee does a phenomenal job at his position and does it in a manner which might not be done by others even after having the same technical skill set, for e.g team leadership skills, communication skills. Greater this value, greater is the bargaining power. Having worked in the IT industry for sometime, I was able to witness first hand this bargaining power put to use by employees who weighed heavier in this value scale. Most common tactic is to offer the resignation letter if the demands of the employee are not met, using offers from other companies (same or different sector) to showcase the individual's demand in the market. This more or less always pays dividend in cases where the demands are not completely out of scope of the organization. Demands like a pay hike, on site opportunities, change of project fall under this category. Other is to offer resignation immediately after receiving a very highly valued and expensive domain knowledge, technical or processes related training from the organization. Employees also try to make use of information asymmetry to their advantage. Not sharing valuable information with others keeps the organization's dependency over the employee intact.
From a personal perspective, my employer was at the receiving end when I announced I had gotten through XIMB and had decided to join it. My line manager immediately gave me an incentive of expediting my on-site job opportunities if I was willing to let go of my decision. Even though i decided to go in with my decision, I certainly had the upper hand in this bargaining duel .
3. If you were to receive a similar one time non-negotiable offer from your employee, how would you handle this issue?
It all depends on how reasonable and deserving the demands of the employee are. If its unrealistic and undeserved, I would reject the offer. If I have enough reasons to substantiate my move, I will be able to hold my ground even if the employee seeks a legal action. If the employee is deserving enough and there is no loss to the organization, I would accept the offer. If the employee is deserving but makes an unrealistic demand, I would try to see that the employee does not get his demands fulfilled easily, for e.g, laying down conditions that the onsite opportunity would be available post the successful completion of a training and then increasing the level of training. Doing it in a way which would not make the employee feel tricked or cheated is the key.
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