The theme being discussed is a very relevant theme in wake of the recent recessionary phase of the world economy. The answer to the first question is invariably situational in many of the previous posts.
Do you think the individual is always at the receiving end and the "bargaining power" is always shifted in favor of employer?
Well I believe that in most cases it depends on the contractual clauses in the job offer letters, the amount of time you have spent in an organization and the kind of expertise you have in that field. Based on this if you look at the IT industry today, people in the lower level of jobs can be fired easily based on poor performance which is a rampant practice. Most people in India will not file a suit in such cases, also the employers have safeguarding measuers in their contracts to handle such situations. On the other hand, if you are a critical resource for the company and you posses a rare expertise then I believe yes, you can have a say in the bargaining process. In fact, your employer will be more than keen on retaining you. To cite a case with my previous employer, one person in my team was an architectural expert in setting up new technical designs for contact centers using certain softwares. He was being offered 80% hike in some other companies. The person used this to bargain with the employer and was successful in getting a turnkey project in UK with a promotion and long term onsite opportunity.
In the case of Darrell Hair, he was a member of the elite list of umpires for ICC and also was in a favourable position to win the lawsuit he filed against ICC. This made ICC's position precarious and which is why he was able to negoitate this one time payoff with them.
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?
The bargaining power as I already mentioned can be twisted towards any one - the employee or the employer. Mr. Darrell Hair could use such a tool because he could successfully argue his case against ICC (when he sued them) and was touted to be successfully winning it. ICC on the other hand was under pressure from some countries to retain Mr. Hair while most of the Asian countries wanted him penalized. Besides he was an elite umpire and had a huge experience of umpiring in his kitty. He also said however, that he wanted to retire after that controversial test between Pakistan and England, but I believe to retire in such a manner did hurt him which is why he would probably have fought this case. Being on the field and umpiring in a high tension match requires a lot of experience and skills which Mr. Hair had and this was recognized by ICC. This shows that the bargaining power can also shift in the favour of the employee. However, today it is not difficult to find talent in the market and poaching is very rampant. Employees invariably look for jobs elsewhere (offering better pay) and it has almost become a norm. They then use these offers to negotiate better remunerations with present employers. In such circumstances, it becomes important for the management to decide the real value of such an employee to the firm and the loss which they would have to bear if he moves. In case of confidential projects they might as well make him sign a non disclosure agreement and force him to sign a bond to work till the project gets completed. Hence, it really depends on the economic conditions, employee's value to the organization and its processes, the nature of the job he was in and the available talent pool in the market which largely decided on the shift of power in a bargaining process.
In future if I acquire such kind of skills and think that my presence is imperative to the company (which is very unlikely) then yes, I might use it in the process of bargaining. Before joining XIMB when I broke the news to my manager he immediately offered my an onsite opportunity within a month and also laid out a detailed growth plan for next two years before me. I wondered where was he when I didn't had an offer from XIMB!!
If you were to receive a similar one time non-negotiable offer from your employee, how would you handle this issue?
This part is real tricky. When you recieve such kind of a letter from one of your employees then you have to objectively look at all the factors which would change if he leaves. Most importantly what would be the damange to the company's image if he is a high profile public figure and despite best efforts his ousting cannot be kept under wraps. If this is combined with his superior expertise and knowledge of the company affairs then it is in the best interest of the company to keep him and be willing to negotiate further. On the other hand, if he is an employee in the entry levels of the company or not so important figure, and your HR deptt can fix the void in no time, then you can let go of him. It also depends on the criticality and confidentiality of the project which the employee was a part of and whether or not any contractual elements are being breached by you. If not, you can happily let him go.
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