Improved Metrics for Workplace Dispute Resolution Procedures: Efficiency,Equity, and Voice

Many debates surround systems for resolving workplace disputes. In the United States, traditional unionized grievance procedures, emerging nonunion dispute resolution systems, and the court‐based system for resolving employment law disputes have all been criticized. What is missing from these debates are rich metrics beyond speed and satisfaction for comparing and evaluating dispute resolution systems. In this paper, we develop efficiency, equity, and voice as these standards. Unionized, nonunion, and employment law procedures are then qualitatively evaluated against these three metrics.     

Do Public-Sector Strike Bans Really Prevent Conflict?

This article examines the effectiveness of strike-ban laws in reducing industrial conflict at the municipal level of government. Our central findings are that job actions were higher in states that had no law or no finality in the law, publicity campaigns were used as a pressure tactic in the bargaining process, and grievance delays were greatest under final offer arbitration. Thus dispute costs are highest in jurisdictions that provide no finality in dispute resolution whether or not an explicit framework for bargaining exists.     

Accompaniment,Workplace Representation and Disciplinary Outcomes in British Workplaces — Just a Formality?

The Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 provides data that, for the first time, measure the extent to which workforce representation is part and parcel of grievance and disciplinary processes in British workplaces. This article explores the impact of the introduction of the statutory right to accompaniment at grievance and disciplinary hearings on rates of disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and employment tribunal applications. It concludes that there is little evidence to suggest that either the right to accompaniment or the operation of formal grievance and disciplinary procedures moderates disciplinary outcomes. Instead, it argues that trade union and employee representatives may be influential in facilitating the resolution of workplace disputes.     

Just Tell Me! Making Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems Fair

This study investigates fairness perceptions of alternative dispute systems utilizing a policy capturing design and a sample of four hundred and fifty non‐union, non‐management employees from seven organizations. The communication surrounding the decision, the level of employee input, and the composition of the grievance panel had larger effects on overall fairness perceptions than did outcome. Unfavorable outcomes that were reached by fair processes generate higher distributive justice ratings than favorable outcomes reached by unfair processes.     

The Impact of Human Resource Policies on Union Organizing

Using newly available data from the Conference Board on employer human resource policies, certification election outcomes, and union organization of new company facilities, we find that the logic of "union substitution" efforts by employers is supported: Companies having or encouraging employee communication and participation programs, including nonunion grievance procedures, are more successful in maintaining nonunion status than are companies without such programs. However, certain human resource policies, such as work sharing (as an alternative to layoffs), may actually enhance chances of union success.     

Shop Stewards' Satisfaction with Grievance Procedures

A model of shop stewards' satisfaction with grievance procedures, focusing on procedure characteristics and procedure outcomes is estimated for 831 shop stewards. The results indicate that stewards are more satisfied with procedures that permit oral presentation of grievances at the first step and include screening by grievance committees or other union officials. Stewards' satisfaction is negatively related to grievance filing rates and the size of the stewards' work groups, but is positively related to the proportion of grievances resolved at year end and the unions' success rate. The implications for designing more effective grievance procedures are discussed.     

Behavioral Outcomes of Grievance Activity

Using individual employee data from four unionized organizations over two 3-year periods, this study analyzes the effects of grievance filing and settlement activity on post-grievance settlement outcomes. The results show that performance ratings, work attendance rates, and promotion rates declined and turnover rates increased for grievance filers compared with nonfilers following grievance settlement, in contrast to the absence of significant differences between the two employee groups on any of these measures before or during grievance filing and settlement. Similar findings emerged for the supervisors of grievance filers relative to the supervisors of nonfilers. The evidence suggests that employers exercise retribution against grievance filers and their supervisors, although a "true performance" explanation of these findings cannot be ruled out.     

Informal Employment Dispute Resolution among Low‐Wage Non‐Union Workers: Does Managerially Initiated Workplace Voice Enhance Equity and Efficiency?

The decline of collective industrial relations has shifted the focus of industrial relations research to the study of individual employment disputes. In this article, we investigate whether employer‐initiated workplace voice is associated with improved resolution of individual complaints or grievances workers make against employers. We find that our measure of workplace voice is associated with less serious problems, more informal methods of dispute resolution, more satisfactory outcomes for workers and lower quit rates. However, these findings need to be set against generally low rates of satisfactory dispute resolution for all employees in our sample.     

Decision‐Making about Workplace Disputes: A Policy‐Capturing Study of Employment Arbitrators,Labor Arbitrators,and Jurors

Firms are increasingly turning to the controversial practice of employment arbitration to resolve workplace disputes. Yet little is know about how decisions are made by employment arbitrators or how their decisions compare to those made in traditional dispute‐resolution forums. This study uses a policy‐capturing design and hierarchical linear modeling to compare how decisions about termination cases are made by employment arbitrators, labor arbitrators, and jurors. The results indicate significant differences in the overall willingness to uphold termination, with labor arbitrators being the most likely to rule in favor of the employee, followed by jurors, employment arbitrators judging statutory and for‐cause claims, and employment arbitrators judging statutory‐only claims. Significant differences were also observed between categories of decision makers in the weight given to procedural compliance, evidence of discrimination, employee work history, and stress‐inducing personal circumstances.     

Decision Making in Employment and Labor Arbitration

This experimental study examined the labor and employment arbitration decisions of four groups of arbitrators: (1) employment arbitrators who resolve disputes involving nonunion employees, (2) labor arbitrators who arbitrate cases in which an employee is represented by a union, (3) arbitrators in the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA), and (4) students as a comparison of nonarbitrator decision makers with experienced arbitrators. A 2 ×2 ×4 factorial design was used, crossing arbitrator group with discipline standard and sex of the grievant. Results indicate that employment artibrators reinstate the grievant significantly less frequently than other arbitrators; however, the findings also reveal that all arbitrators make more favorable decisions under a just‐cause standard than under the newer META standard of discipline.     

Australian Labor Relations Through American Eyes

This article describes how Australia's conciliation and arbitration system emerged in the eighteen nineties and the key role it still plays in that county's labor relations. The respective roles of unions, management, and conciliation and arbitration are discussed, as are dispute resolution procedures at the national, industry-occupational, company, and plant levels. The functions of strikes and other forms of "industrial action" are examined.     

Shadow of the contract: how contract structure shapes interfirm dispute resolution

This paper investigates how contract structure influences interfirm dispute resolution processes and outcomes by examining a unique dataset consisting of over 150,000 pages of documents relating to 102 business disputes. We find that the level of contract detail affects the type of dispute resolution approach that is adopted when conflict arises, and that different approaches are associated with different costs for resolving the dispute. We also find that the effect of contract choice on dispute resolution approach is moderated by the degree of coordination required in the relationship, and that the effect of dispute approach on costs is moderated by the degree of power asymmetry between the parties. Thus, even after controlling for various attributes of the exchange relationship and the dispute, the choice of contracting structure has important strategic implications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tell me a story: The role of narrative transportation and the C-suite in B2B advertising

This research investigates stories about buyer-seller experiences in B2B advertising. In two studies, the authors explore the impact of stories and narrative transportation in advertising on decision makers’ attitudinal responses. In Study 1, findings from a Fortune 100 company’s buyer panel indicate that stories told using narrative advertising were positively related to the decision maker’s trust in the supplier, ability to form personal connections with the supplier and the tendency to advocate for the supplier. Moreover, the organizational status of the decision maker (C-suite versus non-C-suite executives) was examined. Results demonstrate that the effect of these relationships were stronger for C-level decision makers than non-C-level decision makers. In Study 2, depth interviews were conducted with C-level decision makers. Findings reinforce results from Study 1 and provide additional insight into C-level decision makers’ perspectives on stories and narrative transportation. Implications for how stories about buyer-seller relationships can benefit organizational decision making are discussed.     

The Role and Impact of Trade Union Equality Representatives in Britain

Drawing on data from the first national survey of trade union equality representatives, this article assesses the role and impact of equality representatives in Britain. While the majority of equality representatives report having had a positive impact on employer equality practice, the analysis also suggests that equality representative effectiveness might be enhanced via the introduction of statutory rights to time off. In addition, it points to the need for unions to include equality on the bargaining agenda, attract new representatives to the role, and ensure that equality representatives have the confidence and skills to represent members effectively within grievance procedures. It also suggests an important role for the government in encouraging employers to engage in meaningful dialogue with equality representatives.     

Hitting the Bricks: An International Comparative Study of Conflict on the Waterfront

Although many longshoremen have a deserved reputation for militancy, the waterfront has been remarkably peaceful in some countries. The propensity of longshoremen to strike is explored in an historical and international comparative context, looking beyond industry-level variables to determine the nature and causes of industrial action. The incidence of strikes on the waterfront depended ultimately on the propriety of labor regulation, most notably the operation of different "dock labor schemes" in combination with union leadership, management policy, and the efficacy of dispute resolution procedures.     

Confounding changes in averages with marginal effects: How anchoring can destroy economic value in strategic investment assessments

Profit maximization requires that decision makers assess marginal profits. We demonstrate that decision makers often confound marginal profits with changes in average profits (e.g., changes in return‐on‐investment). This results in systematic deviations from profit maximization where decision makers forgo profit‐enhancing investments that reduce average profits or engage in loss‐enhancing investments that decrease average losses. In other words, average profit becomes an anchor by which new investments are assessed. We conduct two decision‐making experiments that show this bias and demonstrate it is pronounced when average profit data are accessible or task‐relevant. Moreover, we find within‐subject effects across experiments, which helps demonstrate the mechanism that invokes the bias. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Do Organizational Environments and Mandatory Arbitration Shape Employment Attorney Case Selection? Evidence from an Experimental Vignette

Using a novel experimental vignette design, this study shows how firm adoption of equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies, internal dispute resolution procedures, occupational segregation, and use of mandatory arbitration agreements affect employment attorney perceptions of employment discrimination claims. Findings reveal the organizational environment of a claim can signal compliance with antidiscrimination law and the use of mandatory arbitration reduces the expected value of a claim and willingness to accept it for representation. These findings contribute to the understanding of antidiscrimination law as a social system by showing organizational environments and mandatory arbitration clauses predict attorney case assessment.     

Economic and Political Factors in Formal Grievance Resolution

The resolution of formal grievances is largely determined by the applicable rights of grievant and the facts surrounding disputes. However, to the extent these rights and/or facts are unclear, the granting or denial of grievances is also partially determined by economic and political factors. A model of the impact of such factors on the favor ability of grievance decisions is developed and tested. The tests yield support for the general thesis and for several specific hypotheses.     

Firms and Innovative Conflict Management Systems in Ireland

This article examines the practices adopted by firms in the Republic of Ireland to manage conflict involving groups of employees, focusing in particular on the uptake of ‘alternative dispute resolution practices’. The article reveals that conflict management practices take the form of ‘systems’, and it estimates the incidence of innovative conflict management systems, incorporating alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices, as involving about 30 per cent of firms. A series of influences are shown to be associated with innovative, ADR‐based conflict management systems, especially commitment‐oriented HRM practices and whether unions are recognized.