Skills simulation exercise:
Bargaining in connection with
safety issues
Role-playing
Sub-groups may be formed to observe and analyse specific areas of behaviour
(for example, non-verbal communication, copying, leadership dynamics, etc.).
Phase 1 - The two parties discuss the issue separately to establish the line each will take in the negotiations;
Phase 2 - The two parties meet in the "aquarium" and listen to one another?s demands and counter-demands; they exchange opinions; on the basis of their mandate, they must not bring the negotiations to a settlement in this phase;
Phase 3 - The two parties discuss the issue separately to decide on the line to adopt in the final phase of the bargaining process;
Phase 4 - The parties meet in the "aquarium" to reach an agreement.
Subsequent discussion and reflection on the exercise could consist,
for example, of the following phases:
- The groups of observers and the pairs who interacted in the aquarium meet in a group/in pairs to reply to a questionnaire prepared by the teacher (with questions differing according to the observation objective);
- the viewpoints of the groups/pairs are expounded in a plenary session;
- the teacher draws conclusions by relating the issues highlighted to the instructional objectives of the exercise.
Notes for the teacher:
Sufficient time must be spent providing the participants with explanations about the phases of the exercise and the tasks of observers.
About 1hr 30' is needed to complete the exercise. The subsequent reflection/discussion phase can be made shorter by cutting out the work group phase, i.e. by going straight on to a plenary discussion among the individual observers.
It is advisable to listen first to the individuals directly involved in the role-playing since their level of awareness about what happened is usually lower.
Skills simulation exercise:
Bargaining in connection with
safety issues
Role: Representing the
company
You are the manager of a plant where cast-iron pipes are made.
This is a very busy period for the plant since several big orders from important customers have to be processed within the next three months, and this requires a considerable effort on the part of the production team.
To meet the exceptionally high output needed, 10 new blue-collars, youngsters with no previous work experience, are to be taken on next week.
The union representative responsible for safety issues has asked for a meeting to press for the organization of short training courses for new hires, to ensure they work in safe conditions.
You know that for at least one month (on account of the heavy production schedule) no time can be found for the courses.
You have to find a solution since the union representative is threatening to take legal action if the courses are not organized.
Skills simulation exercise:
Bargaining in connection with
safety issues
Role: Representing the
unions
You are the union representative with responsibility for safety issues in a plant where cast-iron pipes are made.
In a few days' time 10 young blue-collars with no previous work experience are to be hired, and the plant manager has as yet said nothing about organizing training, to be sure they work in safe conditions.
You have asked for a meeting in which you intend to press for the organization of training courses: the accident rate in the plant is, in your opinion, high, partly due to the extremely high level of productivity at the present time (people are working as many as 10-11 hours a day).
You are prepared to take legal action if the company fails to comply with legislative provisions on the training of new hires.
There is a lot of discontent among the workers and, as the union representative responsible for safety issues, it is essential you find - with the plant manager - a solution that meets the demands of both production and workforce.
You obviously think the courses should be held straightaway, as soon as the youngsters are hired.
