1.a.

Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and a group of employees aimed at
reaching agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly
presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective
agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and
safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. [1]
The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders)
or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide
agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or contract
between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process
of negotiation between representatives of a unionand employers (generally represented by management,
in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands by an employers' organization) in respect
of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working
conditions, grievance-procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties
often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as acollective
employment agreement (CEA).
Benefits of Empowerment
That employee empowerment benefits the organizations which implement it effectively is widely
noted in the literature. The popular press accepts the belief of benefit almost without question. Thomas
Petzinger, in his column "The Front Lines" in the Wall Street Journal, is a big advocate for
empowerment. He writes, "As a society we know the best way to organize people is freeing them to
organize themselves. Why should it be any different in business?" (Petzinger, 1997a, p. B1). Also in the
Wall Street Journal, Aeppel asks the rhetorical question, " What better way to tap into workers' brains as
well as their brawn than to encourage them to think on the job, to bring to it a greater sense of
professionalism and self-motivation and to feel committed to the company's success?" (Aeppel, 1997, p.
1). Freeman (1998) writing in Inc. about applying Marine Corps values in the growing corporate
workplace advocates a form of empowerment where training is key and, within clear missions, risk-taking
is rewarded.
The Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern Californiato determine the degree
to which firms are adopting practices that redistribute power, information, knowledge, and rewards, and
the effects. . . . The datasuggest that empowerment may have a positive impact on a number of
performance indicators. Respondents report that empowerment improves worker satisfaction and quality
of work life. Quality, service, and productivity are reportedly improved as a result of employee
involvement efforts in about two-thirds of the companies. Approximately one-half of the companies also
report that profitability and competitiveness have improved; this is supported by the finding of a
relationship between empowerment and the firms' financial performance. (Bowen & Lawler, 1995, p. 75)