Mutual gains bargaining
Encyclopedia
Mutual Gains Bargaining (MGB) is an approach to collective bargaining
intended to reach win-win outcomes for the negotiating parties.
Instead of the traditional adversarial (i.e., "win/lose") approach (also known as "positional bargaining"), the mutual gains approach is quite similar to Principled Negotiation (first described by Roger Fisher in his book Getting to YES
), where the goal is to reach a sustainable (i.e., lasting) agreement that both parties (or all parties in a multi-party negotiation) can live with and support.
Mutual gains bargaining has been used successfully in such areas as labor-management relations and environmental negotiations.
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
intended to reach win-win outcomes for the negotiating parties.
Instead of the traditional adversarial (i.e., "win/lose") approach (also known as "positional bargaining"), the mutual gains approach is quite similar to Principled Negotiation (first described by Roger Fisher in his book Getting to YES
Getting to YES
Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In is a best-selling 1981 non-fiction book by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury. Reissued in 1991 with additional authorship credit to Bruce Patton, the book made appearances for years on Business Weeks "Best Seller" list...
), where the goal is to reach a sustainable (i.e., lasting) agreement that both parties (or all parties in a multi-party negotiation) can live with and support.
Mutual gains bargaining has been used successfully in such areas as labor-management relations and environmental negotiations.
Some principles of MGB
- Both sides have legitimate interests to be recognized and advanced
- Approach the issues as problems to be solved
- Listening builds trust
- Enlarge the pie
- Seek sustainable alternatives
See also
- Conflict resolution researchConflict resolution researchConflict resolution is any reduction in the severity of a conflict. It may involve conflict management, in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics; settlement, in which they reach agreement on enough issues that the conflict stops; or removal of the underlying causes...
- Lawrence SusskindLawrence SusskindLawrence E. Susskind is a teacher, trainer, mediator, and urban planner. He is one of the founders of the field of public dispute mediation. He has mediated fifty complex disputes in the United States and in other parts of the world...
- Negotiation Training