No doubt, Sally Klingel’s article, “Interest-Based Bargaining in Education,” is much lengthier than Chapter 9 from Robert H. Palestini’s book, “Educational Administration: Leading with Mind and Heart.” Even though Klingel’s article is inclined towards collective bargaining and negotiations in an educational setting, however, like Palestini, she too has placed underlying emphasis on the value of the exertion of power within an educational organization. As Palestini suggests that the use of power behavior in educational organizations can not only improve the performance of the organization but the performance of the individuals within them as well. Klingel adds to the value of exerting power in educational organizations by stating that, “[t]he effect of the [] environment [in an educational organization may be mediated [] by the level of [] power in any particular situation” (Klingel 8).
Palestini’s assertion that, “[d]ifferent individuals and groups within and outside the [e]ducational organization can exert power” (Palestini) also coincides with Klingel’s claim that a “differential power [exists] between labor and management” (Klingel 14) in an educational organization. While Palestini agrees that the exertion of power is agreeable in educational organizations, he also adds that this power is abused as well. Even Klingel agrees that those in a position of authority and power in an educational organization may ‘hesitate to use power or leverage, even when it is the most effective way to [] reach a negotiated outcome on a highly conflictual issue” (Klingel 15). Moreover, as Palestini states that the amount power held by the management of an educational organization depends on how dependent they are on the labor. Both Palestini and Klingel seem to suggest that bargaining and negotiations are vital for a workable labor management relationship in an educational organization.
Palestini quite explicitly explains the context of negotiation and bargaining within an educational setting. He even lists the steps of effective negotiation. Palestini agrees that negotiations in distributive bargaining can lead to agreements, but seems to emphasize on the importance of collaborative bargaining because it increases the chances of reaching a win-win conclusion for both the management and labor. Similarly, Klingel also hints that collaborative bargaining through negotiations is more ideal and that it is better “to build a collaborative relationship before negotiations to enable [both parties] to work together” (Klingel 69). From these mentioned coinciding perspectives and views of both authors, it can be concluded that administration, as well as the staff and labor hold a varying degree of power because they are mutually dependent on each other, and bargaining through negotiations is the key to maintaining a workable relationship.
References
Klingel, S. (2003). Interest-based bargaining in education.Cornell University, Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=reports
Palestini, R. (2011). Educational administration: Leading with mind and heart. (3rd ed.). Estover Road, Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
