Salespersons Behaviour Impacts on Customer Loyalty Tends Towards Store Profitability Essay Example

Salespersons Behaviour Impacts on Customer Loyalty Tends Towards Store Profitability Essay This study focuses on how a salespersons ethical and unethical sales behaviour can build or deplete both customer trust in the salesperson and in Business, which in turn influences customer loyalty towards store profitability. The main findings of this study show that the salespersons ethical sales behaviour does play a crucial role in winning customer loyalty through customer trust. Moreover, there exists a reciprocal relationship between customer trust in the salesperson and customer trust towards store profitability, with the latter having a stronger impact on the former than the other way around. Finally, customer trust in the store exerts more influence on customer loyalty than does customer trust in the salesperson, which has implications for store profitability. Key words: Sales Person, Customer Loyalty, Store Profitability INTRODUCTION THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SALES FUNCTION The sales function in profit-oriented organizations provides one of the largest opportunities for employment in the economy. The sales function, thus, is of great significance to both the national economy, and the millions of individuals who depend upon their performance as sales persons to earn their living. Further, effective sales programs are as essential to the success of individual profit-oriented organizations as they are to the economy and the individuals engaged in selling. We will write a custom essay sample on Salespersons Behaviour Impacts on Customer Loyalty Tends Towards Store Profitability specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Salespersons Behaviour Impacts on Customer Loyalty Tends Towards Store Profitability specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Salespersons Behaviour Impacts on Customer Loyalty Tends Towards Store Profitability specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The importance of the sales effort to both the general economy and to profit-oriented enterprises is well accepted. Further, it is obvious that the ability to conduct successful selling activities determines, to a great extent, the career success of individuals engaging in sales as a vocation. Nevertheless, a general knowledge of the elements which are essential for a successful sales call is not widely possessed by either sales persons or sales managers. The other characteristic imposes are: 1. They are persistent. Selling or running a usiness for a living requires a tremendous amount of persistence. Obstacles loom in front of us on a regular basis. But it’s what you do when faced with these barriers that will determine your level of success. I believe it was Brian Tracy who once said that a person will face the most challenging obstacle just before they achieve their goal. The most successful people in any industry have learned to face the obstacles that get in their way. Th ey look for new solutions. They are tenacious. They refuse to give up. 2. Successful sales people are avid goal setters. They know what they want to accomplish and they plan their approach. They make sure their goals are specific, motivational, achievable yet challenging, relevant to their personal situation, and time-framed. They visualize their target, determine how they will achieve their goal, and take action on a daily basis. 3. Great sales people ask quality questions. The best sales people ask their clients and prospect plenty of quality questions to fully determine their situation and buying needs. They know that the most effective way to present their product or service is to uncover their customers goals, objectives, concerns and hesitations. This allows them to effectively discuss the features and benefits of their product and service that most relate to each customer. [pic] Salesperson’s emotional intelligence Despite such contributions of emotional intelligence to an organization, there has been little research relating to the effects of emotional intelligence on service organization. Service organizations are settings that require interpersonal interaction. For salespersons frequently interacting with customers, in particular, emotional intelligence is an important emotional ability that can affect how to serve customers in a selling situation; however, there is insufficient research relating to this statement. The salespersons job is to interact with customers in a selling situation; the core of sales is how a salesperson serves customers. Service employees emotional intelligence can affect method of providing service to customers. Salesperson with high levels of emotional intelligence manages their interactions with customers in a more effective manner. Affective commitment toward other people is a necessary component of social interaction and argued that the showing of positive emotions is associated with a high likelihood of success at work (Nikolaou and Tsaousis, 2002; Rafaeli and Sutton, 1990). Abraham (1999), based on her own earlier observation that optimistic store salesperson would perform better than pessimistic salesperson, proposed that emotional intelligence is directly related to performance. In the process of interaction with customers, employees should show an interest in customers and grasp their needs. Effective interaction may be expressed as broad interpersonal competencies, for example: adaptive selling, positive displayed emotion. Adaptive selling and expression of positive emotion are service providers behavioral response by which intangibility of service is revealed in a tangible form. These are reflected in their observable physical behaviors and displays of initiative motivation, effort, appearance, and so on (Bardzil and Slaski, 2003). The Integrated ability afforded by high levels of emotional intelligence is interpreted as the antecedent variable of excellent service behaviors, and is thus central to the delivery of positive service at the level of the individual and the development of a climate for services at the level of the organization. After all, for relationship between service providers emotional intelligence and behavior, the higher emotional intelligence is more likely to result in effective customization, adaptive behavior, and expression of emotion required by an organization. So service providers emotional intelligence and behavior (adaptive selling behavior and expression of positive emotion) are closely correlated. Customer service quality perceptions Effect of adaptive-selling on customers service quality perceptions Since quality is strongly correlated with organizational performance, such as profitability, market share, or productivity, the role of quality is a very important factor in companies competitive advantage. The service quality is also becoming the core of long-term strategies of companies in that it is a source of vitality in building new customers, maintaining existing customers, and sustaining long-term profitability (Gr_nroos, 1984). Therefore, quality is now an important factor directly connected with corporate survival, rather than simply a factor of competitive advantage. Today it is difficult to differentiate products; the quality of service perceived by customers can also be a very important condition for store’s success. Since service provided by salespersons can be directly connected with companies survival, it is more important than ever to draw up a strategic plan to improve service quality. According to Humphrey and Ashforth (1994), salespersons who serve customers in the same way may have customers perceive service quality as low, since they can easily make a mistake and have difficulty in satisfying individual needs of customers. In other words, the more adaptive selling behaviors salespersons can do to meet customers needs, the higher the service quality perceived by customers. Therefore, salespersons adaptive selling behaviors can be strongly correlated with customers evaluation of service quality Literature Review One of the critical success factor in your post-recession growth plans is your customer base. Your customer base is as valuable an asset to your business, as your people and products are. And your customers can represent the quickest growth opportunity you have. One of the first places to look in evaluating your post-recession growth strategy is your customer base. A key measurement of your customer base is its loyalty to your company and your products. For some companies, customer loyalty means customer satisfaction. This is not the case, though. Loyalty goes deeper than merely being satisfied. Being ‘satisfied’ is really a point of entry with customers. It is an expectation that must be met in order to be in the game. If your customers are not satisfied they will actively go elsewhere. But to merely be â€Å"satisfied† also means to be open to change. Change that the next savvy competitor can leverage to take away your customers. More importantly, your customers’ loyalty levels will dictate just how effective of a role they will play in your growth plans. There are several companies providing customer loyalty analysis, each offering their own terminology. In general terms, though, the overall customer loyalty spectrum goes from aversion to dislike to satisfaction to like and to champion. The objective is to build your business plans, sales and marketing programs and customer interactions with the focus of keeping you customers in the top end of that spectrum. As you look at loyalty — and just how much attention you want to afford to it — look at the benefits. Customer loyalty moves beyond simply satisfaction to create: †¢ Recommendations for your product- either formally as in a customer reference or informally within their peer group †¢ Ready-made pipeline for cross-selling other products and services †¢ A profitable well for new and updated solutions †¢ Lower churn rates, ensuring more customers for the long term †¢ Positive positioning of your company in on-line forums, blogs, Tweets and other social media resources utilized or frequented by the key decision makers So what is the best way to move forward and implement a customer loyalty initiative?

Free Essays on Flying J

The Flying J I visited was in Wendover Nevada. It was a huge building with two main entrances on opposite ends of the mega complex. There were about 10 or 12 gas pumps and a huge lot with several big rig parking spots. The entrance on the left was to the main flying J area. The layout was very strategically placed. The cashier was at the front of the store right next to the entrance. By the entrance was a huge hat display with trucker hats, poker hats, cowboy hats, and beanies. On one side was a huge row of fountain drinks, coffee, slushy, microwaves, and fruit juices dispensers, this toke up the whole side. On the opposite wall were the refrigerated goods. It had soft drinks, beer, milk, eggs, butter, ice cream, and even fresh fruit (I wouldn’t ever buy fruit from a gas station though). In the central area of the store were aisles and aisles of products. The first aisle had magazines, comic books, and even bestseller books. The second row had snack items. There w as even a personal hygiene section from toothpaste to condoms. There were aisles of useless junk like glass figurines and cheap sculptures. This section reminded me of shopping in Tijuana. The last aisle were automotive products with oil, air fresheners, and even ham radios. At the end of every aisle were media stands witch had cds, dvds, videos, book on tape, and even crappie computer games. I also so a bargain bin with under priced items like dice, nameplates, license plate holders, and stickers. There wasn’t any deep fried food or already prepared food to be found anywhere. In the middle of the building was a video poker and slot machine casino. There were actually quite a few people wasting their money on it. In the back of the casino area was the showers and personal sleeping areas. On the right side of the building was a normal sized Arby’s with dining seating and a drive through. The main impression I got from visiting the Flying J was ... Free Essays on Flying J Free Essays on Flying J The Flying J I visited was in Wendover Nevada. It was a huge building with two main entrances on opposite ends of the mega complex. There were about 10 or 12 gas pumps and a huge lot with several big rig parking spots. The entrance on the left was to the main flying J area. The layout was very strategically placed. The cashier was at the front of the store right next to the entrance. By the entrance was a huge hat display with trucker hats, poker hats, cowboy hats, and beanies. On one side was a huge row of fountain drinks, coffee, slushy, microwaves, and fruit juices dispensers, this toke up the whole side. On the opposite wall were the refrigerated goods. It had soft drinks, beer, milk, eggs, butter, ice cream, and even fresh fruit (I wouldn’t ever buy fruit from a gas station though). In the central area of the store were aisles and aisles of products. The first aisle had magazines, comic books, and even bestseller books. The second row had snack items. There w as even a personal hygiene section from toothpaste to condoms. There were aisles of useless junk like glass figurines and cheap sculptures. This section reminded me of shopping in Tijuana. The last aisle were automotive products with oil, air fresheners, and even ham radios. At the end of every aisle were media stands witch had cds, dvds, videos, book on tape, and even crappie computer games. I also so a bargain bin with under priced items like dice, nameplates, license plate holders, and stickers. There wasn’t any deep fried food or already prepared food to be found anywhere. In the middle of the building was a video poker and slot machine casino. There were actually quite a few people wasting their money on it. In the back of the casino area was the showers and personal sleeping areas. On the right side of the building was a normal sized Arby’s with dining seating and a drive through. The main impression I got from visiting the Flying J was ...

Loan modification rules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Loan modification rules - Essay Example The Home Affordable Modification Program The Home Affordable Modification Program is intended to help as many as 3 to 4 million economically stressed homeowners prevent foreclosure by altering mortgage loan payments that is reasonable (â€Å"Home Affordable Modification Program†). The program attempts to alter the mortgage payment to 31% of the homeowner’s monthly income. Reducing the mortgage payment to 31% of pretax income is achieved first by having the interest rate for the mortgage decreased to as low as 2%. The second step will be to lengthen the term of the loan to 40 years and if the payment still has not reached the targeted threshold, the lender can withhold principal and charge interest on a part of the loan. Qualifications The qualifications to decrease the monthly mortgage payment to 31% of the homeowner’s income are uniform throughout the mortgage industry. The Home Affordable Modification Program offers homeowner’s mortgage payment changes i f they are have trouble making mortgage payments because of a hardship.

Software Reuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Software Reuse - Essay Example Software reuse has its roots it software and computer programming in the development of software libraries, which contains functions and subroutines, they are called reusable units of software. Now day’s software reuse contains the spectrum of system artifacts including these software libraries as software requirements and patterns. In software engineering, the last fifty years were a tremendous change. In 1990’s, there had been a shift from tools, processes, documentation and plans to individuals, working software, collaborations and responding to change. Organizations have been moved from typical waterfall models to spiral, evolutionary or iterative process models. Software reuse is categorized into two different types: opportunistic and systematic. Opportunistic means the unplanned and euphemistically reuse of software artifacts that are not originally designed for reuse of it in mind. But as well as concerned with systematic reuse of software, the software artifacts are designed in a sense that they are deliberately reused (Glisic and Lorenzo 2009). Benefits of Software Reuse: The concept behind software reuse is clear cut. Software reuse enables developers to create new software from existing ones using strategies, principles and techniques. A powerful concept proposed by Jones and Bonsignour (2012) has been focused on the software reusability. Software reuse results in a huge productivity, better quality and decrease in time for products. It is a mean to achieve the improvement in the overall software production. A high quality software reuse process improves productivity, quality and dependability as well as schedule, cost and performance of software. In short, software reuse development helps in reduction of risks in legacy and new system development. Estublier and Vege (2005) suggested that a really reusable component had a significant cost. Therefore, to be cost effective, a reusable component must be widely reused. Reuse backdrop encomp asses a range of reuse techniques (Sommerville 2004). Once software reuse is established, it enables the organization to accomplish more without using addition resources. Software reuse is important for business trying to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. It allows organizations to avoid duplicating past efforts. Software issues are also decreased by using these reusing techniques, and it represents a strategy to meet the challenges of rapidly changing complex environment (Pressman 2010). Lim (1998) identifies many benefits of software reuse, which are given as following: Improved software quality Short time to market Increase development productivity Consistent application functionality Reduce the risk of cost and schedule overruns Allow prototyping for validating user requirements Leveraging of technical skills and knowledge There are many benefits of software reuse, however, cannot be realized until effective implementation is not applied. Reuse of a software component, which cannot meet the requirements, cannot present the evident until verification and validation activities. Software reuse has broader benefits, but these benefits may be overlooked or go largely unrealizable without the organizational support for reuse and incentives for reuse (Larman 2012). Potential Problems with Software Reuse: Sobh (2010) stated the following facts, which affect the software reusing process:

America in the 1920s Essay Example for Free

America in the 1920s Essay In 1919, soldiers from World War One returned back to America and were not used to society. Many Americans wished for normalcy and believed the United States should go back to the way it was before the war. President Warren Harding was most popular for his promised actions toward normalcy. After becoming President, Harding did not change much of America and also died of a heart attack eight hundred and eighty one days into office. The main objective of normalcy was to get rid of fear from WWI and fears from future wars. The act of prohibition upon Americans, the delivery of a new mass culture, and changes in social conflicts marked the 1920s, in many ways. With all of these new inventions and ideas being made, there were still some ideas like the rebirth of prohibition that did not succeed. During the 1920s, women and children created a prohibition to stop the unnecessary abuse of alcohol. The first attempt at a prohibition was the Temperance Movement of the 1800s. It was an organized effort to end alcohol abuse and all of the problems it created. Women and children were suffering because of husbands and fathers abusing alcohol. In the times of WWI, a support for prohibition grew again. Veterans who were having problems when returning home from battle began to abuse alcohol to cope. The main goal of prohibition was to cut down on drunkenness. Without alcohol, there would be fewer accidents at work because people sober people have more awareness and coordination. The first effect of prohibition was it becoming the eighteenth amendment in the U. S. The prohibition created bootleggers who would secretly make and transport the alcohol illegally. With the supply of alcohol, speakeasies began to occur where secret clubs and parties would happen illegally. The growth of organized crime developed in cities. Local gangs began to supply alcohol to speakeasies. This organization of gangs started to encourage prostitution, gambling, and fighting again. The mobs became so powerful and wealthy that they could remain free of crimes by simply paying off the police. The Amendment did not last long because in 1933, prohibition was ended in America. The stop to prohibition was known as the twenty first Amendment. Even with most people in the city still drinking, there was a reduced amount of alcoholism and related deaths overall which led to new ideas and a new mass culture. In the 1920s, several forms in culture like music, movies, radio broadcasts, art, and literature began to spread across the U. S. Soldiers were returning from WWI scared and lacking sources of happiness. There was a need for new inventions and for the American citizens to feel happy again. A type of entertainment available at the time was movies without words and would only play music in the theater. Another kind of entertainment was radios, but they did not have any broadcasting stations. The newest craze in music was Jazz. Jazz would come from African American roots with improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. Harlem, New York became the capitol of Jazz with over five hundred clubs. The most famous club was the Cotton Club. Movies became one of the most popular types of entertainment in the 1920s. At the time, eighty million tickets were being purchased per week. The movie industry quickly grew to the fourth largest industry in the U. S. The first talkie, or movie with words, was the â€Å"Jazz Singer,† starring Al Jolson. In 1924, the Hollywood Land sign was built to reflect on the success of the movie industry. Radios were not a new device in 1920, but had new features that would change the world forever. The first radio broadcast was KDKA in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Stations involved with the broadcasts were CBS and NBC. Citizens would listen to music, jokes, and shows from NBC on their radios. All the new forms of culture from African Americans is however what sparked all the racial problems and discrimination in the North and the South. During the 1920s, many changes in society like the challenge on religious beliefs, the possible truth and explanations of science, and lack of equality for all races were put into play. The prior religion of America has been closely linked to Christianity. The nation was founded itself off of Christianity. Fundamentalism is what interpreted the bible as truth, rather than science. Besides religion, inequality was a big problem in America. Slaves were African Americans in the U. S. since the 1600s. During the times after the Civil War when the South lost, the Ku Klux Klan began to terrorize the African Americans. In the 1920s, people began to question their God or Gods. The truth of the bible was also being questioned. Many Americans were still against the belief that a God does not exist. Another part of the science versus religion was the Scopes Trial. John Scopes taught the theory of evolution in a Tennessee Science class. 22 States did not allow teaching against the bible in the 1920s. The case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court and was ruled in favor of Scopes. In the 1920s, there was a rebirth of the KKK and the development of other organizations. Violence began in the North and South against African Americans; this was odd because the North was usually with the African Americans. The Africans faced discrimination, lynching, and the threats from the KKK. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Marcus Garvey’s establishment of the Universal Negro Improvement Association were organizations trying to stop discrimination towards the blacks. The extreme amounts of racism and discrimination that is in American heritage during the 1920s cannot be covered up. The 1920s of America were influenced by prohibition, a new mass culture, and social conflicts. In the 1920s, Prohibition was established in an attempt to rid America of alcohol because of its unnecessary effects of gambling, prostitution, accidents, and fighting. Several new forms of entertainment came out like talking movies, new forms of art, Jazz music, and radio broadcasts. Several social conflicts in the U. S. like racism and discrimination happened in the U. S. Even though the 1920s was filled with unforgettable racism and discrimination, it still was marked as one of the most economically boosted periods of U. S. history.

Janet Jackson :: Essays Papers

Janet Jackson You know she's a Jackson. And you know she's a singer. Of course, you know the girl can dance. You know she's a leading lady in Hollywood. And maybe you still think of her as a cute little girl with a famous last name and big , bright eyes. Do you think she's what she was yesterday? Better think again. As many of her other fans and followers already know, the only label that fits her is†¦ Janet. Time flies when your having fun and that's the way she wants its. Since the grown Miss Jackson burst upon the music scene in 1986 with Control Selling eight million records and establishing her as a bold, sensual, independent woman, she's been breaking the molds and banishing the stereotypes the world would set for her. She's not just the cute, little girl- actress we loved on "Good Times" and "Different Strokes" or the earnest teen we followed of "Fame." She's not the Jackson family's baby-not any more. Clearly, the only thing you can safely say about her is that she's Janet. And that's saying a lot. Consider that she's already appeared in five television series, made seven albums, and starred in a major motion picture. She's sold over 24 million albums worldwide, achieved five Top Five hits from her 1986 record, Control and a record seven Top Five Hits from the 1989 Rhythm Nation 1814 album, four went to no.#1. She followed that up with a record breaking world tour, a movie and her self-titled album Janet. You might think that a woman with a pedigree and resume as impressive as this would have had a smooth ride all along. Not so. Says Janet, "I went through a great deal of pain from about sixteen to nineteen and a half†¦ Pain that I really wouldn't wish upon anyone." During those years, challenging years for anyone, Janet released two albums, Janet Jackson (1982) and Dream Street (1984). She spent a difficult and lonely year away from her family in New York while appearing in "Fame," and by the time she was nineteen, had been through a divorce after a short-lived marriage to James DeBarge of another somewhat less famous singing family, the DeBarge Family.

Labor Negotiations Essay

Many times, the process of collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations is referred to as being â€Å"an art†. Although it is guided by various labor laws and there are multitudes of theories that claim to have established best practices in the field, every negotiation simply has too many unique variables to consider to ever be approached as anything more than an art. Even in the short span in which new negotiations are required to reach an updated contract, too many changing factors on both sides of the table are apt to make the extrapolation of one bargaining scenario to the next inefficient and ineffective. There is no â€Å"one-size-fits all† approach. What worked best in one instance could potentially fail with dire consequences in another. To attempt to define, or even identify a structured component to the process would be futile. People, personalities, economics, demographics, policy and law are not static, nor are needs, wants, concepts, trends or priorities. Deception and intimidation during negotiations is commonplace, and unfortunately sometimes holds more relevancy than fact. For these reasons,  it is important for labor negotiators to be able to anticipate the worst, but hope to ultimately achieve a best case scenario. The final, ratified contract is applied to both parties, and hopefully in the end, it represents what is best for all involved. There are many potential stakeholders depending on the industry, but in the case of the community of Pleasant Ridge, it is the students and that ultimately have the most to lose. This can easily be forgotten when bargaining teams’ self-interests take hold. Deciding on the appropriate bargaining techniques and strategies requires a very well-thought out, careful approach. Whatever approach is used has to take into account the past, current and future needs of both parties, and has to be based on an accurate analysis of external and internal data, as well as political considerations. Successful negotiators must be adaptable and flexible in their thought processes and behaviors, and must be willing to compromise as situational needs dictate. As several different personality types compete and interact, even within the confines of one bargaining team, negotiations can be a very daunting process. All of this is important to keep in mind as we examine and analyze the case of the community of Pleasant Ridge. Bargaining Strategy A bargaining strategy should only be determined once all of the relevant, factual information has been reviewed. That is not to say a strategy cannot be changed depending on circumstances once negotiations begin, but it is useful to set the tone for negotiations and help insure a mutually understood strategic concept among bargaining team members. Recent labor relations practice has moved away from traditional adversarial bargaining, or â€Å"zero-sum† bargaining, and has focused more on interest-based bargaining, or â€Å"win-win† bargaining. According to Cutcher-Gershenfield, â€Å"A close look at the interest-based experiments in labor relations reveals that adversarial institutional patterns have often been rejected in favor of more collaborative, problem-solving techniques without a full appreciation of the underlying reasons for the establishment of the original institutional patterns.† (1996, 323). In theory, winning with interest-based bargaining is presu med to be agreement of the parties to a ratified contract that both can live with (Kearney, 209, 134); not â€Å"winning† in the sense that one party  ultimately prevails over the other on any particular issue. In the case of Pleasant Ridge, there is no single reason to preclude interest-based bargaining as an effective strategy. As the Pleasant Ridge Board of Education (Board) and the Pleasant Ridge Classroom Teachers Association (PRCTA) commence negotiations over a new CBA, it is important to note that both parties are in a relatively good position. From a fiscal standpoint, the school is doing well. Student enrollment is increasing, local property revenues are increasing and State Revenues are expected to increase for the upcoming school year. While none of these items are guaranteed, barring any unexpected national, state or local political catastrophes, short-term projections should remain fairly accurate and consistent. This may place the Board at a slight disadvantage during negotiations when considering ability to pay, especially considering the PRCTA memberships’ apparent adversarial position. It serves to underscore the importance of the Board to sincerely attempt to negotiate a finalized contract during the first steps of the process. In comparing wages, hours and working conditions, the PRC TA is not far off when it is reviewed against comparable teachers’ unions. Even when considering labor markets that are competitive in the long run, however, the over-all analysis should include information about employer attributes because labor markets do not adjust instantaneously (Eberts and Stone, 1985, 274). The consequences of ignoring district-specific information are potentially serious, according to Eberts and Stone (1985, 274). To push an employer into economic oblivion as the result of unrealistic contract demands could have disastrous consequences for all involved. While the memberships’ concerns are very important, they must keep in mind their best interests in finalizing a contract with few to no concessions quickly. It is up to the PRCTA to educate their members on the long term affects their present actions may have. Additionally, in a world of economic uncertainty and increasing demand for education reform, the PRCTA is better suited to act quickly so that public sentiment and political forces have less likelihood of effecting policy change before they have a ratified contract. A ratified contract provides strong protections for union members against ever-changing political forces. Bargaining Position of the Board Labor negotiations can be a strategic nightmare fraught with competing priorities and concerns from every affected player. For the community of Pleasant Ridge, the primary considerations of the Board and the PRCTA during negotiations will predominantly revolve around advancing self-interests, whether they impact external stakeholders or not. That is an almost inherent aspect of the process. Public and political sentiment may or may not be secondarily considered, and will certainly be impacted, but those concerns typically do not guide the negotiations process. Kerchner and Koppich argue in their article, Negotiating What Matters Most: Collective Bargaining and Student Achievement, â€Å"that it is in the public interest for teacher unions and school districts to negotiate student achievement goals even though neither may want to do so.† (2007). While morally laudable, realistically this will most likely never happen outside of the legal environment, and is way beyond the scope of this analysis. Contract length could be the most important protection the Board could achieve. A two year contract would be very beneficial for the Board, because it removes the dangers of making accurate financial projections too far in the future. It would also allow the Board more flexibility in bargaining positions that are tied to economics because they would not be invested in a lengthy contract should political or economic factors significantly change. Aside from a two year contract, the Board should support a 3% raise the first year of the contract, and a 3% raise the second year, conditioned on the promise of the PRCTA memberships’ public support for the upcoming millage. This would get the PRCTA membership very close, if not above, a competitive market salary within their own comparable communities at a relatively quick rate, while bolstering the financial position of the Board to be able to implement future contractual raises should the millage be approved. Additionally, the Board will not incur all of the increased costs of implementing the salary increases all in one year, making it more palatable for the school district in general, while not simultaneously rendering the budget unsustainable. The Board should also support agreement to grant tenure in the 3rd year on the condition of the elimination of the one year wage payout provision. Not only does this achieve comparability within the comparable community context, it serves as a huge future economic win for the Board. In the event layoffs become necessary, the burden of paying out a years’ salary to  any tenured teachers would be an undeniable savings should the school district experience tough economic times. Since decreasing the class size to 25 would increase the number of teachers required, it would be more fiscally responsible for the board to leave this item status quo. The Board could add an amendment allowing for the hiring of teacher’s aides should the classroom population exceed 25, but it shouldn’t be an initial position. If push comes to shove and this single item becomes a deal-breaker, the Board and the PRCTA could revisit the issue at 27 students, as long as an agreement could be achieved with a provision requiring no additional teachers or classroom space.   There is no guarantee that the student population will continue to increase, so agreeing to this item could have unintended financial consequences later. It is never outside the realm of reality that one teacher’s salary could mean the difference between balancing and not balancing the budget. Reasonable Settlement for the Union In determining the reasonableness of a settlement for the PRCTA, several factors should be considered. Typically, wages are at the forefront of union demands, and the fact that the Board is willing to raise salaries to levels above the comparable communities the PRCTA selected should speak volumes. That alone may be enough to achieve ratification. In addition, the PRCTA needs to consider the effects of having an arbitrator decide their fate. If the Board is being reasonable in their proposal, there is no reason to chance the final decisions in the hands of an individual who may or may not agree with position of the PRCTA. The Board has not requested concessions, comparable wages have been offered, and other positions lean toward the comparable communities of the union. In a fact-finding or arbitration scenario, the Board would undoubtedly be able to find comparable communities supporting their position. According to Crawford, final offer arbitration’s distinguishing feature is that it threatens bargainers with a settlement determined by the relative desirability to the arbitrator of their final offers. This creates incentives for bargainers to move their final offers closer to what they think the arbitrator wants, even if they are uncertain of his wishes (1981, 207). In the Pleasant Ridge scenario, the position of the Board is more than reasonable, and should ultimately be accepted as such by the PRCTA, rather than advancing to fact-finding or final offer  arbitration. Fact-Finding â€Å"The consequences of impasse are evident in the amount of private and public resources spent on civil litigation, the costs of labor unrest, the psychic and pecuniary wounds of domestic strife, and in clashes among religious, ethnic and regional groups.† (Babcock, Lowesenstein, 1997, 326) Should the parties reach impasse and the matter be referred to fact-finding, the Fact-Finder should make a recommendation based on the school district’s current and projected future financial position (ability to pay), the current political environment as far as public education policy is concerned, and to a lesser extent, should consider the proposals in comparison to those of comparable communities. In making a settlement recommendation, the Fact-Finder should find the initial position of the Board to be quite consistent with that of the PRCTA, as well as quite generous and reasonable. It is almost certain that a Fact-Finder would agree with the Board’s position on wages and tenure. It is reasonable to think that he or she would agree on tenure, but possibly decrease rather than eliminate the year of salary payout, unless they considered a layoff situation a financial hardship. If the Board could successfully present that as a business case, a Fact-Finder may agree. With regard to class size, a three to five student decrease should not present a significant enough business case to cause the school district to absorb an increase in additional teaching salaries and roll-up costs. A Fact-Finder should support that item as remaining status-quo. Final Offer Arbitration The board would undoubtedly have to go to arbitration to remove the politics of implementing a contract from their hands should the parties not be able to reach a settlement. With two of the board members being labor union members, and three endorsed by the Pleasant Ridge Central Labor Union (PRCLU), not going to arbitration would be political suicide. As demonstrated in previous board elections, two members lost to candidates who were endorsed by the PRCLU, showing the strength that the PRCLU exhibits. Having a neutral party force a contract on both sides would be the only political out the Board members would have. In a final offer settlement package, it is of the utmost importance that both parties consider the most  desirable benefits that could be achieved, and tailor the final offer package around those. Prioritization of issues is significant, as well as is reasonableness. In the final offer package, it would be incumbent on the Board to submit lower contractual wage increases, potentially to 2% each year of a two-year contract, with class size and tenure remaining status quo, with the elimination of the one-year wage payout provision. For the PRCTA, it would be beneficial to package a deal containing a 5 year contract with 2% wage increases for each year of the contract. Considering they really have nothing to lose since concessions aren’t being considered, they should also incorporate the decreased class size of 25 students, and tenure to reflect the 3 year comparable. Even if the arbitrator sides with the Board, the PRCTA hasn’t lost anything besides the one-year payout provision. Likely, that is something that will affect very few of the current members. REFERENCES Babcock, L., & Loewenstein, G. (1997). Explaining bargaining impasse: The role of self-serving biases. Advances in behavioral economics, 326. Crawford, V.P. (1981), Arbitration and Conflict Resolution in Labor-Management Bargaining. The American Economic Review. 71(2). Papers and Proceedings of the Ninety-Third Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. 205-210. Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J. (1996). Bargaining Over How to Bargain in Labor-Management Negotiations. Negotiation Journal, 10(4), 323-335. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1571-9979.1994.tb00032.x/abstract. Eberts, R.W. and Stone, J.A. (1985), Wages, Fringe Benefits, and Working Conditions: An Analysis of Compensating Differentials. Southern Economic Journal. 52(1). 274-280. Kearney, R.C., Labor Relations in the Public Sector, Fourth Edition. CRC Press. 381. Kerchner, C.T. and Koppich, J.E. (2007). Negotiating What Matters Most: Collective Bargaining and Student Achievement. A merican Journal of Education. 113(3). 349-365. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/512736. Walton, R. E. (1994). Strategic negotiations: A theory of change in labor-management relations. Harvard Business Press.