Negotiation Resolution and Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Negotiation Resolution and Conflict - Essay Example However, those with lacklustre performance should be held accountable through their pay. (Pearlstein, 2008) The problem situation began when Chancellor Michelle Rhee proposed to the teachers’ union at Washington D.C. the controversial change in their employment contract. The proposal in essence proposed a higher-pay-for-job-security swap. Teachers will be given the option of earning up to $131,000 within the ten-month school year, but will have to relinquish absolute job security and a personnel-and-pay system based nearly exclusively on years served. The Rhee proposal also includes: protection from arbitrary firings, professional development and support, and a growth model of achievement. But on the negative side, it proposes the removal of grossly incompetent and abusive teachers, and a more stringent evaluation method to gauge teachers’ performance. (Rhee, 2009) While some members of the teachers’ union, such as Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) President George Parker, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) leader Randi Weingarten, see the merits behind this proposal, others see it as a deprivation of their right to tenure which they currently enjoy. They also protest the proposed evaluation method as subjective and disadvantageous to teachers. This has caused the controversy, not only between administration and teachers, but also among the ranks of the teachers themselves. (Pearlstein, 2008) On the other hand, it is admitted by researchers that compensation â€Å"based mostly on seniority and formal credentials rather than performance†¦has become untenable, as the teaching profession has changed dramatically over the last few decades.† (Hess and Loup, 2008) Obviously, D.C. Chancellor Rhee is using the carrot-and-stick tactic; higher pay and privileges for well-performing teachers, and sanctions / dismissal for incompetent and abusive teachers. On the teachers’ side there is the realization that