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Collaborative Problem-Solving Strategies and Tools

Finding durable and equitable solutions to the many issues caused by the rapid pace of change in the workplace requires labor and management to work together to fully understand and address the source of conflicts. Collaborative problem-solving strategies and techniques provide an opportunity to move from positional arguments about the impact of change to a deeper examination of the needs and concerns of all workplace stakeholders, expanding the range of possibilities for solutions.

Office workers in a meeting
Collaborative Problem-Solving Strategies and Tools

Joint Labor & Econometrics Workshop: Qiwei He

Qiwei He (Cornell) Estimating Matching Games Without Individual-level Data: Multidimensional Sorting in Government Recruitment Abstract: This paper investigates the non-parametric identification of matching games and applies this framework to the analysis of matching mechanism design in government recruitment. The empirical setting is the National Civil Service Exam (NCSE), a primary method for recruiting entry-level government officials in China. The NCSE is a mechanism where each candidate applies to one position and subsequently takes a meritocratic exam determining admission. An econometric challenge arises due to the absence of individual-level data in the NCSE dataset I collect. To overcome this challenge, I build a many-to-one Non-transferable Utility job matching model with two-sided heterogeneity for the labor market. I demonstrate its non-parametric identification using only position-level data, given instrument availability. Applying this framework to the NCSE, I assume that candidates differ in terms of their ability and civic-mindedness, with the latter being undetectable through the exam. After estimating the empirical model, I explore the sorting pattern induced by the NCSE. In the counterfactual analysis, I introduce a strategy-proof mechanism as an alternative. In this mechanism, following the meritocratic exam, each candidate chooses one position with higher-ranked candidates choosing first. Simulations show that candidates with similar types are more likely to be matched with similar jobs under the counterfactual mechanism compared to the NCSE. This is because the exam uncertainty inherent in the NCSE diminishes sorting. Finally, I explore the potential impact of different matching mechanisms on government performance by highlighting the pros and cons of adopting a "first apply, then exam" system (NCSE) or counterfactual mechanism in the context of multi-dimensional sorting, emphasizing the crucial influence of civic-mindedness.

Localist event image for Joint Labor & Econometrics Workshop: Qiwei He
Joint Labor & Econometrics Workshop: Qiwei He

Rethinking Workplace Conflict: Approaches and Processes

Recognition of the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplace conflict necessitates that labor and management incorporate new approaches to managing conflict and potentially retool some existing dispute resolution methods. Panelists will illustrate a spectrum of conflict resolution processes – from restorative justice approaches to more traditional processes such as collective bargaining, grievance handling, mediation and arbitration -- and how to expand our conflict management capacity to include multiple perspectives and approaches.

Two coworkers in conversation next to computer screens
Rethinking Workplace Conflict: Approaches and Processes

Unionizing the Ivory Tower: Cornell Workers’ Fifteen-Year Fight for Justice and a Living Wage

The Worker Institute is sponsoring a special book event that should interest everyone in our ILR School. Unionizing the Ivory Tower chronicles how a thousand low-paid custodians, cooks, and gardeners succeeded in organizing a union at Cornell University.
Picketing workers
Unionizing the Ivory Tower: Cornell Workers’ Fifteen-Year Fight for Justice and a Living Wage

Strategic Collective Bargaining: Adaptation and Response

Case studies and other direct experience from current manufacturing, public sector, healthcare, and non-profit sectors will be examined. The cases will be used to clarify how technology, demographics, workforce shortages, and changing consumer demand and expectation create workplace conflict. We will discuss how innovations in collective bargaining, use of labor-management committees, labor-management partnership, and new forms of internal workplace dialogue can lead to productive problem resolution. Participants will be able to take practical experience back to their workplaces.

Workshop NYC
Strategic Collective Bargaining: Adaptation and Response