Issue of Privitization
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In the article "Contracting Out: Who Wins?" (1996), the unnamed author critiques the issue of privatization, noting that private contractors urge policymakers to believe that contracting can save money, though often this proves not to be the case. Of course, private contractors have a stake in this issue as they are the ones who are seeking those contracts. The author says that when a fair comparison is made, private vendors often cost the same as the in-house provider. For one thing, private vendors must pay taxes, licensing fees, labor costs, administrative overhead, insurance, and other business expenses and still earn profits, so cost savings are hard to achieve, which in any case may not translate into savings for the district because the district or local state government will continue to pay out the agreed-upon contract. Contractors also have "hidden costs" which are not accounted for in their proposals and should be. The author examines some of these costs and the problems they can cause for administrators who believe they will save money with a private contractor and who find they will not. The many indirect costs noted by the author do make private contracting seem to be an uncertain move for any administrator. Privatization has been touted by many in recent years as the solution to the problems of government, and yet the way many of these administrators view the issue shows that they believe privatization brings automatic savings. One reason they believe t
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e then formed to find solutions, followed by a full weekend session during which all disputes are resolved to the satisfaction of both sides. Everyone declares victory at the end of the process, and as both parties have agreed to the procedures in the beginning, they are obligated to follow through. Neither side has its own spokesperson, and each side tries to avoid the adversarial process. The author emphasizes, however, that this is not a method that makes problems automatically go away, though the method does work better than the traditional approach. The Illinois Education Association has good things to say about the method. Understanding is reached and disputes settled in a less contentious atmosphere.
The author notes that win-win has some problems, such as its extensive procedures and its cost, but the method makes sense in districts where teachers and the board can sit down and meet a few times and settle a contract. Win-win generally expands the number of issues and increases the scope of bargaining.
The article does a good job of describing the method of win-win and also of warning that this is not a panacea in labor relations. However, it is a good method to be considered when circumstances permit, and if han
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Conciliation Service, Contracting Wins, Relations Act, Education Association, Education Digest, Educational Leadership, interest-based bargaining, April Negotiating, References Contracting, author examines, year-round education, hidden costs, private contracting, Illinois Education, , thrust educational leadership, private vendors, education digest, illinois education, thrust educational, 1991 april, contracting wins 1996, negotiating year-round contracts, author examines issues,
Approximate Word count = 1577
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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