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This paper develops and tests a model of the labor mediation process using data from a sample of negotiations involving municipal governments and police and firefighter unions in the State of New York. The test of the model also incorporates an estimate of the impact of a change in the statutory impasse procedures governing these groups. The model examines the impact of (1) alternative sources of impasse, (2) situational characteristics, (3) strategies of the mediators, and (4) personal characteristics of the mediators on the probability of settlement, percentage of issues resolved in mediation, movement or compromising behavior, and the tendency to hold back concessions in mediation. The results indicate that the change in the impasse procedure had a marginal affect on the probability of settlement in the small to medium cities in the sample but little or no effect on the larger cities. Furthermore, a number of other measures of the sources of impasse and mediator strategies and characteristics had a stronger impact on the effectiveness of the mediation process than the nature of the impasse procedure.

This paper applies a micro-political perspective in examining how the art of saying no — that is, refusing requests — is not only a form of socialization and acculturation but also serves to reinforce the distribution of power and authority as a shared social fact. The delivery of bad news from superiors to subordinates becomes a forum for articulating organizational values. Critical incidents of 'refusal ritual' tactics collected from a three-nation sample of lower level participants are categorized and illustrated. Some difficulties in managing the compliance of employees after the refusal are noted, as well as organizational mechanisms for discouraging requests.

Writing on organizational change to date has been implicitly predicated on an assump tion of organizations either growing or remaining stable in size and resources. However, the most likely future for most organizations, especially those in the public sector, is one of cutback and decline. The major changes such organizations face are those related to how to survive on less money. On this particular matter, comparatively little is known though interest is, perhaps understandably, starting to grow among organization theor ists and, to a much lesser extent, among organization researchers. The present article reviews the existing literature on organizational decline in public sector organizations. It makes a conceptual distinction between (a) the strategic deci sion responses regarding what to cut, if one must cut. and how to prevent having to make further cuts, and (b) the behavioural responses within the organization to the cuts that are made. A second major distinction is made between the 'objective' conditions of funding reductions and the way they are perceived and interpreted by the dominant coalition in the focal organizations. A number of influences related to the organization's environment, internal design, key personality differences, and other variables are identified and discussed in terms of their influence on these subjective interpretations of reality. Finally, a few thoughts are offered on: (a) the as yet completely unstudied question of the long-term effects of repeated cutbacks and (b) the problems of undertak ing research in the whole area of organizational decline.