John D. Butler

Negotiating High Performance-Focused Partnerships: The Five Stages of Effective Labor Management Negotiations investigates labor-management contract negotiations in an operational context. The textbook is designed to guide readers through five key stages of contract negotiations, aiming to align human resources and negotiation strategies with broader business objectives for optimizing workplace performance and institutional competitiveness. The book addresses the detailed processes and dynamics of negotiations, emphasizing strategy development, meticulous planning and preparation, opening discussions, the core bargaining phase, and the crucial final stages of achieving agreements. Readers learn about building authentic union-management partnerships, interest-based bargaining for mutually beneficial outcomes, and pragmatic handling of economic packages. These topical areas are presented within the broader framework of promoting effective, high performance–focused workplace operations. Negotiating High Performance-Focused Partnerships serves as a vital tool for those involved directly or indirectly in organizational collective bargaining and negotiations. It is ideal for courses and programs in human resource management, labor relations, and organizational behavior.

Who’s the New Kid in Chemistry? offers an unprecedented look at student engagement and teacher best practices through the eyes of an educational researcher enrolled as a public high school student. Over the course of seventy-nine consecutive days, John D. Butler participates in and observes Rhode Island 2013 Teacher of the Year Jessica M. Waters’s high school chemistry class, documenting his experiences as they unfold. Who’s the New Kid in Chemistry? is a compelling example of what can be accomplished when an educational researcher and teacher collaborate in the classroom. This work includes a discussion on flexible homework assignments, data-driven instruction, and thirty teacher best practices. This book is an invaluable resource for teachers across all content areas, masters and doctoral research method classes, and future Teachers of the Year.