Abstract
This research discusses a formal model of the wage determination process at the interorganizational level using concepts advanced by Dunlop and Ross. In particular, teachers’ salary increases within a contour of suburban school districts over a nine year period are explained using a computer model of the decision making process. Each district’s salary policy is represented by an explicitly formulated set of rules which processes input information, mainly salary comparisons, into a specified choice. The rules reflect a two stage decision process in which first a school board determines a range within which a choice can be made and then selects a specific point within the range. The model was constructed using protocol data obtained from school board members while they remade past decisions using the same information they had previously employed in the actual situation. From tests of the model it appears that much of the Dunlop-Ross framework is appropriate for the study of teachers’ salaries. Within this framework some theories peculiar to teachers’ salaries are developed.
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