A preliminary study investigating the perceptions of intergroup relations in the bargaining process supports Kenneth Burke's concepts of order and mystery. Questionnaires, interviews, and direct observations of teachers' and school boards' teams involved in contract negotiations show that people closest to the bargaining saw more order in the process than did those further away. Teachers with previous experience in negotiating, for example, were more aware of the complexity and multiple levels involved in reaching a settlement. They differentiated between their role and the greater control exerted by team leaders and professional negotiators. Experienced teachers, unlike inexperienced ones, also saw their own operations as more mysterious than the school board's. An apparent contradiction of Burke's idea that those closest to the process see it as less mysterious, this finding might reflect the experienced teachers' greater awareness of the secret meetings conducted by their own team leaders. While earlier research focused on the dyadic relationship in bargaining, this study suggests that intragroup and intergroup relations have a significant effect on reaching a settlement. (MM)