Conflict Resolution Methods Might Snow

¶ … conflict resolution methods might Snow White and the Wicked Queen have tried before they agreed to "submit the fairness question to binding arbitration"? Who do you think the three men at the table are? What are they talking about?

Show White and the Wicked Queen could have also tried the conflict resolution strategies of competition, accommodation, sharing, collaboration or avoidance as well. Each of these conflict resolution strategies would require a different set of actions for Snow White and the Wicked Queen to have undertaken. For example from a competition standpoint, the two could have proposed a contest of impartial observers, or could have decided to share the title as well (an unlikely scenario given the pride of the title) or they could have chosen to collaborate with each other and be the fairest good one of them all, and the fairest evil one of them all. The collaboration required to create a dual role of the fairest of them all would be ideal for also defining the relative roles of each of these leaders of their own groups as well. Avoidance was most likely practiced quite heavily as Snow White was in mortal fear of the Wicked Queen.

The three men around the table are attorneys representing Snow White, the Wicked Queen, and possibly a labor relations expert. They are reviewing both the laws specifically defining what constitutes "fairest" and also specifically looking to see if there are any arbitration clauses in the laws and agreements that can be used to resolve the conflict.

2) Military metaphors are often used to describe conflicts in business. Identify a recent Canadian business conflict and compare and contrast the course of the conflict to the military advice of Sun Tzu. Would following his advice have been helpful to either of the parties?

The launch by Wal-Mart into key Canadian markets and the efforts of local retailers, both chains and independents to first fight their entrance into their markets, and second, to compete on price where possible, shows the many classic lessons from Sun Tzu and his writings in the book the Art of War. The lessons from Sun Tzu apply both to Wal-Mart on the one hand and their attack of key markets in Canada, relying heavily on the use of information to gain competitive advantage on the one hand. Conversely, the reliance on information and its intensive analysis is a major competitive advantage for the chain and independent retailers as well. Throughout the entire conflict of Wal-Mart moving into Canadian communities, the many lessons learned from Sun Tzu are playing out today and will continue to throughout the coming years as independent retailers and chains wage a retail battle to sustain their current sales levels in light of Wal-Mart being their dominant new competitor.

3) the Test of Metal is one of the most popular mountain bike races in Canada. The 800 places in the 2007 race sold out in 48 minutes. On June 16th the 2007 edition of the race took place. The weather was cool and, given the rain earlier in the week, the course was muddy. A few days after the race, racers started to get sick. Eventually the sick toll rose to over 200, with more than 80 people requiring admission to hospital. (Usually to be placed on an IV saline drip to counter the effects of the infection.)

The eMail below was sent to all Test of Metal participants on June 29th, almost 2 weeks after the race.

Dear Test of Metal race participants,

As many of you know, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection occurred after the June 16 race in Squamish. Many participants became ill with diarrhea and fever. The source of the outbreak is currently not known. Vancouver Coastal Health and the British Columbia Center for Disease Control are investigating this outbreak. We are asking all participants to complete a questionnaire to help identify the source. It is important to get information from ill and not ill individuals for comparison of potential outbreak sources. The questionnaire should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

To complete the questionnaire, click the following link:

http://surveys.vch.ca/Surveys/TakeSurvey.aspx?s=B07FA2424B2E41E098F5EDCEB94BFCF9.Please complete this by Tuesday July 10, 2007. Thank you for taking the time to do so.

Information on Campylobacter can be found at http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile58.stm.If you have further questions about this outbreak, please contact the Vancouver Coastal Health office in Squamish toll free at 1- [HIDDEN] .

Dr. Paul Martiquet, MD

Medical Health Officer

Vancouver Coastal Health

Dr. Eleni Galanis, MD

Physician Epidemiologist

BC Centre for Disease Control

As a result of contracting the campylobacter infection, some Test of Metal racers had to cancel trips and subsequent bike races, while others had months of side effects. Although no definitive cause for the infection has been announced, the most common way that campylobacter is spread is by contaminated food or water. As the race organizers, and race volunteers, provided both food and water to racers many people feel that is likely the cause of the infection. Not surprisingly, many of the racers feel that the race organizers are responsible. How should the organizers deal with the conflict with the racers and rebuild the race's reputation for subsequent years?

The ethics of this situation demand that the race organizers begin first with those most affected by the infection and reimburse them for all medical expenses, all travel costs, all costs of communicating with and even reimbursing them for their costs of breaking other commitments based on their condition. This level of support needs to be provided to each of the racers who are in the hospital, too sick to keep their other commitments. The race organizers need to look at those most affected by the infection and make them a positive example of how the organizers seriously look at this situation as an opportunity to show their compassion and consideration for these contestants. The focus needs to be on showing that race organizers by far value more the health of the contestants than the costs of the race. Only by overcompensating from an ethical standpoint and turning this potentially negative situation into a positive one will the race organizers hope to sustain the popularity of the race. For those not so affected as to be in the hospital, there also needs to be a thorough review of how the race organizers can help the contestants to return to as much of a normal life as possible.

4) Small mining companies are notorious for their creative accounting and highly optimistic earnings and revenue forecasts. David Baines, of the Vancouver Sun, has written many stories about some of the most outrageous examples of companies that have bent, or broken, the rules. (See example below.) How do these types of firms deal with the conflicts between them and government regulators and the courts?

The many examples cited by David Baines of the Vancouver Sun illustrates opportunistic and highly unethical individuals attempting to create "shell" corporations to offer investments in the hope of defrauding investors. These investments can be everything from bonds to stock issues on exchanges, and for these unethical individuals, they have no conscience of delivering value for these investments. The fraudulent nature of these enterprises, with many of them launched and propped up with less than $12,000 in investment, typify what is often called "pump and dump" schemes commonplace in the dotcom era of the American stock markets during the late 1990s. The practices of these individuals and their firms are focused on avoiding the government regulators and staying out of the courts; they are constantly looking for strategies to avoid prosecution while defrauding investors and taking their money. The unethical business practices of these people are what makes the government need to continue spending on accounting auditing programs to protect investors from unscrupulous practices such as these.

5) in many conflicts the goal for one party seems to change from winning to making sure the other party does not get what they want (or need.) Why do parties in a conflict devote so much time and energy to ensure the failure of the other side? Is it more common in business or personal conflicts? Explain your choice.

The failure of the other side of a conflict for many companies and individuals signifies victory for the other side of any relationship. This is quite common in business conflicts because of the emotion and anger that get accumulated over the years of tension between organizations. Further, when significant sums of money are involved, the emotions escalate even higher, as the value and self-worth of those involved in the conflict are linked to who wins or loses. Seeing a competitor in business lose money also feeds the egos of those who win, further underscoring the distance in incomes between each group. The competitiveness of an industry where incomes are considered measures of a persons' value also fuel the rejoining in a competitor losing or failing, especially financially. The German concept of Schadenfreude certainly applies, as failure is seen as a measure of financial performance and in the end, the value of the companies and their managers. Contrasting this from a personal standpoint, only in the most emotionally charged and toxic personal situations are there feelings of this level, rejoicing in the failure of others. In personal relationships this is especially troublesome as the medium of exchange, unlike business using money, is emotion and what is left of trust in a relationship. That makes the wishing of failure in addition to winning the conflict especially toxic and even potentially dangerous. As one divorcee had on her license plate holder "Happiness is seeing your Ex-on a milk carton," the damaging aspects of this dynamic is dangerous in interpersonal relationships.

It is far more common in business where salaries, sales, and bonuses are seen as a direct reflection of the value of the managers involved, and the loss of these is seen as even greater victory for the person in the conflict.

Case: The Great Wall and the Firewall - 50 marks (2 to 4 pages)

On more than one occasion China has been accused of attempting to break into government computers in Australia, New Zealand and other countries. What is the source of the conflicts between China and other countries? Can the Chinese government be trusted? Why? How do you think that will these conflicts will be resolved?

China is unique in that its intelligence operations are relied on not only for defense-related information and analysis, but also for economic and industry-specific knowledge as well. The source of conflicts China has with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., the United Kingdom and many other westernized nations who have significant trading relationships with them is the vision of Chinese government leaders to eventually dominate, not collaborate, in these trading relationships. Clearly the intention is to gain enough defense-related intelligence is the foundation of their efforts, as exhibited by the recent admission by U.S. Department of Defense officials that the Pentagons' computer systems show the Chinese military had attempted to hack into them (Financial Times 2007). In addition it is estimates that China's intelligence network relies heavily on businesses to act as intelligence-gathering fronts, with a Canadian Security Intelligence Service report in 2005 estimating 500 such businesses exist in Canada alone, and a few thousand throughout the U.S. The intentions of China on spying on the U.S. is clearly for military superiority, while the spying efforts in Canada are for both the stealing of both technological and trade secrets so China can gain the competitive advantage in trading relationships and defense. In the case of spying in Australia and New Zealand, the same holds true, with the latter country being of particular interest to the Chinese as it has become known as a world leader in software development. China is one of the laggards globally in that area, hence their interest. China is also looking for how to dominate industry-specific trade strategies with each of these companies as well.