Question: Negotiating the Graduation Ceremony Often, one group is more powerful or has greater status and refuses to relinquish this power position, thus making collaboration impossible. Therefore, negotiating a compromise to a win-win solution, rather than a lose-lose solution, becomes imperative. In the following situation, describe if you could, and how you would, go about negotiating a win-win solution to confl ict. You are a senior member of a traditional on-campus baccalaureate nursing class. Three years ago, your university implemented an online RN-BSN program. The fi rst students from that program graduated last year, and they held a small, private end-of-program ceremony, separate from the on-campus BSN students. This year, as a result of ongoing state budget cuts, the school of nursing can no longer subsidize two separate end-of-program ceremonies.

This means that the 21 RN-BSN students and the 33 on-campus BSN students must now work together to plan a joint ceremony. Resistance is high. The two groups of students have spent no time together and do not know each other. The on-campus students have been planning their ceremony since they started the nursing program and have collected additional money each semester to fund a formal dinner and dance reception in the evening and breakfast at one of the nicest hotels in town. Money from the school of nursing would be used to subsidize the cost of a live band and the reception hall. The online students would like to limit the evening reception to cake and punch at the college to reduce the cost because most of them will incur additional travel and lodging costs to attend graduation. However, they would like to have the school of nursing use the funds available to host a "picnic in the park" the following day, to which they can bring their families. Both groups perceive that the "other group is trying to control the situation and is not being sensitive to our needs or wants."

Both groups have contacted University officials to complain about the situation, and a number of students are threatening not to attend the ceremony if the two groups must be merged. You have been appointed as the unofficial spokesperson for the RN-BSN graduates. Joan is the unofficial spokesperson for the on-campus BSN students. You live only 30 miles from campus, so coming to campus to try to resolve the conflict is not a significant hardship. The faculty member, Alice, who is the liaison for the end-of-program ceremony has become alarmed at the situation and has contacted both you and Joan. She states that she will cancel the ceremony if the conflict is not resolved. The faculty member agrees to work with you and Joan to mediate the conflict, but time is of the essence. The semester ends soon, and the on-campus students can get no refund on their reception hall deposit after the end of the current week. She wants the conflict resolved in a win-win situation so that no parties leave angry.

ASSIGNMENT: Where will you begin? How will you get input from the group that you are representing? Would you plan a face-to-face meeting with Joan to attempt to resolve this conflict? What strategies might you use to help both groups win as much as possible and lose as little as possible? Explain your rationale. Remember, you wish to negotiate a compromise, and although you desire a win-win solution, you are limited in time and may not be able to facilitate a true collaboration. How will you deal with conflicted parties who perceive that they have lost more than they have won? What is your bottom line?