Case Study 6.2: Negotiating the Plant Reopening *

For decades Brilliance Glass Manufacturing was the pride of the small town of Husker, Nebraska. Brilliance is one of the few companies making specialty colored glass for stained glass windows, figurines, and other artwork. Its products are used by some of the top artisans in the world. The plant is the largest employer in Husker and plant tours are featured in tourist brochures.

In the past few months, Husker pride in Brilliance Glass has turned to concern. Following reports that another specialty glass manufacturer on the East Coast was releasing dangerous levels of cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and lead into the air, state and federal environmental officials tested the air and soil around the Brilliance plant. They found abnormally high levels of lead in the soil in the surrounding neighborhood, including at a daycare center. Ingesting enough lead can cause permanent brain damage and is especially dangerous to children. Officials issued an order temporarily shutting down the plant, and panicked parents had their children tested for lead poisoning. Fortunately, no children had dangerous levels of the metal in their systems. Press coverage highlighted the lax enforcement of environmental regulations that could have prevented the toxic emissions.

Nearly all Brilliance employees were laid off as a result of the closure. Plant managers installed a new pollution control system that should eliminate 99% of all toxic metal emissions. The company also promised to greatly reduce its use of toxic metals in the production process, though doing so will reduce the quality and variety of the glass it produces.

Imagine that the Brilliance CEO has appointed you to head up negotiations to reopen the plant. If a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached, he will close the plant or move production to China or Mexico, where environmental restrictions are much looser. Others participating in the negotiations include the following:

· Representatives from the state department of environmental quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

· The chair of the neighborhood association, a parent of two small children, who represents neighbors living close to the plant.

· The town’s mayor.

· The director of the regional tourist bureau.

You have two days to prepare for the first negotiation session.

Discussion Probes

1. How can you encourage participants to take an integrative approach to negotiation?

2. How might you separate the people from the problem?

3. What are the interests of each party?

4. What possible solutions could meet the interests of all parties?

5. What criteria could be used to determine the terms of the final settlement?

6. What ethical issues might arise during the negotiations and how might you deal with them?