Appendix A: The Exotic Orchid Role Play Exercise

Overview

This exercise is designed for use by four participants (two teams of two).

Setup:

A new exotic orchid has captured people's interest. It is a particularly beautiful flower and it is thought to have powerful chemical qualities. Approximately five thousand of these orchids were grown this year. One commercial florist, Mr. Greenthumb, has set up a nursery in Florida and has produced nearly four thousand of these plants. The other one thousand orchids are grown by amateur botanists worldwide. They typically grow just one plant each.

These exotic orchids flower only at this time of year. Recent magazine articles have brought further attention to the orchid and its growers. It is rumored that two pharmaceutical research firms ”Company A and Company B “are very interested in the plants, but much secrecy surrounds the reasons why. To add further intrigue, in addition to being business rivals, these two pharmaceutical companies have filed a series of lawsuits against one another, with each company claiming the other has been guilty of industrial espionage.

Directions:

1. Pick a partner. You and your partner will either be assigned the roles of Dr. Heart and Dr. Diamond (chief representatives of Company A) or Dr. Club and Dr. Spade (chief representatives of Company B).

2. You have fifteen minutes to read additional information about your company's needs and to prepare for a meeting with your rivals. Only Dr. Heart and Dr. Diamond are to read the material provided about Company A's needs. Only Dr. Club and Dr. Spade are to read the material about Company B's needs. Do not read the information provided for the use of your rivals. Develop a strategy for how you will work with your partner in this meeting. Prepare your opening statement and how you will use your conflict resolution skills.

3. When the facilitator gives you the signal, you and your partner will have a discussion with the two representatives from the rival organization. This meeting with your rivals is to last for only twenty minutes. Use your best conflict resolution skills. Try to reach an agreement with them. If you do reach an agreement, be sure you have an action plan to implement it. At least make sure you have a plan for any offers that would be presented later to Mr. Greenthumb.

4. The purpose of this exercise is for you to practice your conflict resolution skills. After this exercise, you will be asked to describe which conflict resolution styles you and your rivals used. Identify what worked and what did not. Discover what skills you need to work on to become better in conflict situations. What did you learn?