Amy, Nancy, Emily, and Emma are good friends, and they decided to go on a summer trip to America.
Amy is very eager to go travelling around the U.S.A, and she has been Planning for this trip for a long time. She plans to go to New York, Boston, Washington and Philadelphia. Those are the cities that she always dreamt of going, especially New York. Amy is keen to spend a nice night watching a Broadway show. Also, she wants to go to a lot of other famous places in New York, such as the Wall Street which is the financial centre of the world. Since New York is such a dynamic city, Amy plans to spend 4 days there to have a whole view of the city.
However, during the discussion, Amy finds out that Nancy prefers to go to the western side of America. Nancy believes that cities like Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles are more interesting, and she is yearning to take a look at the Hollywood and Grand Canyon.
Since Emily and Emma do not have strong preferences, Amy feels that the discussion is going on Nancy’s way. Amy is not happy about the discussion. Though she really wants to travel with her friends instead of going alone, she still doesn’t want to lose the chance of going to her favourite places. Moreover, going to both of the western and eastern sides of America is not realistic due to the budget constraint.
So how are you going to resolve this conflict? (You can give your opinion as an outsider, or what will you do if you are one of them?)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hello Rachel,
ReplyDeleteone way to solve this is to separate them into 2 teams, one following Nancy's itinerary, the other going Amy's way, since the 2 other girls do not have particular preferences.
Another way is that Amy could talk nicely with her friends, and explain her reasons why she would prefer they go her way. If it still cannot be resolved, they probably should find another state/country which they will all enjoy and have fun.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michelle. The group of four should be split into groups of 2 so that everybody gets to see what they want. If neither is willing to compromise on their intended intinerary, there is no harm travelling separately.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting scenario that you describe quite well. It could easily be a real one. Pei En and Michelle have addressed the issue, but they haven't put their solutions into the context of any communications principles. For example, how could these four friends come up with a "win-win solution"? One way would be for them to schedule a flight to the West Coast, say, to LA, then to fly east, say, to Boston. By empathizing with each other's dreams, and compromising, they could brainstorm for a common goal, and perhaps more easily resolve the issue.
ReplyDeleteThis is a common situation whereby friends and family could have conflicting interests. The way to resolve is to communicate well.
ReplyDeleteThey should try to talk about what they like about the western parts and the eastern parts of the U.S.A. From that they could agree on a place which embodies both their interests. That is an ideal win-win situation.
Alternatively, they could decide to do the east side this year, and the west next year, or vice versa.
Finally, if they cannot come to an agreement, they should split up to pursue their own dreams.
I agree with Van about the discussion of their interests.If Nancy is keen on natural wonders,there are also quite some in east side of the States.Or if Amy dreams about the metropolis,SF and Las Vegas is also.
ReplyDeleteIf they could not reach consensus,travelling in 2groups or alone is not bad either. They could make new friends along the way.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThat would not fun if they travelled separately in two groups based on my personality.
Actually, as our class mates have mentioned about the discusion among them. The talk could be sensitive and constrained due to the interest difference. Travelling in the specially small group like in this situation, personally, I think we should satisfy every people's interest. I would recommend them to talk about the particular places to visit in each region, the East and the West, and sensitively about the financial issue. After negotiating, I believe that the group will visit both the West and the East with the appropriate time spent and most prefered visited places.
In conclusion, I would not advice your friends to divide into two groups to travel. It would not much fun at all. Instead, the negotiation and sensitive discussion among themselves would bring the trip the best memory and satisfaction to everyone.