Word Count: 839

Problem Case Study Final Projects

Group Members: Hannah Happy, Benjamin Bitter, Aaron Angry.

Learning Objective:
1. To show how to managing conflict.
2. To show how to make a good decision;
3. To show why difference and diversity matters.

Introduction:
It’s Chrismast Day. Everybody should be happy because Santa Claus would come in a
minute. But it’s happening in a meeting room of a co-working space in New York. It’s very tense.
Ben and Aaron involved into an argument about what kind of vehicle the company should use first
in their apps. Hannah tried to reduce the tension. It isn’t work.
For the background, they are business partners. They want to create an online taxi via
online application. It’s basically an app where you can call taxi from your home so you just sit
tight and when the taxi come you leave immediately. It’s saving your time. That’s the main
business. The first service. If it’s success they would expanse their service with food delivery
service, package delivery service, and ect.
It’s not launched yet. But they have already involved into a fight. Ben think that they should
use cars to do their service. Because after all, it’s just a taxi. The difference is it’s called via an
application. In other hand, Aaron want the vehicle to be motorcycles, because they want to launch
in New York, a city where everything is crowded and cramped. Using motorcycles would save
time than using cars.
Meetings:
“You’re stupid, Ben. You’re so stupid you can even see a things” Aaron lashed.
“Whoa, I’m stupid? If I’m stupid, what are you? Donald Trump?” Ben lashed back.
“Guys, can we please not “ad hominem” to each other? Can we sit please. For the note, Aaron not
stupid, but Donald Trump does.” Hannah try to reduce the tension by injecting a humor.
Slowly but sure, the tension is reduced. Then they laughed because Hannah’s humor about Trump.
They all agree that Trump is stupider than Aaron, than every people in the planet for they all know.
“Okay, we can argue like this all the time. Can we pleased adress the issue without lashing into
personal ability or appearance. Let’s start with what’s the goal here, beyond choosing a vehicle?”
“…” Aaron
“…” Ben
“Seriously?No one?” Hannah.
“Well, I think so people might save time, I guess” Ben started
“And to bring them from one place to another, safely” add Aaron.
“Okay, let’s agree on that, now let’s disscussed about the vehicle.” Hannah confirmed the issue
about a commonly shared goal.
From here, the conversation went smoothly. Hannah leads the discussion about the vehicle
thingy. Apparently, Ben is insisting to used cars as based of entire vehicle thing because he can’t
ride a motorcycle, because down in Texas, the place where he come from, there’s no traffic so
people use cars not motorcycle. Furthermore, he is ashamed of himself, “What kind of founder
that can’t ride a motorcyle while the main vehicle of the app is motorcyle” Ben thinks. This is
some difference and diversity issues. So Aaron and Hannah explain that up here in New York,
people needs to be fast while there’s traffic everywhere, so motorcyles would be a logical choices.
But if the apps succesful and they can expand to another states, it’s possible that cars would be the
main vehicle. Depends on what state it is and how bad the traffics. Hannah and Aaron show there
are multiple alternatives.

Teaching Notes:
1. Managing conflict: How to have a good fight. Digging people interest motivations, emotion
and priorities, and personal biases.
Application: How hannah handling the ‘ad hominem’ between her partners.
2. Injecting humor: reducing the tension by injecting humor.
Application: How hannah try to reduce the tensions.
3. A commonly shared goal: managing conflict by make members of group agreen upon one
goal.
 Application: how hannah try to find underlining intention from Aaron and Ben
4. Multiple Alternatives: finding more than a solution, but solutions.
Application: how Hannah and Aaron explains possibility to use car in other state as long as it
is not New York.
5. Difference and Diversity: understanding what make people doing a certain behavior.
Application: how Ben explain why he doesn’t wanna use motorcycles as app’s vehicle.
6. More information: try to digging more fact in order to make better decision.
Application: how Hannah try to dig more fact about a goal of the company from Ben Aaron.
7. Advocacy: try to defend an argument by stand firm and defend critisize.
Application: how Ben and Aaron stand firm in their argument and doing ad hominem that
could lead to destruction of the team.
8. Negotiation: making best possible solution by negotiate.
Application: how Hannah and Aaron try to persuade Ben to use motorcycles in New York but
give him promise that in other state it could be cars.

Questions:
1. How Hannah managing the conflict?
2. What make Ben don’t want use motorcycles as app’s vehicle?
3. How Hannah and Aaron try to persuade Ben?