Shane Xuan ’17 – In Week 3, the LABB (Liberal Arts Bridge to Business) team was divided into four groups, who negotiated the terms between the Union and the Management in the 1978 case. The negotiation went fairly well as both sides came up with practical plans. As one of the Union workers remarked after the negotiation, “I realize that there is no winner in the negotiation. As a Union member, I get what I want, which is to raise the minimum wage and to ensure my job.” On the other hand, another management member also acknowledged the fact that the principle of negotiation is to maintain the relationship between the two sides. “Negotiation is to form an agreement between two sides for the long term.” Dan Scoffield ’17 said, “You would not expect the other side to compromise if you do not concede at all.” Moreover, it is interesting to see different approaches to the same problem. One tentative plan proposed was to improve efficiency of the factory by cutting the workers’ welfare program immediately by increasing their minimum wages. Another plan proposed the idea to cut the welfare program progressively while maintaining the current payment rates. Both plans were practical and creative, and won approval from both sides and the program supervisor, Rolan Morin ’91.
The whole LABB team should appreciate Lilly’s generous endowment for the opportunity to help us realize how business works in the real world. The merit of a liberal arts education is determined by the ability to apply what we have learned in class to the real world. The LABB program gives us a rare opportunity to practice such application through numerous field trips, in-class work, and the design of business plans. It is now Week 4 of our program, and the business program presentations will be given by the students on Wednesday. After the intensive financial knowledge bootcamp and practice, it is thrilling to see how far the whole LABB team has gone! Thank you Roland for your help, and thank you Lilly!
