Bunyon Brothers Construction Company Case Study

Chestnut Drive

Four weeks ago, Bunyon Brothers Construction Company began work on a 77-unit condominium complex at the end of a quiet, wooded, dead-end street named Chestnut Drive. The residents of Chestnut Drive were surprised and angered by this development, but, after some inquiry, concluded that there was little that could be done. Now, however, the construction process has once again brought their tempers to a boil. The neighbors' complaints include: the excessive noise from blasting, dangerously speeding trucks, the lack of a fence around the project area, foul language and habits among the construction workers, and damage to windows and at least one foundation allegedly caused by the blasting. They have elected a six-member negotiating committee consisting of a retired executive, a lawyer, a cab driver, a dentist, a small businessman, and a carpenter. The lawyer has set up a meeting of the community group with the Bunyon Brothers General Counsel.

Lawyer

* George Harrison

* 40 years old

* Profession: Lawyer

* Studied law at Harvard University

* Married, 2 children

I see many dangers the project of the Bunyon Brothers Construction Company brings with it. There are many trucks driving through our dead-end street. They are often driving very fast and very loud. The truck drivers aren't attending the speed limit. So either the police have to control it or we need a speed monitoring. Furthermore we need a noise-free time per day. Best would be the time around 13 o'clock when our children are coming home from school and want to do their homework. Apart from that it would be safer for the children, when there are no fast trucks driving when they come back home from school. Another danger I see is the lack of a fence around the project area. Our children are playing outside close to the project area. There are so many things that can happen. A fence is needed!

How should we prepare ourselves for negotiation with the construction company?

Firstly we have to know our interests and aims as well as points we would like to avoid. Our interests define the problems that we should solve and are therefore the motivation for negotiation. Discussing and deciding on our interesting, we can create an agenda consisting of a chart that shows our major and minor points. By then we should clearly know the first steps that need to be done is one of our most important points. We need to require that the truck drivers have to decrease their tempo. Therefore it would be good to angle for their attention on our issues, which al could be reached by legitimating them with a demonstration of external experts.

Secondly we have to know what your counterparts desire and what they disagree with. In order to come to an agreement that meets our own interests it is needed to develop a solution which is compatible with the interests of our opponents. Regarding an achievement, we have to gather a lot of information about the construction company, to be able to understand their point of view, to know for example why they are doing so much noise, is a principle for understanding and helping to negotiate. They want to get the job quickly at minimum cost and we do not want to raise their cost. But we want safety