Marisha Evans
MGT/445
June 5, 2013
Robert Williams
Miami School District
An increase in enrolment has resulted in the Miami School District school boundaries to change. The decision was unexpected and many parents outraged by the school board’s decision. Experts have been hired by the school board to redraw the boundaries. The school board received several complaints from parents which voiced their concerns regarding the decision. The parents were concerned that the quality of education would be affected from the implementation of the new boundaries. The parents are unsure about the quality of teachers and the learning environment that their children will be learning in. The new boundaries would force many students to have to change schools and may increase travel time. Low income families would have limited options and would be forced to comply with the school board’s decision. Students living in higher income households would have the option of attending private school if the student’s parents didn’t agree with the school board’s decision. The property values would be affected because future home buyers would be looking for homes that are located close to quality schools.
Current residence may decide to move if their children are faced with going to a lower quality school as a result of the changes. The school board’s decision could increase property values if the boundaries cross into lower income areas. The changes purposed by the school board will force students to make new friends at a new school and may impact their social life. The change in school possibly could create hardships for students and parents. The students that end up going to lower income schools may be exposed to gang activity and less disciplined students. This paper will address the needs of the stakeholders, negotiation strategy, and ethical impact of the decision (Carlson, 2011).
Stakeholders
The stakeholders are individuals that have an indirect or direct stake in the school. The individuals that would be affected by the decision include: parents, students, school district, teachers, staff, and school officials. The parents may have to make changes to their work and personal schedules in order accommodate for the decision. The parents will have to evaluate the new school that their child will be going to see if it is a quality leaning institution. Parents may decide to send their children to private school which would result parents having to pay high tuition fees. The students may have social problems with students and teachers as they adapt to their new environment. Many friendships are developed over time and a student may encounter problems fitting into the new school society. The school district plan is to save money within the district by sending students to different schools. Problems may develop if lower income students are sent to lower income schools. The teachers and staff may be moved around in order for the school board to save money. The school officials will have to deal with complaints of parents and make reasonable accommodations if applicable. The school board needs to make sure they have good standing with all the stake holders involved. Some stakeholders may have more influence on the decision than others and the school board needs to address the various interests of the different stake holders (Carlson, 2011).
Negotiation Strategy
The introduction of the school board’s decision created a competitive negotiation environment. The parents of the students within the district feel that they are being forced into a situation that probably isn’t in the best interest of their children attending schools within the district. The school board should have involved the parents in the decision making process before making a decision that would impact all the students and parents in the district. In the present situation the school board needs open up negotiations with the student’s parents. The parents need to feel that they have a say in their child’s education experience. The school board needs to change the environment of the negotiation from hostile to an environment that both parties have equal say in the outcome. Both parties need to feel that they are solving a problem that affects each party involved. The school board can accomplish this by outlining a plan that will help in the negotiation process. In developing a negotiation plan they need to decide what issues take presidency when it comes to the changing of school boundaries. They also need to understand the issues and needs of the parents within the district and other stakeholders. The school board needs to look at the benefits the parents will receive from the changing of school boundaries. The school board also needs to clarify the reason why the school boundaries need to be changed. The ways in which the school board will help the parents adjust to the changes of school boundaries. The school board can talk about exactly what boundaries are going to be changed and show the parents a visual representation of the changes on a map. The school district can hire more people to drive buses and teachers to educate the students. The school board can show that the present schools are overcrowded and potential problems that could result from overcrowding. The school board also can show parents that their property values may change and the areas they feel property values may see increase. The school board will attempt to convince everyone that the changes will benefit all parties involved and create a quality education experience for the students. The school board will listen to the parents concerns and make compromises if warranted (Carlson, 2011).
Ethics and Culture
The school board needs to take into consideration any ethical or cultural issues regarding the rezoning of school boundaries. The parents feel that the change in school boundaries is unethical and doesn’t take cultural issues into consideration. The school board needs to constantly check that they are conducting business within their ethics and the ethics of the overall society. The school district will be under pressure from the affluent parents within their district to send their children to the top quality schools. The rezoning of schools can cause a rift between lower income areas and higher income areas. It may be proven later the rezoning of schools favored the higher income families and one school may be getting a higher budget than the other school. The rezoning of the schools should be in the best interest of the students and provide a better learning environment. The schools should encourage diversification and give the students opportunities to learn with students from different cultural backgrounds. The school district needs to be fare and maintain the objective of providing high quality education. The school board needs to be careful that they don’t inadvertently discriminate against any group of people. The school board also shouldn’t favor the wealthy families over the families with lower incomes. The school board’s actions will be closely watched by the community and if unethical practices are found the school board will be facing several lawsuits.
Conclusion
This paper has addressed the needs of the stakeholders, negotiation strategy, and ethical impacts of the school board’s decision. The school board needs to change the negotiation from a competitive negotiation to a negotiation that solves the underlining problems. The stockholders need satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation. The school board needs to take into consideration the need of the stakeholders. The school board needs to clarify the changes that are about to be made and the potential impacts of those changes on the community. The school board needs to make sure that they are conducting themselves ethically while executing the rezoning decision. The decision should promote diversification and give lower income students the opportunity to get a quality education. The school board needs to do what it can to reduce complaints within the community and some compromises on both parties may be needed. The school district can hire new teachers and provide school buses to transport students to their new schools. The school district needs to have the best interest of the community in mind and the interests of their financial backers when making any decision. The school board needs to anticipate future lawsuits and make arrangements to deal with them in the future when they come (Carlson, 2011).
References
Lee, C. C., & Ou-Yang, C. C. (2008). Development and evaluation of the interactive bidding strategies for a demander and its suppliers in supplier selection auction market. International Journal of Production Research, 46(17), 4827-4848. Doi: 10.1080/00207540701275303
Lu, H. H., & Liu, B. B. (2009). DFANS: A highly efficient strategy for automated trust negotiation. Computers & Security, 28(7), 557-565. doi:10.1016/j.cose.2009.03.004
Ma, Z. (2010). The SINS in Business Negotiations: Explore the Cross-Cultural Differences in Business Ethics Between Canada and China. Journal of Business Ethics, 91123-135. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-010-0571-5
Carlson, K. (2011). Miami school district of negotiation. Retrieved from http://extremelycleandetail.blogspot.com/2011/07/miami-school-district-negotiation.html
References: Lee, C. C., & Ou-Yang, C. C. (2008). Development and evaluation of the interactive bidding strategies for a demander and its suppliers in supplier selection auction market. International Journal of Production Research, 46(17), 4827-4848. Doi: 10.1080/00207540701275303 Lu, H. H., & Liu, B. B. (2009). DFANS: A highly efficient strategy for automated trust negotiation. Computers & Security, 28(7), 557-565. doi:10.1016/j.cose.2009.03.004 Ma, Z. (2010). The SINS in Business Negotiations: Explore the Cross-Cultural Differences in Business Ethics Between Canada and China. Journal of Business Ethics, 91123-135. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-010-0571-5 Carlson, K. (2011). Miami school district of negotiation. Retrieved from http://extremelycleandetail.blogspot.com/2011/07/miami-school-district-negotiation.html