Aracruz Cellulose Simulation

The Aracruz Celulose simulation I participated in on Thursday, 11/1/2012 was very interesting.  I represented the Executive group of Aracruz Celulose.  I think that being a member of the "big bad corporation" generated a bit of animosity from my classmates who were members of the FUNAI, Indigenous and Landless People, Community and International NGO groups. 

I was also surprised at how quickly I stepped into the "us versus them" mentality.  Despite the fact that I logically understood the simulation was just that, a simulation, I found myself becoming emotionally involved.  I remember thinking how strongly I felt about FUNAI selling my company land that was not theirs to sell. 

I learned that in participating in heterogeneous stakeholder discussions, it is of the utmost importance to imagine and analyze the situation from other group's point of view. The Stakeholder Perspective Form distributed by Professor Osland, made this process a little easier to wrap my mind around.  Answering questions regarding what the other parties valued, what they hoped to gain in the situation, what action they might take if they do not reach a desired outcome and analyzing Aracruz's similarities and differences with other stakeholder groups proved to be an indispensable tool.

I feel that my group was effective in drilling down deeper and understanding where the misconceptions of the other group were.  I think that we elevated some of the preconception that we were the big corporation trying to take advantage of the little people.  I feel that my group was able to reach a successful agreement but only under the assumption that the FUNAI had the money to buy back the land they had "sold" to Aracruz.

I think that my group was particularly ineffective in completely dispelling the notion that we were in effect exploiting the land and the people.  I think there remained a general distrust from the other groups.  It was difficult to "sell" the idea that Aracruz had utilized sustainable methods in the past and presently.  I also think that other groups found it difficult to believe Aracruz had aerial photos of the land showing no inhabitants in 1957 (10 years before Aracruz began purchasing the land). 

If I could participate in the stakeholder dialogue part of the simulation again I would take more time to uncover the shared similarities my group held with others.  I think the subsequent intergroup conversations would have been more productive if I had fully fleshed these out first.

I think that stakeholder dialogue skills can be applied in other areas of my life related to family and work situations.  There are several situations I encounter at work where various departments have different views or interests regarding a particular Company problem.  I feel that this simulation was a good jumping off point for viewing problems from other's point of view.  In some situations, successful application of this tool may reveal solutions to a problem that I would not otherwise see.