Solution: First, the new executive board member should address her
fellow board members and express how she feels. It may be the situation that
her fellow leaders feel similarly but are afraid to speak up, and by taking
initiative she could solve the problem within the chapter and not make it a
public scene. If this does not work, the member should write a letter to the
national headquarters of her chapter explaining the issue. It is the
responsibility of an executive board member to report her own chapter if she
feels that they are not adhering to their values, and it is the responsibility
of the headquarters to appropriately deal with issues that arise in their
chapters. The national association should be able to step in and respectfully
and tactfully deal with the issue, bringing the least possible public attention
to the negligence of their chapter.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Conflict Management Activity
Issue: The executive board of a sorority on Ohio State’s campus is
collecting their members’ dues to pay for their own membership dues and for
extemporaneous things, such as alcohol, expensive dinners, and designer
clothes. A newly elected member of the exec board learns of this and doesn't
want it to continue. What does she do? She knows that by exposing this it would
ruin everyone’s reputation.
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Lauren, I completely agree with your points. As the creator of this scenario, I couldn't have designed a better solution. We see in the media what can happen if Greek Life issues come to light, especially ones that can be quietly handled. You definitely know your stuff when it comes to Greeks, so I appreciate your point. Making the fellow exec members the first point of contact is important, because they should understand the severity of their actions. Bringing it to the attention of the Nationals is certainly a great step as well. I would only hope that the problem would be handled appropriately at that point, and it wouldn't result in extreme measures being taken. Nice!
ReplyDeleteGreat response Lauren! As a fellow creator of this scenario, I think your solution was spot on. We are both in sororities on campus and realize the importance of sticking to our values. I completely agree that the new member should calmly and casually address the executive board first to try to solve the problem together. If they were to refuse then the hard but obvious next step would to turn to headquarters. Though a few members may hate you, you would be protecting the name, values, and general members of your sorority. An issue like this points out how often times ethical decisions are complicated and you have to look at what is right versus what is popular or what will keep your friends, members, or family happy.
ReplyDeleteI think that this would be an excellent choice to make! You clearly do not want to ruin the future of your sorority sisters but you also do not want this to continue and make things worse for your sorority and yourself. The best thing in this case is to approach the people directly and state your beliefs directly that you think this is not ok. From there, you can work with the cabinet members and other people who will help you solve this problem. If they refuse to give in, going to headquarters would be a very wise decision because it will protect your other sisters that do not know what is going on and will help protect the name of your sorority.
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