Hypothetical Scenario

Directions:

• Download this entire Microsoft Word document – located on Canvas/Assignments – (or copy and paste all the text within this file, including these directions, into another word processing program) – and work from it. Type your answers underneath the corresponding questions. Do not delete any text from this file; keeping this consistency between student papers assists me in interpreting Turnitin’s originality calculationð.

ðThis is an independent assignment; do not consult with other students about the assignment.

• Use your class notes/textbook to justify your answers, as well as your own creativity (for #3b, 4b, & 5b). You do not need to use other sources or provide citations. The questions should not be answered like a formal essay (i.e., introductory and concluding paragraphs are unnecessary) but make sure you answer each part of the question and that your answers are sufficiently supported.

• Please: no quotes. Paraphrase instead.

Grading:

• Correctness and completeness: 90 points
• Overall clarity, grammar, and spelling: 10 points

• A rewrite will be required at the end of the semester. Your rewrite and your grade on this assignment will be averaged to compute a final grade for the assignment.

Real-Life Scenario

In 2009, around 5am at a Walmart Black Friday event in Valley Stream, NY (LI), shoppers, some waiting in the cold since 9pm the night before, broke down the door and trampled to death a 34-y/o employee. A 28-y/o pregnant woman and several other customers were injured. Allegedly, some customers knew the trampling had occurred but persisted in entering the store, even after police officers arrived. It also took some time for employees to identify the problem and obtain medical assistance.

The event was tragic as well as a public relations nightmare; many across the country wondered how customers could trample another person to death “…just to save $20 on a television.”

For those unfamiliar with Black Friday: It occurs the day after Thanksgiving and is the official start to the holiday shopping season. Retailers offer discounts, sometimes significant, on a number of items, many of which are in limited quantities (first come first served). Doors open early that Friday (typically 5am), though some stores have been opening on Thanksgiving Day. At many large retailers, crowds began to form many hours earlier than the opening of the store.

Hypothetical Scenario

You are a management employee at a nearby Walmart and your boss has charged you and others from the management team to prevent similar tragedies from happening during this year’s Black Friday event. The boss knows the team has not worked well together in the past (half of you are from one high school on the North Shore, the other half from a rival high school on the South Shore). Your boss hopes you can iron out your differences and come up with a solution to prevent another Black Friday tragedy. You are required to come up with a Black Friday event.

1.What peacemaking strategy or strategies (from “Promoting Peace” in Module 37) might your boss be currently using to help management employees improve their working relationship with each other? Explain. (20 points).

2.Describe how the fundamental attribution error might apply to the public reaction to this tragedy. (10 points).

3a.Describe how deindividuation might apply to this tragedy. Make sure to consider all parts of the definition of the concept in your answer(10 points).

3b. Describe how you would design a Black Friday event taking into consideration deindividuation. (10 points).

4a. Describe how the diffusion of responsibility and the bystander effect might apply to this tragedy. (10 points).

4b. Describe how you would design a Black Friday event taking into consideration the diffusion of responsibility and the bystander effect. (10 points).

5a.Describe how reinforcement and punishment for shopper aggression might apply to this tragedy. (10 points).

5b. Describe how you would design a Black Friday event taking into consideration reinforcement and punishment for shopper aggression (10 points).