Answer the question paper sheet

“Airplane Hostages” Individual Worksheet

Instructions:

A plane has been hijacked! The hijackers offer to release four passengers to the U.S. embassy. In return for this gesture, the government of a neutral country will agree to allow the plane to land at its airport and refuel.

The captors insist, however, that U.S. authorities select the four to be released from the following list. The President has given your group the job of making the selection. If you do not select the people, the hijackers are perfectly willing to allow the plane to run out of gas and crash, killing all passengers. You must reach a decision by consensus, and you must do so within the next half hour.

You may assume the terrorists are honest about releasing those who are chosen to be released. You do not know what will happen to those who remain on the plane, but given what is known about this particular terrorist group, you expect most or all of the remaining hostages probably will die.

Quickly rank the following passengers in the order in which you would choose them to be released. In the column titled “Your rank,” place the number 1 by the hostage you would save first, the number 2 by the one you would save second, and so on through number 8, the hostage you would save last.

Please complete this part of the exercise before you come to class . During class, you will have an opportunity to discuss the matter with your group and reach an agreement.

Hostages

Your rank

1. Brenda Jones, age 27, has three children by three different fathers, none of whom she has married. She loves her children, however, and has resolved to get her life together for the children’s sake. Her mother is caring for them so Brenda can attend a six-week training program for women who lack job skills.

__________

2. Fr. John O’Brien, 65 years old, is in excellent health. A Roman Catholic priest, he has dedicated his life to working with the poor in an inner-city ghetto. He is taking this flight to arrange for funding and personnel that will enable him to set up a program to carry on his life’s work after he becomes unable to work. Should he die at this time, the work probably will end.

__________

Hostages

Your rank

3. Juan Garcia is 45. He has a history of heart trouble and might not survive the stress of a prolonged hostage situation. He is a wealthy businessman whose estate would easily provide for his wife and three young children, even if he should die in the hijacking. His business, however, which has employed and given dignity to many Hispanic people, probably would fold without his vision and drive, putting many people out of work who will not be able to find jobs.

__________

4. Elijah Brown is 52. He did time in jail for armed robbery. Since his release two years ago, he has worked hard, gone to school part time, and supported his invalid wife and youngest child (the only one remaining at home). There would be no money to provide for his family in the event of his death.

__________

5. Betsy Bates, 29, is a well-known and successful model. Married a little over a year to rock star Duke, she has just found out that she is pregnant, a discovery she views with mixed feelings.

__________

6. Congresswoman Jan Perkins is 47. Widowed young, when her husband died in the crash of an Air Force plane while on a diplomatic mission for the State Department, she has devoted her life to politics. She has been an effective and eloquent worker for peace and for the rights of women and minorities. Her death would be a crushing emotional blow to her elderly parents, though she has provided for them financially in her will. Perkins is widely seen as the most likely candidate for the first woman President of the United States.

__________

7. D. B. Calhoun is 43. Little is known about him, except that he is a very bigoted person with an unstable employment history. He reads Soldier of Fortune and similar magazines, and dreams about being a mercenary. It is quite possible that he will try some hostile action against the hijackers and ruin any chance of getting the remaining hostages out alive.

__________

8. Andrea Ohms, at 19, is already a distinguished pianist, having started performing professionally at age 8. Her performances give immense pleasure to thousands of people around the world. She is engaged to be married.

__________

“Airplane Hostages” Group Worksheet

Instructions:

Your task is to reach a consensus ranking of the four hostages to be released by the terrorists. This means that the ranking for each of the four should be agreed upon by each member of the group before it becomes part of the group decision. Here are some guidelines to use in reaching consensus.

1. Don’t argue stubbornly for your own point of view just because it is yours. Listen to other members of the group and be willing to change your views on the basis of reason and logic.

2. On the other hand, don’t change your mind simply to avoid disagreement. Seek differences of opinion and try to get every member involved in the decision-making process. The more information you have, the better chance you will have of making a sound decision.

3. Avoid such techniques as majority vote, averaging, flipping coins, and bargaining.

After your group has reached consensus on how to rank the hostages, fill in the “group rank” column below. You have 20 minutes to complete this phase of the exercise.

Hostage Group Rank

1. Brenda Jones ___________

2. Fr. John O’Brien ___________

3. Juan Garcia ___________

4. Elijah Brown ___________

5. Betsy Bates ___________

6. Jan Perkins ___________

7. D.B. Calhoun ___________

8. Andrea Ohms ___________

GROUP IDENTITY

INDIVIDUAL WORKSHEETS

Please rank order the following vital functions according to YOUR desire to be responsible for that role. You only need to rank your TOP THREE choices. As a group, assign roles. Make certain that ALL of the roles are covered.

PROCEDURAL NEEDS

_____ Agenda setter

_____ Housekeeper

TASK RESPONSIBILITIES

_____Initiator-Contributor _____ Coordinator

_____ Information Seeker _____ Secretary-Recorder

_____ Opinion Seeker _____ Director

_____ Information Giver _____ Devil's Advocate

_____ Clarifier-Elaborator

SOCIAL NEEDS

_____ Supporter-Encourager _____ Gatekeeper-Expediter

_____ Harmonizer-Tension Reliever _____ Feeling Expresser

VITAL FUNCTION DESCRIPTIONS

Procedural Needs

1. Agenda setter: Prepares agenda and minutes for meetings

2. Housekeeper: Secures meeting space; contacts members; makes certain necessary supplies are available for members

Task Requirements

1. Initiator-Contributor: Offers ideas; proposes solutions

2. Information Seeker: Solicits clarification, ideas, and evidence

3. Opinion-Seeker: Requests viewpoints from others

4. Information Giver: Provides relevant and significant information

5. Clarifier-Elaborator: Explains, expands, and extends ideas of others

6. Coordinator: Shows relationships between ideas; promotes teamwork

7. Secretary-Recorder: Takes minutes of meetings; keeps group records

8. Director: Guides group discussion; regulates group activities

9. Devil’s Advocate: Challenges prevailing group viewpoint to test ideas

Social Needs

1. Supporter-Encourager: Provides praise and encouragement

2. Harmonizer-Tension Reliever: Reduces tension through humor/smoothing

3. Gatekeeper-Expediter: Controls flow of info; promotes balanced participation

4. Feeling Expresser: Monitors/expresses feelings of group members

Please brainstorm a list of at least FIVE rules that you believe your group should follow. Focus on communication behaviors that empower your group members and are related to current group norms (see examples on the bottom of page 170 in your textbook). As a group, review all of the suggestions and come up with a master list of TEN rules to distribute to the members.

RULE 1

RULE 2

RULE 3

RULE 4

RULE 5

Please brainstorm a list of at least THREE solidarity symbols for your group to embrace. BE CREATIVE. Focus on a humorous, profound, or whimsical group name or slogan or mode of dress to use to motivate your team members. As a group, review all of the suggestions and come up to consensus on ONE group identity and ritual for its use.

IDEA 1

IDEA 2

IDEA 3