Prompt #1: Introduce yourself and please include what your expectations for the class

are

Hello! My name is Richie Laureano and I'm an organizational leadership major. My

expectations for this class is to learn and connect with fellow OGL majors as well as
educate myself about conflict management. I look forward to working with you all!

Prompt #2: Put yourself in the shoes of Nelson Mandela. Identify what you would be
thinking and how you would feel about your captors as you emerged from 27 years of
hard labor in prison.

Honestly, I'd probably feel so unbelievably frustrated and angry at the world. 27 years of
hard labor in prison shaves off so much of your life, especially being captured and put in
to that whole situation. I would want to make a change just like he did, so that others
wouldn't have to go through what he did. Most people would set out for revenge against
the Afrikaners, including myself. But Mandela did not see it the same way. Instead he
studied them and watched and learned their methods of learning and used that against
them to come together as a whole.

Prompt #3: What advice was Mandela receiving from his close associates and how was
he responding?

Mandela wants to unite the people of South Africa together as president. The way he
wanted to do this is by trusting the ones that never trusted them and put Mandela into
prison. His associates did not like this at all. They addressed and thought that he was
making a big mistake and that the Afrikaners could not be trusted, and this was
dangerous. They did not want to do it at all. They did not think Mandela was correct and
that he was

setting everything up for failure. But Mandela told his associates that we must trust the
Afrikaners.

Prompt #4: What’s so unusual about his responses to the advice he’s receiving?

One thing that was so unusual about his response is that he believes that you must
understand and study your opponents. When he was in prison, he studied and watched
how they acted so therefore, he wants to prove that they are what they fear they would
be and that they must be better than that.

Prompt #5: What lessons can you take away from how Nelson Mandela decided to deal
with the conflict in his country?
A good lesson that I can take away from how Mandela decided to deal with the conflict
is trust and how valuable it can be. At times, the most untrusting people must be
trusted in the sense that they want to make the changes that you do. Obviously the
Afrikaners were not to be trusted, especially to all of those who they captured, but
Mandela still found a way to do that.

Prompt #6: What lessons can you apply to your concept of leadership from observing
the approach of President Mandela?

Mandela truly believed that everyone was equal, no matter of color of skin or what
language they spoke. I'd like to say I'm the same way because we are all human beings
and all have the capabilities of being human. To inspire each other, to be there for one
another, to be kind to everyone and I think I do a pretty good job when it comes to my
work and actually applying these traits.

Prompt #7: After watching the clip, “I Know a Way Out of Hell,” how would you describe
Gandhi’s response to the Hindu father whose child was killed and who murdered a
Muslim child? What is unusual about this response? How would you apply the word
"healing" to Gandhi's response?

The response given to the man who's son was killed by Muslims was for him to find a
muslim boy who's mother and father were killed, and raise him as his own, but he had to
be Muslim and he has to be raised as Muslim. Basically, for him to be forgiven by God
and accepted in to heaven, he was given a way out of hell by these terms that Gandhi
gave him. Since the boy he killed was muslim, he must raise a child, that way he can
heal himself. Taking the life of one but giving another a life.

Prompt #8: Consider your own Mental Model regarding conflict. Which of the following
one or two approaches to conflict resolution are you most likely to utilize: Avoidance,
Aggression, Integration, Accommodation, Compromise? Identify problems with your
approach? Identify benefits of your approach?

Considering my own Mental Model regarding conflict, I'd say the easiest and best
approach for me would be accommodation and compromise. I believe these two are
obviously very similar in terms of definition, but accommodating sacrifices a little more.
For every conflict I've ever been in, usually the best solution comes to compromise,
unless accommodation is necessary and there's clearly only one solution that fits
everyone. The only problem with compromising, is that you may get a little bit of what
you want, but not all. A benefit, however, means that both parties considered get a little
bit of both of what they want, so no one really loses anything in fairness.