Erin Brockovich

First of all, let me just say that I absolutely adored this movie and the character Erin. It was my first time seeing it and I enjoyed it a great deal.

This was a fantastic movie for a conflict resolution class due to the fact that there was a tremendous about of conflict on all levels. Erin faced conflict in every aspect of her life: career, family, and love life. In the beginning of the movie, Erin was in a car accident which was no fault of her own. She suffered a neck injury in which surgery was necessary and she fell into a large amount of debt because she was not insured. Unfortunately, the resolution to this was not fair or just at all. When she sued the man who hit her for damages, who just so happened to be a doctor, they lawyer claimed that Erin was desperate for money at the time and set up the accident some how. He also questioned her character by stating that she had been divorced twice and had no job. Erin was unable to contain herself and, therefore, the jury did not award her damages. This shows that communication, as well as interpersonal barriers, are a very realistic part of the negotiation, or persuading, process. I believe that is one scenario that could have been handled using an alternative dispute resolution. In doing so, the doctor would not be taken advantage of just because he was wealthy and Erin would not have to pay outrageous medical bills because of someone else’s irresponsible actions. It would create a more balanced alternative instead of the doctor getting away with everything. But I suppose that would only work if the doctor would think that the jury would award Erin an amount he was unwilling to pay.

The next major issue was that Erin did not have a job in order to support her family of three children. She search with no avail, and decided that the lawyer who let her down in the previous case, owed it to her. This was a great example of problem solving and negotiation skills. She was able to talk her way into a job. More like she demanded it and wouldn’t take no for an answer, but she did what she needed to do to support her children. Although she got the job the lawyer, Ed, refused to offer her benefits. So, he was also part of the negotiation and not just letting Erin run the show.

Another great example of barriers was that Ed tried to communicate to Erin that she probably wasn’t popular with the rest of the staff because of the way she dressed. In other word the other employees had an interpersonal barrier due to the way she presented herself. Unfortunately, Erin does not listen to Ed and is unable to grasp this concept. Also due to her appearance, Erin is fired while doing research because Ed thought she was “out having fun” instead of working.

Erin is able to negotiate her way back into working to Ed after he goes through her research. She demands a raise and benefits if Ed wants to know any more information. She states that, if he does not offer that, she has other options (BATNA- Best Alternative to a Negotiation Agreement). Erin is a very determined person and in my eyes a good negotiator.

The main conflict in this movie starts off as a real estate dispute but turns out to be much more. Through diligent research Erin finds that PG&E is using a harmful chemical in their plant called Chromium 6. This chemical has gotten into the water supply and is causing numerous diseases and cancers nearly all of the population of the little town. To make matters worse the company claims that it is Chromium 3 which is very beneficial to your health. Erin has to convince the people that they are sick due to the chemical and not unrelated issues which a doctor paid by PG&E claims. She definitely has to use good communication skills and get the people of the town to trust her in order to move forward with a suit. PG&E comes back with an offer of a very minimal amount to buy a house and completely ignoring the other issues entirely, stating that they are unrelated illnesses. The company’s lawyer states that it is their final offer and that Ed and Erin don’t know who they are up against. This shows that the company thinks that they’re resources give them all the power in this negotiation. Little did they know who they were up against. After many months of diligent efforts and Erin’s continuing research they find a link from the plant to the headquarters in San Francisco which proves they covered up the issue. All the plaintiffs were awarded $330 million dollars, $5 million of that going to one family in particular.

I think this was a excellent example of negotiation and communication skills to resolve problems as well as showing the barriers to effective communication. I believe all of the conflicts were realistic and that many people are able to relate to them.