Aracruz Cellulose simulation

The Aracruz simulation was interesting and inspiring but also difficult. I think it amplified the difficulty of doing business in foreign countries - sometimes it's hard to understand the rationales from a North America perspective. It also ran against a win-win outcome - with such a diverse group of stakeholders whom have very conflicting perspectives and interests, it seemed impossible to arrive at mutually satisfactory propositions. The scenario was basically a slow-brewing crisis for Aracruz Cellulose.

The Aracruz simulation reinforced my learning on working as a team. Crucial conversations happen almost everyday at work but the conflicts and stakes were so much deeper and higher in the case of Aracruz, which made the dialogue more crucial and difficult. While we don't need to engage in stakeholder dialogue in everyday situation, they remain important to avoid misunderstanding and achieve common goals more effectively. I believe stakeholder dialogue skills can practically be used during any team projects - particularly during the initial problem definition phase. The simulation also forced as to solve problems through the brain storming process. Since there were no easy solutions, we could not jump to conclusions without brain storming as in some of our normal work situations.

Our team was effective in initiating the dialogue and worked with others to frame common goals. I believe we were able to listen to others with an open mind but we often fell into conflicts and our communications sometimes turned confrontational. At one point, our discussion turned into a debate between Aracruz and FUNAI and Dr. Osland had to stop us from continuing the debate. I think it also pointed to our ineffectiveness in identifying conflicts and dissolving them quickly. With that said, if I could redo the simulation, I would first quickly lead the team to agree on common goals and remind everyone on the common goals whenever conflicts or irrelevant debates arise.