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As the owner of a small electrical company, you are hopeful you will be able to get OSHA’s area director to substantially decrease the $14,000 penalty you received

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As the owner of a small electrical company, you are hopeful you will be able to get OSHA’s area director to substantially decrease the $14,000 penalty you received. That is a lot of money and goes directly against your bottom line. You are confident that you have a good argument for the area director to throw out two of the citations.

In preparation for the informal settlement conference with OSHA’s area director, you decide to have a talk with the foreman of the site and you learn that the general contractor’s superintendent at the site was rather rude to the OSHA compliance officer during the inspection. He then confesses that he, himself, was not all that nice either.

In talking to a number of contractors who have had dealings with OSHA, you also discover that the area director is not the “jerk” the framing contractor made her out to be (as described in Module 1) but is far from a “pushover” in negotiations. What you have learned is that she tends to focus on the facts of the case but tends to be less accommodating when she or her compliance officers are not treated with the respect they deserve as federal officers. You have also learned that she can be impressed by companies who are committed to safety.

After reviewing your readings (including referring to the scenario-related materials from Module 1), prepare a 2- to 3-page paper in which you discuss your negotiation style and how you plan to present your case to the area director. Be sure to discuss ethical considerations that you will make.