THE COLLECTIVE
William McMillian
Negotiations Team
Ernest Mistica
Strategic Case Analysis Team
International Negotiations Competition - Strategic Case Analysis
In March 2015, Queen's MIR participated in the International Negotiations Competition alongside the University of Toronto, Rutgers University, University of Montreal, McGill University, and Seneca. Here are two first hand accounts from Queen's MIR participants, Ernest Mistica and William McMillan!
“We haven’t had the cup in this building since we first made it for this competition,” were the first words the Queen’s team received while being told about the Strategic Case Analysis portion of the 2015 International Negotiations Competition. After my team had been selected by random process, we came together after hearing this motivating challenge and made a pact to try our best to bring the cup home. The Queen’s team, consisting of Alex Carroll, Tristan DiFrancesco, Theresa Hillis, and myself, had never worked as a group together and we were in the middle of a number of midterms and assignments when the majority of the preparation for the competition was required. The odds were stacked against us.
The Strategic Case Analysis aspect of the competition consisted of three phases, all involving a company in the energy/water/waste industry. The first phase was a 5-minute video submission of a consulting pitch, where we got to bring in my Digital SLR camera and audio recorder and pretend like we were part of a production crew. The second phase was a 3 page summary report of issues and how we would solve them. And lastly the final phase was presenting in front of a panel of judges, one of which was from the company that the case was modeled after. Talk about pressure!
The last phase, which was held at the University of Montreal, brought together all the schools competing, including University of Toronto, McGill University, Rutgers University, Seneca, the host school, and ourselves. During the award ceremony the team and I sat, clutching our tablecloths nervously after 3rd place and 2nd place were awarded to both University of Toronto teams, and were completely floored with a plethora of emotions when Queen’s was announced the winner of the Strategic Case Analysis! The moments of anticipation before we presented, the sheer adrenalin you feel as you put forth days of work into a 30-minute presentation, the tremendous joy and nervousness you feel as you finish the presentation, and the final moments of celebration…the experience was a rollercoaster that was definitely my highlight of the MIR program.
The MIR class of 2015 showed some serious muscle at the International Negotiations Cup hosted in Montreal. A number of students from the class signed on to participate in two separate competitions. It’s no exaggeration to say that the team represented the MIR program with diplomacy and professionalism, collecting up multiple achievements in both competitions.
The International Negotiations Cup is an annual competition held in Montreal and includes teams from Queen’s University, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of Montreal and Rutgers University. The cup consists of two separate competitions. The first was a case competition. The second competition, of which I had the pleasure of being involved in 2015, consisted of a multi-party negotiation simulation with the competing schools. The task was to play a role at the negotiating table in a mock simulation to replicate what might occur in a multi-union, single employer environment. In this competition students did their best to represent their respective constituents and attempt to come to a “deal” with the other parties at the table. These “mock” negotiations were observed, in person, by judges and a quantitative score was assigned to each individual at the bargaining table based on the outcome they achieved for their organization. Among the Queen’s MIR team, there were a number of our team mates being awarded top points for showing knowledge, preparation, and excellent presentation skills.
The event ended on a high note with all participants attending an awards and recognition banquet at the conclusion of the competition. The Queen’s MIR program proudly accepted the trophy for the case competition, and also garnered the most awards at the banquet for individual performance in the mock negotiation. There is no doubt that the 2015 team owes its success to the wise counsel and sage advice of Professor Robert Hickey. Professor Hickey’s expertise, support, compassion, and patience allowed the MIR team put its best foot forward in the Negotiations Cup, just as his classes and personal encouragement help build a solid foundation that Queen’s MIR students can rely upon as they undertake a career in the challenging field of industrial relations.
Strategic Case Analysis Team
Ernest Mistica, Theresa Hillis, Alex Carroll, Tristan DiFrancesco
Professor Hickey with the Case Analysis and Negotiations Team
Regrets: Daniel DiCroce
The Negotiations Team Included: Abbey Goodine, Rachel Davis, Michael Cunningham, William McMillan, William Kearns, and Daniel DiCroce.