The best conflict management style

The goal of PG&E was primarily damage control and financial minimization. Their objective was to defend against liability, minimize the final settlement cost, protect their corporate image, and contain the scope of the legal challenge to prevent future similar lawsuits.

The best conflict management style to resolve this specific, high-stakes legal dispute was Collaborating. This style involves working together to find a "win-win" solution that fully satisfies the concerns of both parties. While the initial litigation was adversarial, the final large-scale arbitration utilized elements of collaboration by bringing the parties together to agree on a settlement structure that provided customized, substantial compensation to the plaintiffs (meeting Masry's goal) while keeping the matter out of a public trial and jury verdict (meeting PG&E's goal of limiting risk).

Sample Answer

The core goals of the parties in the Hinkley case were fundamentally opposed.

The goal of Mr. Masry and Erin Brockovich was to achieve justice and compensation for the Hinkley residents who suffered severe health issues due to chromium contamination. Their primary objective was to force Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to acknowledge responsibility, pay adequate damages to the victims for their suffering and medical expenses, and ensure the contaminated area was remediated.