ABSTRACT
The Absentee Teacher' case study is about interests. It illustrates, as participants get into the group discussions, a feature of interests in negotiation not always appreciated by those who advise negotiators to focus solely on interests, as if such a single focus resolves the common problems of negotiation. In this case study the participants in the dispute inevitably develop a number of interests that are in conflict. This multi-conflict of interests, unless fully appreciated, leads to difficult choices. This problem is made more difficult when groups summarize their discussions and reveal that they have inadvertently ignored important interests or have failed to give them sufficiently serious consideration. The most common unintentional error of groups discussing 'The absentee teacher' is to 'forget' about the children in the class. The case study is to promote a realization of what is involved in seeking to identify the interests of the parties and how this is only the first step in preparing for negotiation.
