1. Read the situation:

The chemicals factory owned by the Browns is situated just one kilometer away from the town of N. It is an old-fashioned company, founded in the 1890s. The Browns’ chemicals is the town’s largest employer. Under its present Managing Director, Michael Brown, the company is having difficulties in modernizing to comply with increasingly strict EC regulations – especially those concerning pollution and the environment. But the town of N is not only a “company town”. It has many cultural activities, especially its annual folk dance festival.

It has been a hot summer and the fumes from the Browns’ factory can be smelt in the town. It is 15 July, three days before the folk dance festival. The group of Spanish folk dancers (many of them children) arrived in the town yesterday evening and seven of them are in hospital now because of the air pollution. The Mayor of the town called an urgent meeting at the Town Hall.

2. Choose your role:

Role 1. The Mayor of N and Chairperson of the meeting.

Role 2. The Managing Director of the Browns’ Chemicals.

Role 3. The Spanish folk dance group leader.

Role 4. The festival organizer.

Role 5. The hospital doctor.

Role 6. You are the Technical Director of the Browns’ Chemicals.

3. Study your role and get ready to present it:

Role 1. You are the Mayor of N and Chairperson of the meeting. First, introduce the problem. Explain that the objectives of the meeting are to decide what to do about:

• the folk dance festival;

• the Browns’ chemicals;

• pollution.

• You want:

• The folk dance festival to take place in N and on the dates advertised. It would be too expensive to relocate it to another town, and bad for your prestige.

• The Browns’ chemicals Managing Director is a friend. You are against closing the factory. Maybe the Browns could reduce their output during the period of the festival?

• You’ve known about the problem of pollution for some months. In March, you received a report about it from the hospital doctor, but you were too busy to take any action.

Role 2. You are the Managing Director of the Browns’ Chemicals. At the moment, the plant is working to full capacity as you are processing a large international order. This must be delivered on time, so production can’t be haltered or slowed down. Your ideas:

• Although your company is one of the sponsors of the festival, you are not interested in it. If too much pressure is put on your company, you will cancel your sponsorship and influence other businesses to do the same.

• Offer to install new equipment (filters etc.) in the autumn. You were not told about any medical reports concerning the Browns’ Chemicals. Ask the Mayor about this.

Finally, your relations with Technical Director are not good.

Role 3. You are the Spanish folk dance group leader. Your main interest is the well-being of the sick children. You want a Spanish-speaking representative from your embassy in the capital to come to the hospital (at the expense of the town).

You want an immediate decision. Either the factory is temporarily closed or the festival is moved to another town.

If no decision is taken, you will boycott the festival and recommend other dance groups to do the same.

Role 4. You are the festival organizer. You want the festival to take place in N on the dates advertised. In your opinion, it is too late to relocate it to another town. The other dance groups will be arriving in two days and you are worried about bad publicity, especially as the festival has made heavy losses for two years now.

You want:

• The factory should be closed for the duration of the festival. You think the Mayor is too close to the Managing Director of the Browns’ Chemicals.

• You are surprised that nothing has been done about the pollution. Ask the Managing Director about this.

• If the factory is not closed, you will be resign immediately.

Role 5. You are the hospital doctor. In the interests of public health, you want the factory to be closed and the festival to be relocated.

Your ideas:

• If the folk dance festival takes place in N and the factory is not closed, you will forbid all participation by children.

• In March, you sent the Mayor a report concerning the pollution from the Brown’s Chemicals. You are worried about its long-term effects. You are angry that no action has been taken.

Role 6. You are the Technical Director of the Browns’ Chemicals.

Your ideas:

• You are processing a large international order and the factory is working at full capacity until 24 July. Reducing output would mean missing delivery deadlines and paying penalties.

• You have often asked the Managing Director to take action against pollution (replacing filters, making more regular checks etc.) Each time, he said that it was too expensive.

• Suggest that the folk dance festival should be postponed for a week (i.e. till 25-29 July)

Finally, you are angry that nobody told you about the medical report concerning pollution from the Browns’ Chemicals.

Unit 12. Intellectual Property Rights and Music Piracy

Role play “Government Meeting on the Problem of Music Piracy” Exercise 12, page 97.