In the summer of 2022, Suzy and Katie were preparing for their best friend Vera's bachelorette party.  Although Suzy and Katie share Vera as their best friend respectively, the two do not always get along and often battle for Vera's attention. However, they decided to try to work together to make Vera's party unforgettable. 

Once the details of the planning ensued, Suzy and Katie met for lunch at a local, busy restaurant.  It was evident that they each had drastically different visions for the party.  Suzy imagined a relaxing day centered around Vera.  Her itinerary would include a morning at the spa, followed by a wine-tasting tour, and a nice dinner with the members of the bridal party. Suzy believed it would be the best scenario for the bride, who was currently overwhelmed and anxious over planning a lavish wedding.

Katie, on the other hand, wanted to tap into Vera's party-girl persona with an incredibly fun and upbeat night involving drinks, dancing, and barhopping in the city.  She thought Suzy's idea was far from what Vera would expect, knowing her former partying ways at Arizona State University.  Katie claims Vera has always wanted a bachelorette that reminds her of her days in college. 

Inevitably, when discussing the plans, both Suzy and Katie grew frustrated with each other and could not reach an agreement.  The conflict escalated to the point that Suzy started yelling at Katie, exclaiming that Vera is not a party girl anymore and that a night in the city would not end well.  In response, Katie told Suzy she was wrong and an idiot because she knew Vera better than anyone.  In the next instance, Katie stormed off, without finalizing the plans.

 

Then, answer the following:

1. Analyze the power in this conflict. Identify what resources exist, other factors that create power in one party, and how power was used (or not used) in your conflict.
2. Identify violations of face that might exist for either or both parties in your conflict. Identify examples of face-saving or face-giving. If there were no explicit examples of facework, do you think face was affecting the conflict beneath the surface, why or why not? (Use the following as reference: Face is a communicator's claim to be seen as a certain kind of person. Our notions of face are closely linked to identity. We all have identities and public images that we want others to share- these ideas influence our actions. Public - face is you that can be observed by others. Social - your face is in part based on other's interpretations of your behavior. Claimed - face can be lost, saved, and sustained by our actions. Desired - we want to have face.)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In this conflict between Suzy and Katie over the bachelorette party planning for their mutual friend Vera several aspects of power and facework are at ... View the full answer