Essay Interviews on the Art of Mediation

These mediation proceedings are not conducted under oath, do not follow traditional rules of evidence and are not limited to developing the facts. Mediators are expected to draw out the parties' perceptions and feelings about the events that have brought them into conflict. It also encourages parties to acknowledge

A special research field in the mediation literature intends to shed light on the question, how influential the impact of mediator’s characteristics and motivations on the mediation process is. Concerning the state of research, the studies of this debate show a divergent picture. There are scientists who have queried the significance of mediator’s impartiality (Bercovitch/Houston 1996; Kydd 2003, Touval 1982; Zartmann/Touval 1996). Scholars like Saadia Touval have underpinned that mediators are often biased and can perform their tasks just as well if not better as impartial mediators. Additionally, Touval and Zartmann stated in their study that mediation is an exercise in power politics: “leverage is the ticket to mediation” (Touval/Zartmann 1989: 129). In 2003, Kydd finds that mediators use their leverage to one of the two conflicting parties and therefore constraint concessions. Thus, the mediator must be biased to be effective. This means that merely a mediator who is biased towards one side can credibility tell them that the opponent will not make peace without the concession. Carnevale and Arad (1996) also remarked the importance of bias. Nevertheless, they suggest that impartiality should not be underestimated and therefore be taken in to consideration.

Traditional approaches to mediation assume that a conflict’s parties and a mediator share one compelling reason for initiating mediation: a desire to reduce,abate,or resolve a conflict.To this end,both sides may invest personnel,time,and resources in the mediation.This shared humanititarian interest maybe the only genuine reason in a few instances of mediation,but normally even this interest intertwines with other, less altruistic,

This type of mediation may be quite similar to mediation that occurs in the civil context such as personal injury or family cases. Prior to commencing mediation, counsel should ensure that the client is prepared to engage in a give and take, mediation requires the agreement from the opposing side thus neither party is going to leave without some concession. Further, the general public has more exposure to the adversarial approach of courtrooms, as such they will need to be prepared for the relaxed and collaborative approach of mediation.

Mediation happens when a 3rd party comes in and helps improve the relationship, enhances communication, and uses effective problem solving techniques. Administrative or managerial approaches and procedures used if conflict is between employees or members of an organization. The 3rd party, who does is allowed to make a decision is doing the mediation and is allowed to make a decision if need be. This approach reminds me of how the military handles conflict within their ranks. Being in the military I have seen this process conducted, they will allow the parties to try to resolve their own conflict, but if they cannot the authority figure does it for them. Arbitration is a private process still including a 3rd party that helps resolve the conflict. Arbitration comes in two forms med-arb and mediation then arbitration. Med-arb uses mediation as the first step to resolve the conflict, if mediation does not work they move on to arbitration, while the mediation then arbitration uses both with a different 3rd party for

“A mediator is a third party who assists interested parties in negotiating a conflict. A mediator controls the mediation process but does not have authority to decide the outcome for the parties” (Barsky, 2007). A mediator, in a given situation, helps to dissolve the conflict and looks to the best interest

Fells (2016, p. 211) wrote “ just as a doctor works to bring a person back to health, so too a mediator works to bring a deadlocked negotiation back to a situation where the parties can reach agreement”. This essay discusses this statement with reference to contemporary research on dispute resolution. In order to comprehend how this is achieved, we must consider the essence of mediation, the different types of mediation and what mediators do. Negotiation and mediation are process used to resolve opposing preferences between parties. Negotiation is defined in Fells (2016, p. 3) as “a process by which two parties with differences that they need to resolve try to reach agreement through

Incorporation of advocacy and mediation in human services advances conflict resolution through advocacy and mediation. Professionals in the human service field acknowledge the advantages of alternative conflict resolution applied in mediation promoting shared change. A mediator is a neutral third party who assists to resolve a disagreement or conflict by exploring crucial issues, resolve misunderstandings, look at solutions, and discuss a jointly favorable outcome. Mediators set up guiding principles throughout the mediation process. In addition, mediators help better the communication among disagreeing

Mediating and advocating for clients is an essential service provided by human service workers, but not everyone is cut out for the job; it takes encouraging, knowledgeable, and non-judgmental individuals to maintain the integrity of both the mediation and advocating processes. While an advocate is most likely found standing up for a specific group or a particular issue, a mediator helps assist two or more parties in resolving a conflict without expressing any favoritism. In order for a mediator to maintain unbiased and preserve the reliability of the mediation process, they must seek out an agency that provides services that correlate with their own belief system; otherwise they will have to check their own set of values and beliefs at the door which can be incredibly difficult, and in some cases – impossible.

Despite having no mediation experience prior to this class, I immediately excelled in a few areas of mediation. Namely, I did well with the introduction, exuding confidence, and helping the disputants move toward a resolution. Each of these skills is extremely important for mediators as they help set the tone, maintain control of the conversation or accomplish the goal of mediation. Of course, I improved with I practice, but I performed admirably in each of these arenas from the outset.

The process of adjusting or settling disputes in a friendly manner through extra judicial means.

A problem that may be associated with mediation is power imbalance. Unfortunately, the mediator is only a third party which is present to assist the disputants with their communication to ensure it does not break down and help them reach a decision; however “the parties are in ultimate control, the mediator should not intervene even if one party has more bargaining power than the other” . This can in some cases result in an unfair agreement. Another adverse side of mediation is that; “basically anyone can hang out a sign and practice mediation” - meaning that mediators do not need to undergo a long period of study to ensure their professionalism and knowledge of dispute resolution. This can be harmful to the system and may result in cases being handled by unprofessional personals.

I sought out the mediation context of public policy. More specifically, I was interested in the purpose of international relations. This sort of large-scale mediation can literally affect the world as a whole, and may prove to be a key for continued survival of the human race. In researching mediation from an international context, I ran across a number of interesting articles detailing various viewpoints, advances in the field, shortcomings, and examples of successful mediation. The articles and authors I used in the creation of this mediation case are as follows:

This paper will cover the difference in the negotiation process and the mediation process and explore some of the barriers that hinder the processes. There is a distinct difference between the negotiation process and the mediation process. Negotiation as defined in Essentials of Negotiation is a process by which two or more parties attempt to resolve their opposing interests (Lewicki, Saunders, and Barry, ) The Negotiation process happens when individuals disagree about a situation and there’s no mutual solution that can be attain by the two parties. The disagreement leads to a conflict which involves misinterpretation, miscommunication and hurt feelings. Because the parties cannot reach a mutual agreement on how to resolve their

Mediation is derived from the Latin word Mediatio, which is a way to resolve disputes using a mediator. In this case