What's New
Ombudsman ADR: The 6 C’s Of Sociocratic Peace Building (6/15/09)
Clayton Gilman The 6 C's; communication, complaint, cooperation, consensus, consent and coordination act as mental milestones for facilitators and mediators in group oriented conflict management scenarios. Increasingly the Sociocratic process of self governance is gaining popularity in all sizes and types of groups in North America and is becoming the preferred structure for processing issues, disputes and complaints. The 6 C's support this process between small to very large groups.
(4/15/09)
Keith Seat
Over 135 plaintiffs claiming sexual abuse as children by a doctor entered into mediation in March 2008 with the hospital they claim failed to stop the abuse. The court hoped the mediation would be concluded by the end of 2008, but it may continue for months more. The doctor worked for the hospital from 1963 to 1993 and died in 1998. Large amounts of child pornography were found in 2007 in the doctor’s former home. State legislation is being considered which would extend the statute of limitations when new evidence is uncovered that could not reasonable have been discovered previously, which could impact about 40 to 50 plaintiffs.
Hartford Courant (March 8, 2009)
Contextualizing Disruptive Behavior in Health Care as a Conflict Management Challenge (2/23/09)
John Ford Disruptive physician behavior has been defined by the American Medical Association as “personal conduct, whether verbal or physical, that affects or that potentially may affect patient care negatively.” It is assumed that disruptive behavior by health care workers impacts quality of care and patient safety. How best to respond to disruptive behavior is less clear. This article explores the utility in framing disruptive behavior as a conflict management systems challenge.
(1/21/09)
Keith Seat
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported a 15 percent increase in job bias charges last year, for a total of over 95,000 private sector filings in fiscal year 2008. Its National Mediation Program obtained nearly 9,000 resolutions in FY 2008, a 2% increase for the year. In addition to non-monetary relief, the EEOC recovered $124 million for complainants through mediation. The mediation program maintains its very high user satisfaction rate of 96.5 percent. Employers continue to enter into Universal Agreements to Mediate with the EEOC, with the total rising by 14 percent during 2008, to 1,450. In its Federal Sector Mediation Program, the EEOC noted that parties in over 18,000 EEO cases in federal agencies participated in alternative dispute resolution, which was nearly half of all cases.
National Underwriter Property & Casualty (December 8, 2008) (Subscription Required); EEOC FY2008 Performance Report
(1/07/09)
Keith Seat
Delaware is the second state to enter into a Universal Agreement to Mediate with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, following New Mexico in October. Based on Delaware’s formal agreement to resolve disputes through mediation, all eligible discrimination charges filed with the EEOC naming Delaware as respondent will be sent to the EEOC’s mediation unit.
US State News (November 19, 2008) (Subscription Required)
Say Cheese - Cracker Barrel Signs Mediation Agreement with the EEOC (1/06/09)
Jeffrey Krivis, Mariam Zadeh The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. have signed a Universal Agreement to Mediate (UAM) to resolve workplace disputes prior to an EEOC investigation or potential litigation.
Managerial Mediation And Arbitration (12/29/08)
John Ford I will always be indebted to Dan Dana for introducing the concept of the manager as the mediator to me. Dan was the pioneer who blazed the trail. In this short article I want to consolidate and reiterate his fundamental insights, and of course add my two cents!
(12/02/08)
Keith Seat
While over 1,200 employers have entered into Universal Agreements to Mediate with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, New Mexico is the first state to do so. With New Mexico’s formal agreement to resolve disputes through mediation, all eligible discrimination charges filed with the EEOC naming the state as respondent will be sent to the EEOC’s mediation unit.
Bizjournal.com (October 31, 2008)
Attendance of Mediation by Union Representatives (11/10/08)
Arnold W. Zeman In this post, I try to respond to the questions put to me as a transformative mediator by David Bleiman, a Scottish union official, in his comment on my post, “Stages in the Mediation Process”.
Bullies At Work (10/14/08)
Bill Eddy Workplace bullying is a growing international problem. It is more than a one-time incident. It is a pattern of behavior between a bully and another worker which can demoralize, isolate and trigger illness in the target of the bully.
Helping Employees Help You Help Them (10/06/08)
Victoria Pynchon Earlier this week I was asked the following question by a concerned General Counsel: how can we help our employees grapple with on-the-job justice issues without leading them to believe that our proposed solutions are untrustworthy.
Business Mediation:A Better Way To Resolve Workplace Conflict (8/11/08)
Marta J. Papa In a situation where there is no process for eliminating conflict other than litigation, resentments build up and productivity plummets. Currently, we are seeing a trend toward solving conflict in the workplace through mediation rather than litigation or other more traditional methods of dispute resolution.
(6/18/08)
Keith Seat
Employers are increasingly turning from arbitration in employment disputes, due to the increased costs of discovery, potential for rogue outcomes that cannot be appealed, and uncertainty over whether mandatory arbitration provisions will be upheld. With overtime litigation continuing to increase around the country, many defense lawyers are encouraging clients to turn to mediation instead of arbitration. Wage-and-hour litigation increased over 200% between 2001 and 2007 and overtime lawsuits have displaced employment discrimination as the most common form of employment litigation.
The National Law Journal (June 9, 2008) (Subscription Required)
(4/07/08)
Keith Seat
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported a 9 percent increase in job bias charges last year, for a total of nearly 83,000 private sector filings in 2007. In addition to non-monetary relief, the EEOC recovered over $290 million for charging parties through administrative enforcement and mediation, compared with $55 million through EEOC litigation. Employers continue to enter into Universal Agreements to Mediate with the EEOC, with the total rising by 15 percent during 2007, to over 1,200. The EEOC’s National Mediation Program has a user satisfaction rate of 96 percent, meaning that nearly everyone using the program would do so again.
Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. (March 5, 2008) (Subscription Required)
Workplace violence blog committed to making employees safer (2/11/08)
Diane J. Levin PART27.com, a web site dedicated to providing resources that help organizations, companies, and agencies create safer workplaces, also publishes Workplace Violence, a blog that delivers news and links to resources for employers and others seeking ways to address and prevent violence at work.
Among the stories covered recently are:
“Bullying bad for business“
“Bullied at work: practice costs productivity, health” and
New European report highlights emerging...
The Conflict Skilled Organization (11/26/07)
Lynne Eisaguirre What is the common denominator in most organizational conflict? The leaders have not spent enough time and energy thinking about
culture —that invisible glue
that holds organizations together and determines organizational effectiveness. Especially lacking
is a failure to think about how they want the culture to address and resolve the inevitable
conflicts each organization faces on a daily basis. A lack of agreement about a common culture
frequently shows up as constant and intractable conflicts.
(10/31/07)
Keith Seat
Using a mediator who is independent, rather than on staff, and not identified with either side is a key qualification in resolving difficult workplace disputes. An outside mediator may more effectively address problems on both rational and emotional levels, by assisting the parties in viewing issues more clearly and helping them address strong feelings in a safe environment, as well as providing other benefits of mediation.
Gulfnews.com (UAE) (October 2, 2007)
Bursting the bubble: cultivating dissent in the workplace (10/15/07)
Diane J. Levin According to a recent BusinessWeek poll, 90% of executives and middle managers believe that they perform in the top 10%. (This effect, known as positive illusion bias, is not confined to managers alone: it can be found among drivers confident that their reflexes are superior to those of others on the road, trial attorneys certain that they have the stronger case, and negotiators with an overinflated sense of their own prowess at the table.)Given how widespread this phenomenon is, and how...
Are You Confrontable? (10/15/07)
Lynne Eisaguirre When I’m asked to coach executives who’ve been accused of abuse, harassment,
discrimination, poor conflict resolution skills or general “poor people management” skills, they frequently lament: “But I didn’t know that he or she objected to my behavior. Why didn’t they tell me?” To this popular excuse I always respond: “What have
you done to make it safe for them to come to you and complain about your behavior?”
Resolved to Get Organized? . . . What about Organizing to Resolve? (8/27/07)
Dawn Martin The average person spends roughly 150 hours per year trying to find documents, electronic files, and other information... That’s equivalent to almost a month of work. Some studies put the number even higher—at 10% of work time. Think of the lost productivity, the aggravation, the resulting in-house discord and, just as importantly, the hours that could have been spent simply enjoying life. Now consider how many workplace conflicts result from lack of communication or miscommunication, and how often these lapses occur because the parties were “just too busy” to communicate effectively. When we talk about enhancing people’s capacity to prevent and resolve conflict, we need to include organizational skills in the conversation.
Ten Tips on Maximizing Success in ERISA Mediations (8/20/07)
Jeffrey Krivis, Mariam Zadeh Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) disputes present unique and specific challenges in large part due to the statutory limitations imposed on scope of discovery, standard of review and plaintiff’s recovery. “It’s just not fair!” is the response most often heard from plaintiffs after they are reminded at the mediation that the upside of their recovery is limited to the extent of contractual damages available under their disability policy, that a “win” in court means receiving back benefits and being reinstated, and that their “day in court” will amount to no more than a hearing over the administrative record at which they cannot testify. The tips below maximize the likelihood of success by laying the groundwork and staging the negotiation in a manner that encourages closure and enables the plaintiff to understand and appreciate the parameters within which a settlement may be reached.
Improving the Workplace: Don't De-Motivate Your Colleagues and Employees (8/13/07)
Victoria Pynchon (left: the country's favorite bad boss)Diane Levin introduced her readers to a great video over at the ej4 Learning Center some time ago but I just got around to watching it today. In the course of this short video, you'll see every bad boss you've ever had as well as (grit your teeth but bear it!) every bad boss behavior you've ever been guilty of.A must-see: Impedership Versus LeadershipWhat does this have to do with negotiation? First off, you'll find...
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