Mediation and Arbitration!

Resolving Conflict!

            Conflict occurs on an everyday basis, no matter if it’s small or big. When dealing with conflict a lot of us don’t know how to resolve the issue in a positive manner. Two main keys that can help in solving conflict are mediation and arbitration. These two are designed to eliminate any problematic situation you may be dealing with. In this paper, I will tell you how arbitration and mediation function, its role and how it’s considered effective when it comes to conflict resolution. Also, I will explain what the American Arbitration Association is and how it could be use in my current or future career.

            According to the website (Wikipedia. Com), mediation is defined as a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement (facilitative mediation). Arbitration is defined as a is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. Basically the roles of these two things are designed to resolve issues for those who can’t resolve the issues on their own.

            Mediation as a problem solving intervention became more widely used in the late 70’s to the 1980’s.  Professionals in such fields as psychology, law, and social have obtained training and have given themselves the label as mediator. (Parsons, Ruth J. Social Work. New York: Nov 1991. Vol. 36, Iss. 6; p. 483 (5 pages). Mediators play the role as the neutral party when it comes to two or more parties involved in conflict. The function of the mediator is to listen to all sides of the story. The role of the mediator is to be objective to all sides all the time. That allows them to hear the different point of views and get an understanding of that person’s feelings. The effective thing about mediation is, your bringing in an outside person who has nothing to do with the situation. By doing this, the third party won’t be bias or show any favoritism towards any of the parties.

            Arbitration mostly deals with negotiating to settle the dispute. Some of the key words you think of when it comes to arbitration are collective bargaining, cooperation, interest-based bargaining, labor-management relations, constituencies, and power. (McKersie R., Cutcher-Gershenfeld J. Negotiation Journal. New York: Oct 2009. Vol. 25, Iss. 4; p. 499). Most arbitration is dealt with a lawyer within the court system. The function of arbitration is for someone (lawyer) to voice the parties’ opinion for them within a legal manner. The role s to assure the person that their point of view will be heard out no matter what. The effective thing about arbitration is usually all parties usually come away with something to make them somewhat feel satisfied.

            One organization that deals with conflict on a regular basis is the American Arbitration Association (AAA). This association is provides services to individuals and organizations who wish to resolve conflicts out of court. The AAA role in the dispute resolution process is to administer cases, from filing to closing. (http://www.adr.org/about). One of the ways I find that this association can be helpful to me is in my current job situation. I work in a right to work state (Georgia), which means my job can let me go at any particular time for no reason. I also will be unable to obtain unemployment benefits. The reason why I say they could help me is for a long time, I’ve been trying to start a union at my job. If a union was in place, they couldn’t just let me go at a drop of a dime. This association which is designed to appoint mediators, set hearings, help develop unions, corporations, and other government agencies. I would love to have this agency come in and do a seminar just to show me and my fellow co-workers we don’t have to walk around on pins and needles.

            Mediation and Arbitration aren’t big fans of everyone; some believe that they do have negative side effects. In a 1992 study, Dean Shapiro, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at UCLA, Irvine, followed 27 people who attended a two-week meditation retreat. During meditation, 17 (62%) reported at least one adverse effect: fear, anxiety, confusion, depression or self-doubt. Just like everything else, nothing in the world is perfect. (http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Can_Meditation_Have_Negative_Effects.html).It all depends on how these functions are being used.

            In this presentation, I have defined the meanings of both mediation and arbitration. I also explained their function, role, and effectiveness. I introduced you to the American Arbitration Association and explained to you how they could be helpful in my current job. Everyone isn’t going to agree on things all the time and sometimes we do need help solving our problems. I’m a fan of mediation and arbitration because sometimes that third party opens my eyes to different point of views. Always remember if these two techniques don’t help you, sometimes you have to agree to disagree!