Managing Mediation Processes - Dispute Resolution - Coursework Example

Mediation Dispute Resolution Case Study Name of Student: Student No: Date: Name of supervisor: Introduction As the mediator, now that all the parties are gathered, I will give a brief introduction. We shall sit at this round table so we are all at the same level, and discuss the issues rationally and equitably. The issue on the table is the unsatisfactory relationship between the operations manager and her personal assistant. The personal assistant has been with the firm for a decade and worked under three previous managers, however, she is not able to get along with the current manager due to her antipathy towards the manager’s leadership style which she terms as impersonal, dictatorial and not subject to good communication. She claims that the operations manager also displays mood swings. The operations manager is concerned about the work ethic of the office workers and is desirous of improving the work output of her subordinates. In this mediation we are going to examine every aspect of the dispute and come to an amicable solution to the satisfaction of all parties. The aim of mediation is to find a sustainable middle ground in which all parties feel satisfied with the outcome. We shall go through this dispute chronologically and try to get to the root cause of what the conflict is about. 1. The PA has worked under three previous managers and has been in charge of her own schedule for some time, going about her daily tasks at her own pace and time. 2. The operations manager is anxious to prove herself by ensuring there is an improvement in work output in the department. 3. It is felt that lunch and smoking break habits around the office are currently extremely lax, with a lot of man hours being lost to these activities. 4. The PA is of the opinion that the manner in which the operations manager chooses to correct these anomalies in the system does not take into account the people on the ground, is dictatorial, impersonal and poorly communicated. 5. To aggravate matters, the PA feels that the office must also contend with the manager’s mood swings. This seems to have been borne out by the meeting the PA and manager had with the General Manager in which the operations manager collapsed and had to be allowed to take a leave due to stress. 6. Circumstances seem to indicate that both parties have experienced a significant amount of stress due to their working relationship and that obviously needs to change for the better to avoid such conflicts in future. I will now be setting protocols for the process, as well as time frames with your agreement. Guidelines for mediation Both parties to the dispute are asked to cooperate fully with the mediator and adhere to any reasonable suggestions made in order that progress can be made on the dispute resolution. There will be guidelines however, on how the process will occur. I as the mediator cannot impose a settlement agreement upon the parties, my role is assist you in coming up with a resolution that is mutually acceptable to both of you. I will be asking for authorisation to carry out both joint and separate meetings with both parties at a time I consider appropriate. Should a settlement not be reached, I as mediator will submit proposals to be considered by both parties, on how else resolution can be reached. My role is not to advise on any possible result should the dispute progress to another forum such as arbitration or the employer take it upon himself to decide on the matter. If the mediation fails and the dispute is not resolved, I as mediator will not act in any capacity in any subsequent process. The Process Ground rules of behaviour during the mediation process must be set. The mediator assures both parties of the absolute confidentiality of the process in order to ensure that they are able to be open and honest about their feelings through creation of a safe environment. The next step involve establishment of common ground, which in this case could be that both parties are interested in getting the work done, but it is the method of achieving this that is the cause of the conflict. In order to establish the parameters of the conflict, it would be necessary to interview both participants and find out what their issues are. This includes asking questions to really find out the core issues that are causing a problem. Questions to the PA would include: 1. Have you had a similar type of conflict with any of your previous managers? 2. If you did, how did your resolve them before they escalated? 3. Are you happy in your job? 4. Do you feel in any way overlooked by management in giving you a promotion to operations manager seeing as you have worked under three previous managers? 5. What would you see as the ideal way forward for this process? 6. How do you feel on a personal level about your new operations manager? 7. Are there any issues that she has raised that you consider to be legitimate concerns? 8. What is your ideal resolution to this conflict? 9. How far are you willing to go to achieve resolution? Questions to the operations manager would include: 1. Have you had such conflicts in the past in other organisations in which you have worked? 2. If so, how did you resolve them? 3. Clearly you have had stressful situations in this job, is it unique to this job or have you had such episodes before? 4. How did you resolve them in the past if so? 5. What are your hopes for this position? 6. How do you feel that others are hindering your aspirations for this job? 7. What is your leadership style? 8. How effective has your leadership style been in the past? 9. Do you feel ready and able to carry out your duties without feeling overwhelmed? 10. How do you feel about your personal assistant? 11. What would be your ideal resolution to this conflict? 12. How far are you willing to go to achieve resolution? These questions would give me a background idea as to the personalities and work habits of the participants as well as patterns of behaviour. Understanding whether or not they have had such conflicts in the past would help me as mediator to guide the conversation in such a way that the breakdown in manner of communication that has led to this conflict, and perhaps others in the past can be resolved once and for all. This involves getting the participants to acknowledge their culpability in causing the problem. This can be done by holding a mirror up to them so that they can perceive their behaviour from an objective angle and concede their part in the conflict. The issue may also have arisen due to general unhappiness with their work environment which they are taking out on the people in their immediate vicinity. Assisting participants to come to an awareness of their motivations will assist them to find lasting solutions to their conflict. Enabling the operations manager to examine her leadership style will give her the opportunity to really reflect on it if she has not in the past and understand how effective it is in practical terms. At the end of the day, the common ground is the assumption that both parties still wish to continue working at the company, and that they wish to accomplish their assigned tasks in the most expedient way possible without creation of friction. This can be used as the starting point for mediation with suggestions on how this can be achieved. When meeting privately with the parties in a separate capacity, any information that they share with me during that session is deemed to be confidential and will not be shared with any other parties. However these sessions can be helpful in generating options for resolution of the conflict. In one option, the PA can agree to increase the work output if the operations manager can agree to be more hands off, set parameters for results and leave it to the subordinates to work out how to meet their targets within a specified timeframe but without unnecessary pressure. The operations manager can agree to become more predictable in her mood swings by following an agreed upon protocol that is heavy on objectivity, formal office language and predictable behaviour. Meanwhile, employees can agree on timeframes for taking lunch breaks as well as smoking breaks. The final session will consist of consensus building in ensuring that both participants agree to adhere to the agreed parameters. An agreement on the broad strokes of the agreement, that is, more work output from the PA and better management style from the operations manager. Guidelines on measurement of these achieved objectives, agreeing on a process of ensuring that both agreements remain on track. Agreeing on future ways to solve disputes before they escalate. Apologies from both parties on perceived wrongs. Both parties must commit to adhering to the agreement or else the issue will be handled by human resources in a way that both parties may lose their positions. Conclusion The parties agreed to: Adhere to the mediation process. Abide by the agreements reached by the arbitration. Be open and honest in their interaction with the mediator. Separate private sessions held which yield information is confidential, but can be used in an indirect way to achieve consensus in joint sessions. The joint session came up with agreements to resolve issues by; Agreeing that both parties wanted to carry on working at the organisation and therefore, in order to be effective, they would be forced to get along. This would involve some behaviour modification in both parties. More formal means of communication, mutually agreed upon and satisfactory to both parties needed to be established. Time frames needed to be set for employees on how long their breaks can be, including lunch and smoking breaks. Work output needs to be formally measured and each employee award of their time frames and what is expected of them to achieve within those time frames. A modification of the operations manager’s leadership style needs to be done. Issues not covered during the mediation session included the personal circumstances that led to the operations manager’s reaction to stress as well as her mood swings. Way Forward All this information will be fashioned into an agreement and both parties furnished with a copy. They will be given seven days to look it over and sigh off on it. After which, they will be held accountable to the terms of the agreement. Read More