What is a Value Conflict? Conflicts are an inherent part of social existence because we are in constant competition for resources. We also are in conflict because we have different goals and different ideas about our place in society, what our rights, duties, and responsibilities to other people are, and what constitutes right, wrong, …
Capacity building is the process of evaluating a party’s ability to achieve their goals and solve issues that arise in their day-to-day operations. It also evaluates the party’s ability to expand its operations and capacity to achieve more of its goals in the future. Several broad types of capacity can be built as broad categories, …
Chances are if you’ve participated in any form of dispute resolution, there has been a point where you or someone working with you has suggested that you master your emotions. The suggestion is much easier said than done, as emotions are strong and can often feel overwhelming and uncontrollable. And in many circumstances, feeling and …
There may come a time in a marriage where a couple contemplates getting a divorce. There are several options and factors to keep in mind for those considering a divorce or legal separation.
Mediation is a dynamic process. This can mean stepping back, leaning out, and adopting a process that empowers the parties to set their own agenda and seek outcomes that may greatly vary from the objectives set forth in the briefs by lawyers who are trained as advocates more than problem-solvers.
There aren’t many benefits to being in a bad mood, even if that’s your reliable, long-standing default mode. Being in a bad mood can make you less effective, less open to creative solutions, and due to stress, it can affect your health. Most peoples’ jobs have a degree of stress, some much more than others.
Yesterday was an interesting day for me. I spent the day in a training for a Personnel Commission for which I have served as a Hearing Officer for over a decade. At its conclusion, a very young female participant in the training took me aside and complemented me for being a “bad ass” woman whom she hoped to emulate in her burgeoning career.
Chances are you heard this wise advice from your Mom when she reminded you that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
Mediation can be hard. Often, the parties start out a great distance apart, work towards narrowing the gap, but occasionally can’t quite straddle the gulf to come to an agreement in a single day. Last week, I gave my final lesson to my students at Pepperdine on sophisticated steps for breaking an impasse. I told them that it was a matter of both skill and faith.
There are better and worse ways to do it. The Muse’s article on delivering bad news to your boss has lessons for talking to clients and colleagues too.
