Mediation – Negotiation – Arbitration
We all know that business is fraught with disagreements and conflicts. While we should always intend to keep those things to a bare minimum, we can never realistically escape them completely.
Fortunately there are tools at your disposal:
1. Mediation: A skilled mediator will assist the parties to air their differences, propose solutions and eventually come to a mutually beneficial place. In Mediation, both parties learn that the middle ground is the best solution.
2. Arbitration: Much more structured as the parties air their concerns and demands and the arbitrator then makes a final judgment. In arbitration there is often a winner and a loser.
3. Negotiation: An informal process of making offers between the parties until there is a final agreement. This is a more relaxed and mutual process to get things done with the minimum of conflict.
Each has its own unique place in the business world .
I honed my skill set during the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 peace process in Northern Ireland where each meeting was high stakes and high tension. The work that the many volunteers accomplished on the ground paved the way for the historic Peace Agreement and ended the violence between the parties. Fortunately we don’t ever experience that level of tension in our work today. Over the years I have engaged in labor negotiations, corporate buyouts, and property disputes along with the everyday negotiation (and sometimes arbitration) that comes with running any active business. As a Board Certified Patient Advocate, I engage in dispute resolutions with hospitals, insurance companies, government agencies and I participate in administrative benefit hearings with state and federal agencies.
If you are in the need of dispute resolution or corporate contract negotiation, contact me and see if I can be of help to accomplish your goals effectively and cost efficiently..
