What is Conflict Resolution?
Conflict Resolution is directed at understanding conflict processes and alternative non-violent methods to help disputing parties reach mutually acceptable positions that resolve their differences. The approach emphasizes processes of behavior used to assist in this transition to help commit disputing parties to mutually acceptable positions and to build and enlarge relationships of trust between them. Conflict resolution examines environmental and contextual aspects of social relations in confronting problem solving and well as the tactic used to transform intractable disputes between parties, and on developing new directions of social cooperation.
The emerging field of conflict resolution was one of the major intellectual influences leading to the establishment of the United States Institute of Peace in 1984. By an act of Congress, such an institution "would be the most efficient and immediate means for the Nation to enlarge its capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict."
Resolution is at the heart of the mission of peacefully coming to terms with conflict issues. A conflict may be said to be resolved when all the parties freely accept a solution that has the following characteristics: by joint agreement, the solution satisfies the interests and needs underlying the conflict; the solution does not sacrifice any party's important values; the parties will not wish to repudiate the solution even if they are in a position to do so later; the solution meets the standards of justice and fairness; the solution is sufficiently advantageous to all the parties that it becomes self-supporting or self-enforcing.
Any party's stance toward a given conflict depends largely on variables such as ideology, power, and goals. Low-power groups generally do not call for conflict resolution or peace; they want empowerment, change, and justice. Their more typical approach is to agitate conflict. More powerful parties are more likely to deter, suppress, repress, or control conflict. Third-party interveners may aim to resolve, manage, regulate, or settle conflicts, whereas academics analyze, teach, and predict.
The growth in awareness of the range of issues relevant for conflict resolution parallels an increased understanding of the variety of bargaining and negotiation skills required to facilitate the resolution process, sensitivity to the natures of parties involved, and mastery of the substance of the conflict. Common forms of conflict resolution:
Negotiation is a discussion among two or more people with the goal of reaching an agreement.
Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which a neutral third-party facilitator helps people discuss difficult issues and negotiate an agreement. Basic steps in the process include gathering information, framing the issues, developing options, negotiating, and formalizing agreements. Parties in mediation create their own solutions and the mediator does not have any decision-making power over the outcome.
Arbitration is a process in which a third-party neutral, after reviewing evidence and listening to arguments from both sides, issues a decision to settle the case. Arbitration is often used in commercial and labor/management disputes.
Mediation-Arbitration (Med-Arb) is a hybrid that combines both of the above processes. Prior to the session, the disputing parties agree to try mediation first, but give the neutral third party the authority to make a decision if mediation is not successful.
Community Conferencing is a structured conversation involving all members of a community (offenders, victims, family, friends, etc.) who have been affected by a dispute or a crime. Using a script, the facilitator invites people to express how they were affected and how they wish to address and repair the harm that resulted.
Peer Mediation refers to a process in which young people act as mediators to help resolve disputes among their peers. The student mediators are trained and supervised by a teacher or other adult.
What Types of Disputes Can Be Addressed Through Conflict Resolution?
Conflict resolution can be used to help resolve almost any type of dispute. Family mediators, for example, help people with divorce, custody issues, parent-child or sibling conflicts, elder care issues, family business concerns, adoption, premarital agreements, neighbor disputes, etc. Other types of conflicts that respond well to alternative dispute resolution include workplace disputes, labor/management issues, environmental/public policy issues, health care disputes, international conflicts, and many others.
What Are the Benefits of Mediation?
Mediation allows parties to maintain greater control of their lives and make their own decisions. The process fosters understanding, cooperation, and agreements that work for both parties. It usually costs less money and takes less time than litigation, and compliance with agreements is often higher than with court-imposed judgments. Another primary benefit is privacy. The process is confidential, allowing parties to avoid public disclosure of sensitive information in the courts.
What Training Is Required to Become a Mediator?
There are no national training requirements or credentials for mediators. States vary widely in their approach to regulating the field, with some states choosing to "license" mediators while other states may "register" or "certify." Currently, only four states (FL, NH, TX, VA) have certification programs.
Most new mediators begin with a 40-hour basic training and a 20-hour advanced training. Some people begin their practice by volunteering at a community mediation center or co-mediating cases with an experienced mediator. Others go on to complete an advanced degree and/or certificate program in conflict resolution at a college or university.
How Can Children and Young Adults Learn Conflict Resolution Skills?
Thousands of K-12 public schools now offer conflict resolution and/or violence prevention programs. These programs take a variety of forms, including efforts to address the problem of bullying, integrating conflict resolution ideas into curricula, using role play to help young people learn skills and practice alternative responses to conflict, and training young people to serve as mediators with their peers.
These programs not only foster safer schools, but also impart positive values and skills (appreciating differences, active listening, empathy, impulse control, anger management, etc.) in the next generation of adults. Some studies also suggest that participation in conflict resolution programs increases academic performance. For example, a study of 20 Cleveland elementary schools with peer mediation programs showed higher test scores on proficiency tests, increased attendance, and fewer suspensions than schools without mediation programs.
Many of the best conflict resolution education programs integrate the principles of conflict resolution throughout the entire school curriculum and system, including programs to address issues among students, teachers, administrators, school board members, and members of the community.
At the higher education level, there are more than 220 university- or college-based mediation and conflict resolution programs across the country. In addition to teaching conflict resolution to students, these programs address many conflicts on and off campus, including student-to-student or student-faculty disputes, university vs. community conflicts, and many more. The Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, edited by William C. Warters, Ph.D., is a useful newsletter that focuses on university- and college-based conflict resolution programs.
How Widespread Is the Practice of Conflict Resolution?
Mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution gained popularity in the 1980s and the trajectory of growth has risen steadily ever since. Although programs vary widely, all jurisdictions now have some type of ADR program. Some jurisdictions have mandatory programs, such as requiring disputants in certain cases (such as divorce) to take parenting classes or meet with a mediator to attempt to resolve custody issues. As public awareness of ADR has grown, so has the number of number of mediators working in private practice. While there is no comprehensive data on the number of conflict resolution practitioners, informal estimates put the number of private practitioners in the U.S. at more than 20,000. Some examples of the growing use of ADR include:
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act of 1998 requires federal district courts to adopt an official ADR program.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service now employs nearly 200 full-time mediators.
The U.S Postal Service, the nation's largest employer, conducts over 10,000 mediations a year through its REDRESS program.
According to the National Center for State Courts, 16 states currently require some form of mandatory mediation, while another 16 have voluntary or discretionary use of mediation in cases involving divorce, child custody, small claims, landlord/tenant disputes, etc.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission currently employs more than 100 full-time mediators to assist with employment discrimination cases.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice sponsors a national mediation program through the Keybridge Foundation to settle complaints filed under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Amendments of 1997 [P.L. 105-17], require state departments of education to provide mediation services to help resolve differences between school systems and families of children with disabilities.
President Bush has recognized the value of conflict resolution in his National Fatherhood Initiative, which calls for $200 million in grants to community and religious groups to promote fatherhood, marriage education, and conflict resolution.
According to a 1998 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Cornell University, 88 percent of American corporations had used mediation and 79 percent used arbitration in the previous three years. In addition, over 84 percent said that they were likely or very likely to use mediation in the future, while 69 percent said the same about arbitration.
In March 2001, the United States Supreme Court focused attention on the growing use of arbitration by businesses in its ruling on the Circuit City Stores v. Adams case. The Court ruled 5-4 that employees cannot sue companies if the employees sign an arbitration agreement when they were hired. In other words, employers can require arbitration to resolve workplace disputes. More than eight percent of American workers are now bound by arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment.
An increasing number of companies are also trying to create conditions within the work-place that help people resolve their problems quickly and without outside intervention. These employee dispute resolution systems channel employee conflict in constructive directions and encourage early resolution. The policies are integrated into the corporate culture and use a variety of approaches, including hot lines, peer review panels, mediation, and arbitration to resolve disputes. Current research indicates that about 10 percent of American employers have implemented such internal systems.
© 2003 by the Association for Conflict Resolution |
