Basic Principles in Mediation

1
Basic Principles in Mediation
2
What is Mediation?

• Mediation is the use of a neutral 3rd Party to
  help persons or groups in dispute to
• manage conflict and
• reach mutually beneficial agreements or
  acceptable compromises.

3
Pre-Requisites for Mediation

• Persons have capacity to be fully functioning,
  rational beings
• Power relations can be balanced between parties
• Participation will not disadvantage parties
• Voluntary
• Confidential
• Non-coercive

4
Proposed Benefits of Mediation

• Its democratic - individuals have a right to
  self-determine
• People making own agreements are
• More satisfied
• Have needs better met
• More likely to honor agreement
• More likely to resolve issues in future

• Successful mediation
• Builds respect, trust community ties
• Compared to settlement imposed by authority
• less costly
• usually more efficient

5
Criteria for an Effective Dispute Resolution
Method

• It should produce a wise agreement
• meet the legitimate interests needs of each
  party
• resolve conflicting interests fairly
• take community interests into account
• It should be efficient
• in use of time, energy, and money
• It should improve/not damage the relationship
  between the parties

6
Comparing Positional Bargaining (PB) withBeing
Nice (BN)withMediation (M)
7
What is Positional Bargaining?

• PB is negotiation over already-defined solutions
• each party advocates for his/her specific initial
  position or solution
• involves successive taking and successive giving
  up of a sequence of positions
• PB is based upon win-lose assumption
• i.e. when one party wins the other party loses

8
Problems with Positional Bargaining

• PB relies solely upon compromise
• ( both give up something, feel frustrated,
  compromised)
• PB ignores underlying concerns/issues
• (discontent festers and erupts into repeated
  conflict)
• BP hurts or hinders good relationships
• (based on assertion of power influence)

9
Being Nice is Not a Solution!

• BN is based upon
• reducing demands
• making early concessions
• giving up and hoping to get something in return

• Problems with BN
• Others come to expect more as their due!
• Others take advantage especially when
• Dealing with others one does not know nor trust
• complex issues are at stake
• agreements are made on behalf of others
• dealing with hard-ball bargainers

10
Mediation as an Alternative

• Based upon win-win assumption
• Separate out the people issues from the problem
• Focus on underlying interests of the parties, not
  positions
• Generate multiple options/solutions to meet the
  interests
• i.e. invent options for mutual gain
• Evaluate resulting agreement by objective standard

11
The Tasks of the Mediator

• Contain emotional conflicts
• Ensure a balance of power
• Surface underlying interests
• Define issues of disagreement
• Organize priorities
• Develop alternative options
• Make mutually agreements