The Role Play Mediation Focused On Identifying The Issues, Creating Options And Reaching An Agreement

First Mediation | Jeffrey Krivis | Mariam Zadeh » Blog Archive » 10 Steps In Preparing For a Mediation. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.firstmediation.com/resources/?p=23

Traditional approaches to mediation assume that a conflict’s parties and a mediator share one compelling reason for initiating mediation: a desire to reduce,abate,or resolve a conflict.To this end,both sides may invest personnel,time,and resources in the mediation.This shared humanititarian interest maybe the only genuine reason in a few instances of mediation,but normally even this interest intertwines with other, less altruistic,

This type of mediation may be quite similar to mediation that occurs in the civil context such as personal injury or family cases. Prior to commencing mediation, counsel should ensure that the client is prepared to engage in a give and take, mediation requires the agreement from the opposing side thus neither party is going to leave without some concession. Further, the general public has more exposure to the adversarial approach of courtrooms, as such they will need to be prepared for the relaxed and collaborative approach of mediation.

“A mediator is a third party who assists interested parties in negotiating a conflict. A mediator controls the mediation process but does not have authority to decide the outcome for the parties” (Barsky, 2007). A mediator, in a given situation, helps to dissolve the conflict and looks to the best interest

Fells (2016, p. 211) wrote “ just as a doctor works to bring a person back to health, so too a mediator works to bring a deadlocked negotiation back to a situation where the parties can reach agreement”. This essay discusses this statement with reference to contemporary research on dispute resolution. In order to comprehend how this is achieved, we must consider the essence of mediation, the different types of mediation and what mediators do. Negotiation and mediation are process used to resolve opposing preferences between parties. Negotiation is defined in Fells (2016, p. 3) as “a process by which two parties with differences that they need to resolve try to reach agreement through

One of the main mediation approaches is based on the idea that mediation sessions are generally broken down into five distinct stages, sometimes called the STAR mediation model. In each stage, the mediator is trying to accomplish a "task" through his "actions". At the end of each stage, the mediator expects to achieve the outcome or "result". The final goal of mediation is to achieve a settlement of the dispute.

After hearing from all parties involved in the conflict, participants are sometimes able to come up with a resolution for the problem they are facing

Mediation is a different process to reach a resolution for parties that find themselves in a family court matter. Mediation is a part of the process ran by the courts by individuals that are unbiased and yet knowledgably about family law matters and the law. The courts want couples to give mediation a try before taking the matter before the judge in case some issues can be worked out beforehand. Attorneys are not included in this process. What happens in mediation is all parties will work on the issues at hand as peaceful as possible and in a manner to hopefully reach amicable outcomes, with a third party to help oversee this process and help negotiate their issues. These issues that can be heard in mediation are many and can be a wide variety of needs from the parties. These issues can be negotiation of assets, debts, child and spousal support, and visitation and custody matters of any children involved in the case.

Despite having no mediation experience prior to this class, I immediately excelled in a few areas of mediation. Namely, I did well with the introduction, exuding confidence, and helping the disputants move toward a resolution. Each of these skills is extremely important for mediators as they help set the tone, maintain control of the conversation or accomplish the goal of mediation. Of course, I improved with I practice, but I performed admirably in each of these arenas from the outset.

The technique used in the attempt to resolve the conflict was negotiation by third parties

If you have never been involved in real estate or business mediation, there are a few things that you need to know. First of all, mediation is confidential. Everything that is discussed and documents prepared specifically for the mediation are not used outside of the mediation process. They are not used in any portion of any ensuing trial or litigation. The confidentiality of mediation is in place to ensure that parties and attorneys can freely discuss facts and issues openly without the fear that comes they consider the harm their words could inflict on their case outside of the mediation process. This allows the parties to speak openly which is the entire reason that mediation can be successful in leading parties towards solutions and settlement agreements.

Throughout the years there has been many definitions of mediation. Nevertheless one the most acceptable definition of mediation refers to this procedure as a “…process in which the participants, with the support of a mediator, identify issues, develop options, consider alternatives and make decisions about future actions…” . They also described mediators as the third party assisting the participants in reaching their decision. This process should form a part of the pre-trial civil litigation process as its advantages on the legal system and the community outweigh its disadvantages. The distinguishing models of mediation make it a suitable approach for all or most civil cases.

Barriers in the mediation process must be overcome at the initial phase of the process. Parties must understand the process and the

 "Effective conflict resolution requires dealing constructively with disagreements rather than pushing them under the rug, letting them break into open warfare, or attempting to eliminate them completely.  Successful resolution of a conflict may include the following: accurate diagnosis of the nature and source of the conflict, a clear understanding of how each party is contributing to the conflict, skills and processes for defining alternatives, constructively negotiating outcomes, and creatively developing win-win resolutions" (Hagberg Consulting Group, 1).

Invariably, these definitions contain two elements that are essential features of a dispute: evidence of insistence by one party or of resistance by the other with respect to specific demands. These two essential features of a dispute are found in a refusal to negotiate a disruption of negotiations, appointment of a conciliator or conciliation board, failure of the conciliation process, taking a strike vote or issuance of a lockout notice. The existence of a strike or lockout is even more decisive.