What are possible alternative dispute resolution systems (ADRs)?
Conflicts are an inherent and unavoidable aspect of any workplace interactions, which is why avoiding them is likely to result in a failure to help the parties reconcile, as well as the eventual outburst of emotions that will be very difficult to regulate. However, litigation as a formal means of resolving an organizational conflict is also undesirable given the possible repercussions, as well as the impressive expenses that both sides will take. Thus, other options must be considered.
Selecting an appropriate strategy for handling a workplace conflict, one might want to consider mediation. Another option for managing conflicts in the workplace, negotiation is also quite known and well-established as a conflict management tool. Typically, negotiation implies that a conflict can be resolved by applying one of four core strategies, namely, collaboration, compromise, accommodation, and avoidance. To ensure that all parties are aware of the consequences and accept the proposed solution, it will be necessary to have them signed the contract.
What is the difference between a conflict and a dispute?
A conflict and a dispute might appear to be fully synonymous at first, yet the further analysis of the two notions will show that they are quite different. Unlike a dispute, which is typically short-term and driven by clear factors, a conflict is a long-term phenomenon with multiple underlying issues. To discover the reasons for the conflicts and disputes to occur in the described setting, one should talk individually to the participants involved in the confrontation. Thus, one will have several perspectives, analyzing which will lead to the likely root of the problem. Although a dispute resolution clause would be very appropriate, it will not provide the solution to every scenario, which means that conflicts will still have to be solved on a case-by-case basis. Likewise, consulting agreements with clients will need to have a legal basis to rely on when managing them, which is why a specific policy must be provided. However, each conflict will have to be handled individually. In turn, the general dispute resolution system would include a framework based on mediation and negotiation in order to keep the relationships between the parties as neutral and devoid of emotional tension as possible.