Public Policy Section
I am sitting in a room, negotiating a sale, and I’m thinking: Which is likely to be more favorable to me: put a figure on the table, or insist the Other does so first? Because democracy is open, it is vulnerable to demagogues and autocrats; yet because it is open, it is also resilient, able to learn and improve, and responsive to popular wisdom. If you’re good at selective conflict avoidance, you will have a greater sense of order and control in your life. “Never let a good crisis go to waste” – Alistair McIntosh 2020 was a tough year for many of us, from the pandemic to shutdowns to political chaos. Let's use the fresh start of the new year to set our sights on a more optimistic horizon. With a clear divide between the ‘anti-vaxxers’ and the rest, what happens to day-to-day employee relations and attempts to return to normal office routines and face-to-face meetings? As mediators, we are hired and trusted to come into a situation and use our best judgment and experience to deliver results in the form of durable negotiated agreements and changed behavior. In rare situations we will encounter abrasive behavior by one or more parties, and in those cases we must be prepared to shift our process to accommodate the landscape and serve the parties in the best way possible. Regardless of who you supported during the 2020 election, it’s inevitable that you’ll hear, see, or experience the increased emotionality brought about by our current political climate, especially during the holiday season. This article looks at using mediation to resolve post-quarantine disputes. Even after the election results are finalized and the new President inaugurated, one thing will remain unresolved – the deep divide within the nation that the campaigns for the presidency confirmed. This article focuses on a specialized class of employment law and human rights issues where there an overlap exists between matters of creed or religion and the legal relationship. In heterogeneous societies, people will disagree, sometimes passionately and fundamentally, over socio-politics, economics, spirituality and other beliefs and conduct. The APFM, NAFCM, MBB & ACR have joined Mediate.com's groundbreaking efforts to set America on a better path by sponsoring the "National Mediation Policy Act" (NMPA). The Act declares a national policy favoring voluntary mediation over disputes being litigated, remaining unresolved or resulting in violence. Greetings from the future, 10 years in the future to be exact, November 28, 2030 to be even more precise. It is Thanksgiving Day 2030, and we are here testing a previously secret joint project of Mediate.com and Zoom wherein future text and image communications, up to 10 years into the future, can now be sent and published “backward in time.” Crazy, I know. Many South African Schools are facing demands to change and even to radically transform themselves. Some of these demands relate to the ‘isms’ such as racism, and other identity related issues. After trying cases for most of my career and having served as a full-time neutral for the past five years, I’m convinced mediation is the best option for resolving cases while keeping your clients’ interests in mind, particularly for health care disputes. Civility, respect, understanding, and the willingness to listen. These are core conversational virtues that are universally appreciated. This article looks at how to resolve your property dispute as a commercial tenant, home renter, or landlord. Jim Melamed, Board Chair of Mediate.com, has announced the establishment of a blue-ribbon Online Mediation Training Task Force, to be headed by Forrest R. (Woody) Mosten, to make recommendations on best practices and possibilities for both generally training mediators online and training mediators to perform online mediation. The Task Force Executive Committee and Advisory Board have now been named. An interview with Donna Silverberg and Charles Wiggins about mediation, being married to a mediator, and the future of mediation. Recorded and shared as part of the Mediation 20/20 Conference. This article is a comparison of two facilitation approaches to group decision-making. Mediation 20/20 Complete Day 3 Video: (1) Envisioning Mediation for a New Generation - Where Should We Go? Technology and New Generational Expectations; and (2) Moving Forward - How Do We Get There? Promoting the Mediators Green Pledge is now the purpose of a new WoMACC site. It seems to be one way to commit to our future. I invite you to sign up to the Green Pledge and to promote it to those you know and work with. This article addresses internal and external skills for mediators to use during this time of Covid-19, to raise awareness of internal biases, and shift those biases in order to skillfully mediate for our clients. All you need to know is – there is No Mo Fo Mo. Everything prior to 2019 B.C. (Before Corona) was a rehearsal; we are now living in the real digital age. As the world continues to grapple with racial injustice and unrest as masses of people from all ethnicities protest in the streets, this article examines the subliminal influence of historical racial symbols and practices namely, statues and monuments, slave plantation sites and tours, market houses where slaves
were sold, and street names that bear the scars of slavery.
Public Policy & Environmental Articles
A Negotiation Innovation: An intelligent negotiation assistant
10 Actions We Can Take to Turn Adversarial, Autocratic, Power-Based Political Conflicts into Collaborative, Democratic, Interest-Based Social Problem Solving
How to AVOID Conflict Gracefully
Egalitarian Change – Our Roles and Responsibilites
Let’s Make 2021 the Year of Resolutions
Anti-Vaxxers and the New Workplace Divisions
What to Do When Abrasive Behavior Disrupts Your Mediation Process
How Simple Mediation Skills Can Bring Peace After The Election
To ‘Unlock’ the Disputes Post the Lockdown, Use Mediation as ‘The Key’
Healing and Civility – What Mediation can Teach Us About Bridging Social Divides
Should Employment Matters with Religious Connotations be Dealt with in Court or by Mediations?
APFM, NAFCM, MBB & ACR Co-Sponsor National Mediation Policy Act!
How Mediation Saved the World
A Process for the Formulation of a School's Change Strategy
Why Mediation Is the Holy Grail for Health Care Disputes
How to Bring Civility to Political Arguments
Top 10 Tips for Property Disputes
Mediate.com Announces Task Force Executive Committee and Advisory Board to Support Online Mediation Training
Married Mediators: Donna Silverberg and Charles Wiggins
Group Decision-Making on Complex Public Issues: An experiment with structure.
Mediation 20/20 Conference - Day 3 Video
Mediators Green Pledge
Mediating Conflict in the Time of Covid-19
No Mo Fo Mo
Racial Justice Conflict: How “Historical” Racial Symbols Shape Perception, Practices, and Policy