Mediation

Evaluation is done through performance appraisal that helps to promote employees by assessing their performance and is used for the following purposes. Administrative purpose – by providing information for documentation, promotion, lay-offs and to determine salary. Developmental purpose – performance appraisal helps to diagnose training needs and in career planning. In order to achieve the goals set by the supervisor, the subordinate has to follow the instructions and complete the task within the time period that is already defined to him and this process is called management by objective.

The aim of this process is achieve a set of goals that are clear, specific and reachable, and to empower the employees to achieve the desired results by setting their behavior accordingly and the employees are notified about the performance analysis that is being done. Other sources of performance appraisal are the following.

• Managers and Supervisors- they can give their views as they observe the employees.
• Internal and External Customers
• 360-Degree Appraisal
• Performance Appraisal

 A problem that arises in every organization is conflict, therefore, managing the conflict is a must and the leaders must manage the conflicts well by opting for Conflict resolution i. e. the incorporation of diverse processes that assists in eradicating the basis of conflict and these processes includes the following.

1. Negotiation
2. Mediation
3. Diplomacy
4. Dispute resolution
5. Alternative dispute resolution

When the change is being brought to the organization, the leaders have to create a learning environment but before that the culture of the organization has to be considered i. e. the culture should be such that it should be accepted by all the employees and the two types of challenges faced by the organization in this regard are that when a new employee joins an organization, he must adapt to the culture well and the second is that it should create shared beliefs and a collective learning process.

Resistance to change is a must but due to this, Apple must not stop progressing. Therefore, the best way should be used to implement the change. Kurt Lewin has given another process to manage change and this includes three stages. He says that when the change has to be applied, the management must first spread rumors about it because when the rumors would be spread, the employees will rebel, make their comments and deny the change. Once the employees are over with it, the change must be implemented and after this the management must freeze the change that is implemented.

IT in Negotiation and Mediation

            Information Technology is a highly instrumental tool in facilitating various processes and operations carried out by business organizations for innumerable purposes. However, the most important role of IT in business dealings is its capacity to facilitate communication between groups or individuals who are involved with business trades and transactions. For instance, conducting negotiations between two or more parties and mediating parties during business dealings or transactions may be facilitated through the use of IT. Intended for the review and consideration of business individuals and organizations, the remainder of the text will look into the integration of IT processes and systems to business operations and processes that constitute negotiations and mediations. In addition, the forms and types of technologies that are applicable for the aforementioned processes will also be discussed.

            Negotiation and mediation are two important business processes that are employed or carried out in order to settle problems and issues between two or more parties that are unable to overlook their differences and arrive at a compromise or agreement that is amenable to all parties involved. Negotiation is a kind of bargaining or haggling process wherein all the parties concerned are involved with the process of arriving at resolving and overlooking differences. Mediation, on the other hand, is the involvement of another party which is impartial or disinterested to the issues and problems and does not form any alliances to any of the parties involved. The role of the mediator in this process is to help or facilitate the process of reaching a consensus or a compromise without conflicts or any other hindrances or difficulties. (“Negotiation and Mediation,” 2008)

            The processes of negotiation and mediation may be facilitated through the use of IT equipped with services that assist in communication processes – the key to successfully negotiation and mediation. Aside from the obvious role of communication in negotiation and mediation, IT as well as Internet technologies might become useful in reintroducing mediation to the business sphere. Information technology and systems are equipped with various softwares and programs with the purpose and objective of facilitating clear and timely communication processes.

            For IT opportunities in negotiation purposes, facts or data obtained from IT systems may be utilized to analyze the key players involved in the negotiation. The information will help organizations in determining the strengths and weaknesses of other parties and identify how to go about presenting claims, requests, or demands to them to one’s advantage.  Other IT tools available for business organizations include IT programs and softwares that are beneficial in establishing reports and other forms of statements of details, such as content of the meeting, break down of the meeting or negotiation process, the contract, etc., that might help in speeding up the negotiation process and risk analysis tools that are able to predict the results of outcomes of the negotiation process. (Latz, 2006)

            On the other hand, IT tools that are available for the process of mediation include online trading applications that allow mediators or intermediaries to conduct transactions. Sponsoring online auctions or bids is one way of mediating or acting as the intermediary between the business organization and its online clients. (Kumar & Feldman, 1998) Other technological opportunities for facilitating the process of mediation are instrumental in promoting mediation as an important tool in business. These opportunities include the establishment and implementation of IT and Internet tools that are most beneficial to business organizations, increasing their focus and attention on mediation as a business process or operation. Mediation services available in IT systems and online constitute various roles and functions including the supervision of financial status or positions, the settlement of disputes between business parties and other parties, the improvement of the IT system, and such. (Baker, 2005) These kinds of effect helps in establishing trust among business organizations and their constituents as incorporating technology and online tools and services to the mediation process makes it efficient and timely, ensuring the resolution of conflicts, issues, or problems fairly and equally between the various parties involved. (“Transformation Through Technology,” 2008)

            Although IT and Internet tools and services are extremely important in facilitating the negotiation and mediation processes, business organizations need to look into some of the considerations that it might make prior to implementing IT systems and online tools and services so as to avoid failures and difficulties. The IT systems and Internet tools and services may be the primary sources of strength for the organization. Moreover, it might become the organization’s strength since it helps in obtaining competitive advantage. However, it might become a weakness if the organization is not prepared to take on the various responsibilities and required resources involved in implementing IT systems and online tools or services. (Latz, 2006)

            In order to resolve the issues of weaknesses and threats, upon the implementation of SWOT analyses, organizations should make sure that it formulates a thorough plan in which the required resources and other needs such as employee training, etc., are included. In addition, it is also important to conduct risk analyses in order to determine threats including the physical and virtual security of information or data, and such. Being wary of these considerations will result to the effortless implementation of IT and Internet tools and services to negotiation and mediation processes which will assist the organization in handling conflicts or difficulties in various situations.

References

Baker, D. (2005). Latest Mediation Tools can Boost Profitability for Wireless Operators:

            Overseas Service Providers Blaze Trail with Value-Based Billing Models.                       Retrieved December 14, 2008, from CBS Interactive Inc. Website:             http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DUJ/is_/ai_n13787640

Kumar, M. & Feldman, S. I. (1998). Business Negotiations on the Internet. Retrieved

            December 14, 2008, from IBM Research Division. Website:             http://www.research.ibm.com/iac/reports-technical/inet98.pdf

Latz, M. (2006). Technology Negotiations. The Business Journal. Retrieved December

            14, 2008, The Expert Negotiator. Website:        http://www.expertnegotiator.com/negotiation-tips/technology-negotiations

“Negotiation and Mediation.” (2008). Retrieved December 14, 2008, from The United

            States Department of Transportation. Website:             http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/fhwa/neg-med.htm

“Transformation Through Technology.” (2008). Retrieved December 14, 2008, from

            Facilitate.com. Website: http://www.facilitatepro.net/solutions_ConflictRes.htm

CONFLICT IN WORKPLACE

Introduction

            According to Diamond, 2007 and Rau-Foster, 2000 conflict in workplace is a common problem facing many businesses and it is the responsibility of managers to handle the situation carefully to avoid more conflicts. Conflict can be helpful in making necessary changes within working environment. Unresolved conflict in workplace results in dissatisfaction of employees, hopelessness, unhappiness, depression among other effects which impacts on performance of the business. Communication is a cause and a remedy for conflict in workplace (Rau-Foster, 2000). Managers should carefully understand how to satisfactory resolve the problem. Managers in their training should learn both communication and conflict resolution skills (Richard, 2008, p.103). Conflict in workplace arises from clash of goals, perceptions or values in working environment among employees and management. This is because people from different cultures with different expectations, goals and prior experiences are working in the same environment (Diamond, April 7, 2007).

Main points in the articles

            As argued by Diamond, 2007 and Rau-Foster, 2000 there are basic components of conflict. These articles are describing why there is more conflict in workplace today than in the before.

·         The basic components of conflict in workplace are involvement of two or more people, there should be a perceived incompatibility between actions, ideas, goals and beliefs.

·         Conflict in workplace is of two types, substantive and personality-based conflict.  (Rau-Foster, 2000).

·         In today’s workplace there is more eligalitarian whereby you find that there are flatter chains of command with dotted line of relationships and mainly employees have the ability to make decisions by themselves having freedom to move to another better job.

·         People in workplace today consist of all ages and from all over the world. These people do have diverse goals, values, behavior, prior experiences and different expectations. This results in misunderstanding among them resulting in conflicts.

·         In today’s world women are in workplace just like men. Generally women are less accustomed in the chain of command. Men are more involved in organized sports in which they are taught how to be obedient. Although some women are active in such activities many don’t have particular organization.

·         In workplace there are behaviors like teasing, confronting, flirting, aggression and simple communication styles which may result in conflict (Diamond, April 7, 2007).

·         It is the responsibility of managers to resolve the conflicts without applying ostrich technique because this may cause more problems there after.

·         Employees should be helped understand how to work as a group and with people from different backgrounds (Rau-Foster, 2000).

Benefits and Costs of Conflict in workplace

Conflict in workplace has both benefits and costs; since conflict is inherent in every human relationship there is a need to negotiate and understand interpersonal and group working. If conflict is managed properly it reassigns power, enhances stability in relationship and forges identities. Conflict in workplace facilitates changes in the organization depending on the cause of the conflict. In medium conflict there is high employees’ cohesion and increased output because in such kind of conflict managers and employees have an opportunity to challenge each other (Rau-Foster, 2000). Conflict in workplace is accompanied by some costs. In high level of conflict there are a chaos, unclear job process and uncertain lines of authority with employees’ cohesion and output being low. In such cases even if employees care about their job, there is large amount of conflict affecting their performance. Unsolved conflicts in workplace increases and stops business progress since people spend most of their time worrying on the conflicts more than business goals (Diamond, April 7, 2007) .

Managing Conflict in Workplace

It is the responsibility of managers to resolve the conflict in workplace. Managers can solve substantive conflicts by addressing the specific problem which is subject to conflict. In personality-based conflict since it is not for mediation it should be addressed. Employees should be educated on how to work together regardless of their differences and involved parties have to agree that keeping their job is more important that keeping on having conflict.  Employees should be taught on how to talk with each other. Use of good communication skills is important in keeping peace at workplace.  Most managers use ostrich techniques in handling conflicts which is not recommendable because the conflict stays underground until it is intense and the next step may be explosion (Rau-Foster, 2000).

Managers should be able to deal with different people in the workplace for the success of the business. Organizations will continue to have people from different genders, styles, cultures and expectations working in the same environment; it is the responsibility of managers to provide them with common culture defined with behavioral expectations. Managers should prepare business procedures, policies and statements of corporate values and culture to guide employees. There should be training on diversity to educate employees on how to work with different people (Richard, 2008, p.123). Employees should accept and realize their differences and more attempts be made to help each other in clearing up their disagreements and misunderstandings instead of passing judgments and declining on who is wrong and who is right. Managers should establish a clear set of guidelines in accordance to work expectations and measure of success instead of spending time making it easier for people to know. Organization should publish procedures, policy, expectations, guidelines and values. Managers should learn how to correctly manage differences among individuals to enable each individual to be effective in performance. Employers should have flexible time whenever possible (Diamond, April 7, 2007).

Conclusion

            Conflict in workplace is a common problem facing many organizations today than before. This is as a result of people from different cultures with different goals, expectations and prior experiences working in the same environment. Managers have the responsibility to carefully handle such problems because to increase business effectiveness and performance.

List of References

Diamond, A. (April 7, 2007), Workplace conflict resolution: what’s creating workplace conflict and 9 easy ways to resolve it, retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://www.studiomatrix.com/articles/article00193.shtml

Rau-Foster, M. (2000), conflict in workplace, retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://www.workplaceissues.com/arconflict.htm

Richard, L.D., (2008), management, (8th Ed), South Western, ISBN: 0324537700
ISBN13: 9780324537703

Base on abundant first-hand survey data, Research and Forecast of Contaminated Soil Remediation Industry in China, 2014-2018 mainly analyzes the following content: the current development status and existed problems of contaminated soil remediation industry. ; the whole contaminated soil remediation market and its segmentations. ; the leading enterprises both in China and in overseas investment prospects and risk controls.

In recent years, as the process of industrialization accelerated, intensified irrational exploitation of mineral resources and the emission in smelting process, long-lasting irrigation with polluted water and the application of sewage sludge, atmospheric deposition triggered by human activities, the using of chemical fertilizer and chemical pesticides have all severely aggravated the soil contamination. According to the results of national contaminated soil investigation, by far there are about 1 50 million mum (one Mum equals to 667 square meters) arable lands that being contaminated, accounting for 8. % of the total 1. 8 billion mum arable lands. In 2013 January, General Office of the State Council of China has published Circular Concerning Recent Work Arrangement of Soil Environmental Protection and the Comprehensive Management, which is about to launch pilot demonstration of contaminated soil management and remediation and attaches much attention to the surroundings of the large and medium-sized cities, the key prevention areas that susceptible to heavy metal contamination, as well as the concentrated drinkable water sources and its surroundings.

Contaminated soil remediation market includes contaminated sites remediation, contaminated mine-land remediation and contaminated arable lands remediation. Due to the acceleration of process of China’s arbitration, the previous chemical engineering enterprises and mining enterprises have moved from the central to the suburb areas. And the demand of contaminated sites remediation has increased. According to the statistics made by Chinese Environmental Remediation Website, now there are 42 sites that under the risk of being contaminated, in which 13 sites were reanimated, 11 sites are about to be reanimated and 16 sites were moved out.

At present there are more than 200 sites in whole China that need to be moved out. And the average fund that required for the mediation of one site is around CCNY 100 million to CCNY 2 million. Assuming that only take the known sites under consideration, the remediation of the site that ready to be reanimated and sites that have been already moved out will be finished within two years. And the remediation of the sites that ready to be moved out will be finished within 3 to 5 years, the average fund that needed of each is CCNY 150 million.

Generally the nature of services offered in public companies is not of the expected standards as compared to private companies. This is because the employees in public companies are not well motivated and close monitoring of the employees to give quality work cannot be closely checked. This is because of centralized management under which the public organizations exist. In most of cases there is delay of service delivered to the customers. Unlike in private sectors, long procedures to follow when ordering for the service or goods from public sector also contributes the delays and poor quality of the service offered.

Employees in public organization most of the time lacks enthusiasm when they are on duty. In private sector the nature of service provided is of high quality. This is being partly contributed due to decentralization nature of most private companies.In terms of collective bargaining, the employees in the public sector are covered by comprehensive and centralized collective bargaining unlike in private sector where each case is taken as it arises. In public organization the bargaining is between powerful employer and labour federations who have set basic framework of wages and working conditions throughout the economy.

In the private company the locus of bargaining has shifted from the central to the sectoral and enterprises levers in which case the sectoral framework agreement set the basic minimum conditions. Building on theoretical argument of Keith Sission and Clegg, the employers in public organization sets wages generally based on response to unions activity. These help private companies to achieve their main goals of regurised, centralised bargaining and management. Control of workplace has also established a framework in which unions now recognized and organizationally secure have achieved steady gains in pay, working conditions influence.

Right to strike

The right to strike of central government employees, and especially career civil servants, is subject to restrictions in several countries. In a number of cases this right is simply forbidden, in others is subject to some special regulations, while in a third group of countries it is similar to that for private sector employees, with a few qualifications. Apart from the armed forces, defence, police and the judiciary, which are often excluded from the right to strike, severe restrictions? In a labor-management mediator is gratifying. Arbitrators make critical difference, heading off potentially disruptive strikes and other community-rending disputes.

Many of the disputes which are of great interest to the press are hidden so that to avoid negative publicity.  In news articles they are usually referred to as the anonymous “state mediator.” Due to the nature of collective bargaining, the two sides to the agreement bear the responsibility for the success or failure of their negotiation. They are in the limelight; mediators are properly left in the deep background. Nevertheless, most labor-management mediators have been tempted from time to time to tell reporters what is really going on in the negotiations.

However, succumbing to this temptation would violate ethics of confidentiality. Moreover, it would make the goal of reaching a settlement more difficult. Labor-management mediators do complex, alleging work. They are often thrust into the middle of badly deteriorated relationships where trust is virtually nonexistent.

But unlike a marital dispute, in which separation is a possibility, walking away from each other is not an option for unions and employers. With few exceptions, there are no divorces in labor-management relations. Mediators need patience and the ability to remain calm in the midst of the resulting storms. Often, the mediator becomes the lightning rod for parties who are angry with each other.

Reference:

1. Morris A. Horowitz. New york: Collective Bargaining in the Public sector. Lxitonton Books.
2. Fisher and Ury: Collective Bargaining.

While a great deal of excellent advice exists for producing case studies on managerially relevant topics in general, negotiation cases have distinctive aspects that merit explicit treatment.

This article offers three types of tailored advice for producing cases on negotiation and related topics (such as mediation and diplomacy) that are primarily intended for classroom discussion: 1) how to decide whether a negotiation­related case lead is worth developing; 2) how to choose the perspective and case type most suited to one’s objectives; and 3) in by far the longest part of the discussion, ten nuts and bolts suggestions for structuring and producing an excellent negotiation case study.

Suppose you read about, participate in, or otherwise become aware of a negotiation that intrigues you as a possible candidate for a case study. Perhaps a student, colleague, participant in an executive program, or private client suggests such an episode. You may consider researching and writing up the case yourself or you might supervise someone else for this purpose. Should you proceed with an investment of your scarce time and resources? If so, how?

What’s the best casewriting advice you can give to a research assistant, a student (team) grappling with a course assignment to produce a case study, or someone else who is simply interested in writing up a negotiation for discussion purposes? ii Generations of experienced, even legendary, casewriters have codified guidelines for producing excellent case studies on virtually any subject. iii Yet negotiation cases often have distinctive aspects that merit explicit treatment.

Over the years, I’ve found myself in many conversations trying to crystallize and convey the elements that seem to contribute to crafting superior negotiation cases. I hope that pulling these insights together and developing them a bit more systematically will be useful for others undertaking casewriting projects. A quick caveat: though casewriting is often properly part of a larger research program, and synergistic with other methodologies, I focus here on case studies that are mainly intended as vehicles for classroom discussion and analysis.

As such, I sidestep important issues associated with systematically selecting and developing cases for well- defined research projects. For example, in the field of international relations, which thrives on case studies, the “method of structured, focused comparisons” is a research staple. iv More generally, exacting criteria exist for identifying, developing, comparing, and Draft: Developing Negotiation Case Studies. Copyright ©2010 by James K. Sebenius. 1 contrasting case studies in order to extract valid inductive social scientific knowledge. However, I leave that set of considerations for specialists with casewriting as a component of well-defined research agendas. vi The following sections offer three types of advice for producing cases that are primarily intended for classroom discussion: 1) how to decide whether a case lead is worth developing; 2) how to choose the perspective and case type most suited to your objectives; and, 3) in the by far the longest part of the discussion, ten nuts and bolts suggestions for structuring and producing an excellent case study.

One of the best ways to learn the casewriter’s craft is to study a number of truly excellent case studies, or better, to discuss such cases in a forum led by an experienced case method instructor. As such, in each of the three advice sections that follow, I’m tempted to list a number of my favorite negotiation cases as models.

Since, however, these choices may be unfamiliar to many readers, and may be set in times, places, or contexts of little interest to others, I will instead offer a set of model cases, plus commentary, in an online forum in the hope that others will consult, comment, and contribute. (See online url to be provided later. ). I. Advice on developing a prospective case: a case for what? A case of what? Start by seeking clarity on your overall purpose: “a case for what? ”

The teachers were very un-collaborative in their approach towards the negotiation and seemed quite unwilling to bend in their resolve not to accept the proposal offered by the board of Education. The teachers basically attempted to force the hand of the board by deciding to go on a strike. Considering that the area had only recently suffered from the effects of the September 11 strike on the Twin Towers and that there was some amount of adjusting to be done, the teachers seem to have manipulated the situation in order to achieve their objectives.

The strike commenced only a few hours after the end of an agreed moratorium period according to Hanley (2001a). This is suggesting that little or inadequate attempt was made to pursue peaceful negotiations prior to decide to enter into an industrial strike. Furthermore the teachers made no attempt to relent or relax their position but were willing, even under punishment of imprisonment, to hold firm to their original position without any or little adjustments or compromise. The board wanted to increase the teachers’ maximum contributions to the health insurance scheme from $250 to $860 (Hanley & Jacobs, 2001). The teachers were adamant in refusing any sort of increasing wanting the figure to remain as was.

So determined was their resolve that at the time of the unsuccessful conclusion of the negotiations 225 teachers, secretaries and other union members had being jailed because of their refusal to obey the court order to return to work (Hanley, 2001c). Had the union leaders not decided on the 29th of November to instruct its members to obey the court order to return to work, the impasse would have probably continued with even more teachers being jailed.

The union however, seemed at one point willing to relax the teachers’ position on the issue of the proposed increase in teachers’ contributions to the health fund. The teachers relaxed their positions partially when they agreed to a set of settlement recommendations proposed by the mediators which would have seen them compromising their position significantly. However the position of the board was even more adamant and thus no solution was arrived on the issue.

The teachers attempted to justify their rejection of the proposal put forward to them. The proposal put forward by the board sought to increase maximum payments by about thirty per cent in one instant. This amount appears to be very unreasonable. Of course the board could not accept the teachers’ proposition that the fees stay as they were before. In their opinion, payments for teachers’ health benefits was costing the district much too much, approximately $8 million (Hanley & Jacobs, 2001). On the extreme though the proposed level of increase in itself appeared exorbitant and too great a percentage increase.

Additionally the teachers felt that their proposal was a lot more reasonable. They suggested helping the board to cut costs by no longer requiring reimbursements on prescriptions (Hanley, 2001b). This proposal would lead to saving on the part of the board and would also ensure that the teachers do not have to pay increased premiums. This alternative seems like a very feasible position but the board was not willing to negotiate on this issue.

On the 29th of November the teachers were instructed by their union leaders to return to work even though the negotiations had not concluded and there was no decision on the issue. It would seem in this regard that the teachers were the ones to have lost because, aside from being imprisoned for a few days, they have to suffer the embarrassment of returning to work without their original demands being met.

It would therefore seem that the teachers did not carry out the negotiations as best as they could since they did not end up reaching a reasonable solution. A number of factors could have contributed to this failure suggesting of course, that the teachers erred in a few areas. First the teachers did not choose an appropriate time to commence the industrial strike. While, in their view the matter seemed to be urgent, they did not consider the psychological environment at the time. The area had only recently been affected by the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Centers. The district was still recovering from the effects of this national disaster and therefore it was not appropriate for the teachers to strike at this particular time.

In addition the teachers did not garner enough support from the community. Hanley & Jacobs (2001) point out that “it was hard to find support for the teachers among Middletown residents.” The members of the community were upset that the teachers chose such an inappropriate time to strike. They were also concerned about the welfare of the students who would be without instruction until the issue was resolved.

Probably a meeting with the parents of students prior to going on a strike could have explained the seriousness of the teachers’ position to them and asked for support. In addition many parents did not agree that in that economic climate that the proposed increase was as terrible as the teachers were making it out to be. The fact that there was not widespread support for the teachers’ strike may have pushed the union to demand its teachers back in the classroom even though negotiations were not finalized.

Finally the teachers themselves seemed not to have entered the negotiation with a correct mindset. They seemed only to be heading for a win/win decision and were not willing to lose not even a little bit. The option they proposed to the board, though it sounded reasonable, did not see them compromising as significantly as they expected the board to compromise to meet their demands. The teachers were unwilling to collaborate effectively to come to a decision feasible and acceptable to both sides.

REFERENCES

Hanley, R. (2001a, Nov 30). Abrupt Walkout by Teachers Closes Schools in Middletown, N.J. The New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)), D5.

Hanley, R. (2001b, Dec 4). New Jersey Teachers Jailed for Continuing to Strike. The New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)), D1.

Hanley, R. (2001c, Dec 8). In Middletown, A Strike Ends Without a Deal For Teachers. The New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)), D1.

Hanley, R. & Jacobs, A. (2001, Dec 6). Teachers’ Strike Grows Angrier, But Support of Residents Is Elusive. The New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)), D1.