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The Diffences Between the Negotiation and the Mediation Processes

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This paper will cover the difference in the negotiation process and the mediation process and explore some of the barriers that hinder the processes. There is a distinct difference between the negotiation process and the mediation process. Negotiation as defined in Essentials of Negotiation is a process by which two or more parties attempt to resolve their opposing interests (Lewicki, Saunders, and Barry, ) The Negotiation process happens when individuals disagree about a situation and there’s no mutual solution that can be attain by the two parties. The disagreement leads to a conflict which involves misinterpretation, miscommunication and hurt feelings. Because the parties cannot reach a mutual agreement on how to resolve their …show more content…

Recently, at my place of employment several employees were notified that they would be involuntary moved to another office and location for 120 days. The management did not ask for voluntary, they randomly selected the personnel based on the open positions. The employees were furious that they were not consulted about the move. Management felt that they were well within their rights to temporally reassign the personnel. A meeting was held between management and the employees to explained how the decision was made to move the selected personnel however management did not have details on when the move would take place or exactly what the employees would be expect to do at the new position (the negotiation phases). Based on the answers that were provided by management, the employees filed a complaint with their union. The union, a third neutral and impartial party (mediator) contacted management and the employers to discuss the issues and problems. They interviewed management for their side of the situation and the employees to ascertain the issues and to encourage a mutual agreement for the situation (the mediation process). Some of the employees presented barriers to the process based on their bias and concern that management would not listen to them and their concerns. Barriers in the mediation process must be overcome at the initial phase of the process. Parties must understand the process and the

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